न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभुः | न कर्मफलसंयोगं स्वभावस्तु प्रवर्तते ||५-१४||
na kartṛtvaṃ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ .
na karmaphalasaṃyogaṃ svabhāvastu pravartate ||5-14||
Neither agency nor actions does the Lord create for the world, nor union with the fruits of actions. But it is Nature that acts.
In simple words
Krishna clarifies: "The divine does not decide who acts or what actions happen. The divine does not connect actions to their results. Nature does all of this on its own."
Word-by-word meanings
नnotकर्तृत्वम्agencyनnotकर्माणिactionsलोकस्यfor this worldसृजतिcreatesप्रभुःthe Lordनnotकर्मफलसंयोगम्union with the fruits of actionsस्वभावःnatureतुbutप्रवर्ततेleads to action
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
5.14 न not? कर्तृत्वम् agency? न not? कर्माणि actions? लोकस्य for this world? सृजति creates? प्रभुः the Lord? न not? कर्मफलसंयोगम् union with the fruits of actions? स्वभावः nature? तु but? प्रवर्तते leads to action.Commentary The Lord does not create agency or doership. He does not press anyone to do actions. He never tells anyone? Do this or do that. He does not bring about the union with the fruit of actions. It is Prakritit or Nature that does everything. (Cf.III.33)
Swami Chinmayananda
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
# BG 5.14
The Vedas proclaim that the Divine is all-knowing, all-powerful, the witness of all, the overseer of action, and the bestower of the fruits of action—dispensing to all beings the results of their deeds with perfect justice according to their karma. Here, the Supreme Self is described in relation to the world.
The Supreme Self neither creates agency nor sanctions actions. It is not the function of the Divine to unite actions with their fruits. Many commentators interpret the word "Lord" in this verse as referring to the Divine who oversees and distributes the fruits of karma; yet the Lord's own teaching does not support this view. Upon careful reflection, any sincere student can clearly understand that here the Lord is endeavoring to explain to Arjuna the nature of the unconditioned, conscious Self. Here is revealed the relationship of the Self with the three bodies—gross, subtle, and causal.
If, according to Krishna's teaching, the Self has no connection with agency, action, or the union of action and fruit, then our life too should have no connection with the Self, for our existence apart from agency has no reality whatsoever. Yet without the Self, nothing exists, nor does any activity occur. Therefore, some form of relationship between Self and non-Self is inevitable, and this paradoxical relationship—a connection without connection—is what is described here.
It is universally known that a person's nose remains fixed in its place, moving neither by will nor against it. Yet if someone observing their face reflected in water perceives their nose swaying like an object hanging from a peg, what would they conclude? They would recognize that the nose remains steady in its place, yet in the water's reflection it appears to move. Clearly, the reflection's position depends upon the water's condition. The Self possesses neither agency nor action; yet the Self expressed through limiting adjuncts—what is called the individual soul—acquires agency, action, and the union with fruits.
Electricity itself is a stable force. After its generation, when distributed through various instruments, it manifests in countless forms. Similarly, the conscious Self, limited by inert adjuncts, comes to possess agency and related qualities.
The doer and enjoyer of actions is the individual soul, not the Self. It is only through relation with nature—the three-fold maya—that the qualities of agency and enjoyment appear to belong to the Self.
From the ultimate perspective, the Self remains entirely untouched by the qualities of nature. The Lord declares: