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GĪTĀ, TRANSLATION & COMMENTARY, CHAP. III 925
third, that is to say, in the 19th stanza to" perform Action unattachedly " loses its bearing and cannot be accounted for. In order to get over this difficulty, these commentators have explained the advice to Arjuna to perform Action, as having been given because he was an Ajñānin (ignorant person); and they have thus satisfied themselves. But, even doing so, the word 'tasmāt' in the 19th stanza becomes meaningless, and the interpretation advanced by these commentators becomes inconsistent with the previous and subsequent context, as also with the various statements in several places in the Gitā that a Jñānin should perform Action desirelessly, as also with His own illustration given later on by the Blessed Lord (See Gi. 2. 47; 3. 7, 25; 4. 23; 6.1; 18. 6-9; and Gi. Ra. Ch. XI. pp 445 to 450) Besides, seeing that this chapter contains an exposition of the Karma-Yoga, no sane person will bring forward a totally out-of-place proposition like 'Renunciation of Action is the best' in the middle of the exposition of the Yoga of Action. Then, how could the Blessed Lord have done such a foolish thing? Therefore, these interpretations, which are stretched and purely doctrine-supporting, cannot be taken as acceptable. It has been stated in the Yoga-Vāsistha that even a Jñānin, who is a 'jivan-mukta' (Released in this life) must perform Action; and to the question of Sri Rāma as to why the Emancipated should do so, Vasistha has given the following reply, namely,
jñasya nārthah karmatyāgarh närthah karmasamāśrayaiḥ 1 tena sthitam yathā yad yat tat tatharva karotyasau Il
(Yoga. 6 U. 199. 4), that is, "the 'Jña', that is, the Jñānin (Knower) has nothing to gain whether by performing or by abandoning Action; therefore, (tena), he performs it, as it arises ". Similarly, in the concluding upasamhāra of this book, appears the stanza:
mama nāsti krtenārtho nāksteneha kaś ca na i yathāprāptena tişthāmi hy akarmani ka ägrahah II
(Yoga. 6 U. 216. 14), of which the first line shows the reason, by saying " to me, it is just the same whether something is done or not",
