Chapter 3, Verse 22
न मे पार्थास्ति कर्तव्यं त्रिषु लोकेषु किञ्चन | नानवाप्तमवाप्तव्यं वर्त एव च कर्मणि ||३-२२||
na me pārthāsti kartavyaṃ triṣu lokeṣu kiñcana . nānavāptamavāptavyaṃ varta eva ca karmaṇi ||3-22||
Meaning
3.22 There is nothing in the three worlds, O Arjuna, that should be done by Me, nor is there anything unattained that should be attained; yet I engage Myself in action.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna now points to himself as the supreme example. As the Lord of all, he has no duty he must fulfil, nothing in the three worlds he lacks or needs to gain. He is utterly complete. And yet — varta eva cha karmani — he remains continuously engaged in action.
The lesson is breathtaking in its simplicity. If even the Divine, who needs nothing, chooses to act, then surely no one can justify idleness on spiritual grounds. Krishna does not act out of compulsion or desire but freely, as the very nature of the sustaining cosmos. His engagement is pure example and pure giving. Action performed without need is the highest action of all. The realized soul, like the Divine, does not stop working upon attaining freedom; rather, freedom transforms work into spontaneous, selfless service.
💡 Key Takeaway
Even one who needs nothing still chooses to act selflessly — completeness is no excuse for idleness but a reason for free, giving action.
Related Verses
कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवं विद्धि ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भवम् | तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् ||३-१५||
karma brahmodbhavaṃ viddhi brahmākṣarasamudbhavam . tasmātsarvagataṃ brahma nityaṃ yajñe pratiṣṭhitam ||3-15||
3.15 Know thou that action comes from Brahma and Brahma comes from the Imperishable. Therefore, the all-pervading (Brahma) ever rests in sacrifice.
कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादयः | लोकसंग्रहमेवापि सम्पश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि ||३-२०||
karmaṇaiva hi saṃsiddhimāsthitā janakādayaḥ . lokasaṃgrahamevāpi sampaśyankartumarhasi ||3-20||
3.20 Janaka and others attained perfection verily by action only; even with a view to the protection of the masses thou shouldst perform action.
यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः | स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ||३-२१||
yadyadācarati śreṣṭhastattadevetaro janaḥ . sa yatpramāṇaṃ kurute lokastadanuvartate ||3-21||
3.21 Whatsoever a great man does, that the other men also do; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world (mankind) follows.