Chapter 5, Verse 15
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः | अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः ||५-१५||
nādatte kasyacitpāpaṃ na caiva sukṛtaṃ vibhuḥ . ajñānenāvṛtaṃ jñānaṃ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ ||5-15||
Meaning
5.15 The Lord takes neither the demerit nor even the merit of any; knowledge is enveloped by ignorance, thery beings are deluded.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna corrects a common religious misconception: that the Divine sits as a judge dispensing reward and punishment. The Vibhu — the all-pervading Self — accepts neither anyone's sin (papa) nor anyone's merit (sukrita). The Supreme is not the cause of our bondage or suffering; it remains ever pure and untouched.
Why then do beings suffer and stumble? Because jnanam ajnanena avritam — true knowledge is veiled by ignorance (ajnana). Like clouds hiding the sun, this veil of unknowing makes creatures (jantavah) forget their real nature and become deluded (muhyanti). They mistake the body for the Self and the gunas for their own doing. The remedy, then, is not appeasing an external judge but removing the inner veil of ignorance through self-knowledge. Liberation is a matter of clear seeing, not divine bargaining.
💡 Key Takeaway
The Divine doesn't tally your sins and merits — your suffering comes from ignorance, and the cure is self-knowledge.
Related Verses
साङ्ख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः | एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम् ||५-४||
sāṅkhyayogau pṛthagbālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ . ekamapyāsthitaḥ samyagubhayorvindate phalam ||5-4||
5.4 Children, not the wise, speak of knowledge and the Yoga of action or the performance of action as though they are distinct and different; he who is truly established in one obtains the fruits of both.
यत्साङ्ख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते | एकं साङ्ख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स पश्यति ||५-५||
yatsāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṃ tadyogairapi gamyate . ekaṃ sāṅkhyaṃ ca yogaṃ ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati ||5-5||
5.5 That place which is reached by the Sankhyas or the Jnanis is reached by the Yogis (Karma Yogis). He sees, who sees knowledge and the performance of action (Karma Yoga) as one.
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||
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.