3.5
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् ।
कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥
na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarmakṛt
kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛtijair guṇaiḥ
śrībhagavān (श्रीभगवान्) is speaking, and the not-doing refused as a path in 3.4 is now refused as a fact.
The verse
No one ever remains even a moment without doing action; everyone is made to act, helpless, by the qualities born of nature.
नेपालीमा
कसैले पनि कहिल्यै एक क्षण पनि कर्म नगरेर बस्दैन। प्रकृतिबाट जन्मेका गुणहरूले सबैलाई विवश बनाएर कर्म गराउँछन्।
Where it sits
3.4 said not-beginning does not buy freedom from action, and this verse says not-beginning does not occur. The next verse is the person who pretends that it has.
Split: न + हि + कश्चित् + क्षणम् + अपि + जातु + तिष्ठति + अकर्म-कृत् + कार्यते + हि + अवशः + कर्म + सर्वः + प्रकृति-जैः + गुणैः
na + hi + kaścit + kṣaṇam + api + jātu + tiṣṭhati + akarma-kṛt + kāryate + hi + avaśaḥ + karma + sarvaḥ + prakṛti-jaiḥ + guṇaiḥ
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| हि | hi | indeclinable | for, indeed. |
| कश्चित् | kaścit | nominative | anyone. kaḥ (कः) plus cit (चित्). |
| क्षणम् | kṣaṇam | accusative | a moment. |
| अपि | api | indeclinable | even. |
| जातु | jātu | indeclinable | ever. |
| तिष्ठति | tiṣṭhati | present, 3rd singular of sthā (स्था) | he stands, he remains. |
| अकर्म-कृत् | akarma-kṛt | nominative | one who does no action. kṛt (कृत्) is "a doer." |
| कार्यते | kāryate | present, 3rd singular, passive of the causative of kṛ (कृ) | he is made to act. |
| हि | hi | indeclinable | for. |
| अवशः | avaśaḥ | nominative | without power of his own, helpless. Agrees with sarvaḥ (सर्वः). |
| कर्म | karma | accusative neuter | action. What he is made to do. |
| सर्वः | sarvaḥ | nominative | everyone. |
| प्रकृति-जैः | prakṛti-jaiḥ | instrumental plural | by what is born of prakṛti (प्रकृति), nature. |
| गुणैः | guṇaiḥ | instrumental plural | by the qualities. |
The phrases
न हि कश्चित् क्षणम् अपि जातु तिष्ठति अकर्मकृत् na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhati akarmakṛt is the fact. No one ever stands, even for a moment, as a person who does nothing. इ + अ i + a has joined tiṣṭhati (तिष्ठति) to akarmakṛt (अकर्मकृत्): tiṣṭhaty akarmakṛt (तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत्).
कार्यते हि अवशः कर्म सर्वः kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ says how action happens instead. Everyone is made to do action, and he is not the one choosing. हि + अवशः hi + avaśaḥ is hy avaśaḥ (ह्यवशः).
prakṛtijair guṇaiḥ (प्रकृतिजैर् गुणैः) is the force that makes him. The qualities born of nature. aiḥ (ऐः) before the voiced g (ग्) has become air (ऐर्).
Sanskrit in this line
kāryate (कार्यते) is not kārya (कार्य), "a thing to be done." It is the passive of the causative: "he is made to do." sarvaḥ (सर्वः) is the person made to act. karma (कर्म) is what he is made to do. It stays in the accusative because the causative still has a thing that gets done.
Say it back
Who cannot stand still, and what makes him move. If avaśaḥ (अवशः) drops out, the verse has become advice. It is a description.