Bhagavad Gita 18.15
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 15 of 78
शरीरवाङ्मनोभिर् यत् कर्म प्रारभते नरः । न्याय्यं वा विपरीतं वा पञ्चैते तस्य हेतवः ॥
śarīra-vāṅ-manobhir yat karma prārabhate naraḥ | nyāyyaṃ vā viparītaṃ vā pañcaite tasya hetavaḥ ||
Whatever action a person initiates with body, speech, and mind — right or the reverse — these five are its causes.
Word by word (3)
- śarīra-vāṅ-manobhir yat karma prārabhate naraḥ
- — whatever (yat) action/karma (karma) a person (naraḥ) initiates/begins (prārabhate) with body (śarīra), speech (vāk), and mind (manaḥ) — the comprehensive triad of human activity: physical + verbal + mental
- nyāyyaṃ vā viparītaṃ vā
- — whether right/just/in accordance with dharma (nyāyyam = what should be done, proper) OR the reverse/contrary (viparītam = the opposite, improper) — the five causes apply regardless of the moral quality of the action; both dharmic and adharmic acts have the same five-cause structure
- pañcaite tasya hetavaḥ
- — these five (pañca ete) are its causes (tasya hetavaḥ = the reasons/causes for that) — all of V14's five factors are the causes of every action, whether śarīra/vāk/manas, whether right or wrong
Whatever action a person initiates with body, speech, or mind — whether right or the opposite — these five are its causes.
A modern analogy
This verse universalizes the five-cause teaching: whether you are doing something noble (donating, studying, meditating) or harmful (lying, hurting, deceiving) — the same five causes (body-locus, agent, instruments, efforts, and the Divine) are at work. There is no special category of action where you are 'the sole cause.' This universality is what makes fruit-renunciation — the sāttvic tyāga of acting purely as duty, attachment and fruit released — a rational metaphysical position, not just an ethical attitude.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Whatever action a man does by the body, speech and mind, right or the opposite, these five are its causes. [1]
Whatever action a man performs by his body, speech, and mind — whether right or the reverse — these five are its causes. [4]
Whatever action, just or otherwise, a man performs with his body, speech, and mind, these five are its causes. [9]
With body, speech, or mind, whatever work, just or the reverse, a man undertakes, these five are its causes. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Sitting as a neutral — unmoved by guṇas, knowing 'guṇas act' — firm, unshaken, the pure witness.
Five causes of action: body-locus, agent, various instruments, diverse efforts, and — fifth — the Divine/Fate.
One who — given the five causes — sees the self alone as doer due to unrefined intellect sees not; that is durmati.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Even the wise are confused about action vs. inaction. I will explain — knowing this frees you from all wrong.
Therefore, Brahman-knowers always begin yajña, dāna, and tapas with 'OṀ' as ordained by scripture.
Verse 15 of 78 · back to Chapter 18