Chapter IV · Śloka 16
किं कर्म किमकर्मेति कवयोऽप्यत्र मोहिताः ।
तत्ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात् ॥
तत्ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात् ॥
kiṃ karma kim akarmeti kavayo 'py atra mohitāḥ |
tat te karma pravakṣyāmi yaj jñātvā mokṣyase 'śubhāt ||
tat te karma pravakṣyāmi yaj jñātvā mokṣyase 'śubhāt ||
What is action and what is inaction? Even the wise are confused about this. I shall declare to you that action by knowing which you shall be freed from evil.
The subtlety of karma-akarma cannot be resolved by ordinary intelligence; even poets and thinkers have been bewildered. Krishna's forthcoming analysis is therefore indispensable rather than merely supplementary.