Chapter IV · Śloka 19
यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः ।
ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पण्डितं बुधाः ॥
ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पण्डितं बुधाः ॥
yasya sarve samārambhāḥ kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ |
jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇaṃ tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṃ budhāḥ ||
jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇaṃ tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṃ budhāḥ ||
One whose every undertaking is free from desire and self-will, whose actions are burned up in the fire of knowledge—the wise call such a one a paṇḍita.
The fire of knowledge (jñānāgni) consumes the binding power of past karma just as fire destroys seeds. The paṇḍita is distinguished not by abstention from action but by the complete absence of ego-driven desire at the root of each act.