Chapter IV · Śloka 21
निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः ।
शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ॥
शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ॥
nirāśīr yata-cittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ |
śārīraṃ kevalaṃ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam ||
śārīraṃ kevalaṃ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam ||
Without expectation, with mind and self restrained, having abandoned all possessiveness, performing action with the body alone, he incurs no sin.
Three qualifications—no expectation, controlled mind and self, no possessiveness—define the minimum inner posture for action that leaves no karmic residue. Śārīraṃ kevalam, action of the body alone, means the ātman is uninvolved.