Chapter V · Śloka 15
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः |
अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः ||
अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः ||
nādatte kasyacit pāpaṃ na caiva sukṛtaṃ vibhuḥ |
ajñānenāvṛtaṃ jñānaṃ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ ||
ajñānenāvṛtaṃ jñānaṃ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ ||
The all-pervading Lord does not accept the sin or the merit of anyone. Knowledge is veiled by ignorance — by that, living beings are deluded.
The divine neither rewards virtue nor punishes sin as a judge would — the consequences flow from within the laws of nature. What causes delusion is not divine punishment but the veil of ignorance covering the light of self-knowledge that already exists within.