Mantra 2

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of Īśa-upaniṣad mantra 2:

कुर्वन्नेवेह कर्माणि जिजीविषेच्छतं समाः ।
एवं त्वयि नान्यथेतोऽस्ति न कर्म लिप्यते नरे ॥ २ ॥

kurvanneveha karmāṇi jijīviṣecchataṃ samāḥ |
evaṃ tvayi nānyatheto'sti na karma lipyate nare || 2 ||

kurvan—doing (without desire of fruit; ) eva—even; iha—here, (while born as a human being; ) karmāṇi—doings, works; agnihotra—etc; jijīviṣet—let him desire to live; śatam—a hundred, the full period; samāḥ—years; evam—thus, doing works; tvayi—for thee; na—not; anyathā—any other, the sin of not doing Karma; itaḥ—from this; asti—is; na—not; karma—(pāpa) sin, Karma; lipyate—binds, stains; nare—in the man.

2. Performing works even here, let a man live his allotted hundred years; thus is it right for thee, not otherwise than this; karma will not bind that man.

Commentary: The Bhāṣya of Madhva (Madhvācārya):

(English translation of Madhva’s 13th-century commentary called the Īśāvāsyopaniṣadbhāṣya or Īśopaniṣadbhāṣya)

If Karma is not performed, then the man doth incur sin: for says Nārada: “If a man is ignorant and does not worship the Lord Kṛṣṇa, then he incurs sin; but if he is a Jñānin and fails in this, verily the bliss of his self-realisation is diminished thereby. Thus the Jñānin who is free from the taint of Karma, becomes tainted by his omission: therefore let all work always.”

Note.—The ignorant jīvas incur actual sin by omitting to worship the Lord. The Mukta jīvas suffer diminution of heavenly bliss if they omit (which is almost an impossible contingency) to worship the Lord. Thus the first verse teaches Vairāgya or indifference to all worldly objects; by realising that the Lord is the sole and only motive power of the whole universe, that a man gets all that he deserves and should not hanker for other’s wealth. The second verse teaches that not only he must possess Vairāgya, but perform action as well. Here also the Nāradīya is the authority for Madhva’s interpretation.