Verse 4.16

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 4.16:

किं कर्म किम् अकर्मेति कवयोऽप्य् अत्र मोहिताः ।
तत् ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज् ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात् ॥ १६ ॥

kiṃ karma kim akarmeti kavayo'py atra mohitāḥ |
tat te karma pravakṣyāmi yaj jñātvā mokṣyase'śubhāt || 16 ||

kim–what?; karma–action; kim–what?; akarma–inaction; iti–thus; kavayaḥ–discriminating persons; api–even; atra–on this point; mohitāḥ–are confused; tat–that (science); te–to you; karma–action; pravakṣyāmi–I shall explain; yat–which; jñātvā–having understood; mokṣyase–you shall be freed; aśubhāt–from the inauspicious (bondage caused by karma).

Even men of discrimination become bewildered in their efforts to determine what constitutes action and what constitutes inaction. For this reason, I shall explain the science of karma to you, knowing which you will become liberated from the most inauspicious cycle of birth and death.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

Even the wise should not perform prescribed duty (karma) simply by imitating the previous spiritual authorities. Rather, they should act only when they have understood its specific nature. For this reason, the complex subject of karma-tattva, the science of performing one’s prescribed duty, is being explained.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

In Śrīla Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s commentary, the logic of gatānugatika-nyāya means ‘working by imitating the actions of others without trying to deeply understand the subject matter of the purpose of the action’.