Verse 4.19

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 4.19:

यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः काम-सङ्कल्प-वर्जिताः ।
ज्ञानाग्नि-दग्ध-कर्माणं तम् आहुः पण्डितं बुधाः ॥ १९ ॥

yasya sarve samārambhāḥ kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ |
jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇaṃ tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṃ budhāḥ || 19 ||

yasya–whose; sarve–every; samārambhāḥ–endeavour; kāma-saṅkalpa–of motivation and lust; varjitāḥ–devoid; jñāna-agni–by the fire of knowledge; dagdha–is burned up; karmāṇam–action; tam–him; āhuḥ–call;paṇḍitam–a learned person; budhāḥ–the wise.

He whose every action is free from desire and hankering for sense pleasure, having burned all fruitive desires within the fire of pure knowledge, is called a learned man, or paṇḍita, by the wise.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

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

In five verses (Gītā 4.19–24), the subject of karma is now being explained in detail, the first beginning with the word yasya. Kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ means ‘devoid of the desire for the fruits of action’, and samārambhāḥ refers to all actions that are properly instigated. Jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇam indicates those in whom the reactions to all their previous actions, or forbidden actions, have been burned by the fire of knowledge. The fate of those who perform forbidden action, as described in the Gītā (4.17), should be understood in this way. As explained in the previous verse, it is proper to see the action of a wise person as inaction. Similarly, it is also proper to see his forbidden action as inaction. This is congruent with the previous verse and will be explained in later verses (Gītā 4.36–37).

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

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

Those who perform pre-scribed duties and at the same time become free from fruitive desires, as well as from their forbidden acts, burn up all the results of those duties in the fire of transcendental knowledge. This results from their performance of niṣkāma-karma-yoga. Such exalted souls are called jñānāgni-dagdha-karmā, ‘those who have burned all their karma in the fire of transcendental knowledge’.