Verse 5.13

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 5.13:

सर्व-कर्माणि मनसा सन्न्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी ।
नव-द्वारे पुरे देही नैव कुर्वन् न कारयन् ॥ १३ ॥

sarva-karmāṇi manasā sannyasyāste sukhaṃ vaśī |
nava-dvāre pure dehī naiva kurvan na kārayan || 13 ||

sarva-karmāṇi–all activities; manasā–by his mind; sannyasya–having completely renounced; āste–remains; sukham–happily; vaśī–the person whose senses are under his control; nava-dvāre–of nine gates; pure–in the city (body); dehī–the embodied soul; na–not; eva–certainly; kurvan–doing anything; na kārayan–nor causing any action.

The sense-controlled soul, the niṣkāma-karma-yogī, having re-nounced within his mind attachment to the fruits of all prescribed duty happily dwells in the city of nine gates, neither performing action himself nor causing anyone to act.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

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

According to the previous statement, jñeyaḥ sa nitya-sannyāsī (Gītā 5.3), a person who performs action without attachment is in fact a real sannyāsī. To explain this, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is speaking this verse beginning with sarva-karmāṇi. Even though a self-controlled man performs external activities related to the body, because he has completely renounced all actions through his mind, he is happily situated. Where does such a person live? Kṛṣṇa replies, “In the city of nine gates.” In other words, he lives in a body free of the false ego. In this case, the word dehī refers to the jīva who has attained this knowledge. Although he may perform his prescribed duty, he knows that in reality he is not the cause of the happiness that results from his actions, and he therefore understands that actually he performs no work. Similarly, while engaging others in work, he does not make them act, because he has no purpose to fulfil. In other words, he remains unconcerned by their actions.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

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

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.19.43) states, “gṛhaṃ śarīraṃ mānuṣyam– the human body is like a house.” This subject can be specifically studied in the narration of Purañjana [narrated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam]. The house of the human body has nine gates: the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and one mouth are the seven gates in the head, and there are two lower gates for evacuation and procreation. A yogī sees his self, his svarūpa, as being different from this body of nine gates. Like a traveller, the yogī does not become attached to his body, which is likened to a hotel, or possessive of it. Instead, he performs service to Bhagavān, the master of all the senses.