Ashtavakra Gita 18.61Chapter 18, Verse 61
Ashtavakra Gita 18.61 is a verse from chapter 18 (Peace in a hundred verses). The sage Ashtavakra speaks it to King Janaka. In plain English it says: "Even the confused person's holding back becomes a kind of action. Even the steady one's action bears the fruit of holding back."
निवृत्तिरपि मूढस्य प्रवृत्ति रुपजायते ।प्रवृत्तिरपि धीरस्य निवृत्तिफलभागिनी ॥
nivṛttirapi mūḍhasya pravṛtti rupajāyate |pravṛttirapi dhīrasya nivṛttiphalabhāginī ||
Even the confused person's holding back becomes a kind of action. Even the steady one's action bears the fruit of holding back.
Ashtavakra, to King Janaka
Word meanings and a note for this verse are still being written. Read it in context on the chapter 18 page, or start with the verses in where to begin.
Chapter 18, Peace in a hundred verses: The longest chapter, a third of the text, contrasting the confused who strive with the steady who are already at rest.
Read all 100 verses in this chapter →Seven mornings of short readings from the Bhagavad Gita, chosen for what you're going through, by email.
Send my week