Ashtavakra Gita 18.64Chapter 18, Verse 64
Ashtavakra Gita 18.64 is a verse from chapter 18 (Peace in a hundred verses). The sage Ashtavakra speaks it to King Janaka. In plain English it says: "The sage who acts like a child, without desire in anything he begins, is pure, and is not stained even by the work he does."
सर्वारम्भेषु निष्कामो यश्चरेद् बालवन् मुनिः ।न लेपस्तस्य शुद्धस्य क्रियमाणेऽपि कर्मणि ॥
sarvārambheṣu niṣkāmo yaścared bālavan muniḥ |na lepastasya śuddhasya kriyamāṇe'pi karmaṇi ||
The sage who acts like a child, without desire in anything he begins, is pure, and is not stained even by the work he does.
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.
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