A declaration · reflective in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“Ignorance, not action, is what keeps beings confused.”
The all-pervading one takes neither anyone's wrongdoing nor anyone's good deed. Knowledge is covered by ignorance, and that is why living beings are deluded.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallydoes not take · of anyone · wrongdoing · not · and · indeed · good deed · the all-pervading one · by ignorance · covered · knowledge · by that · are deluded · living beings
The divine does not collect anyone's good or bad actions. People get confused because ignorance covers their understanding.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (The Yoga of Renunciation).
Verse 15 sits in Chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita — Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "The Yoga of Renunciation". The chapter has 29 verses in total.
A businessman donates to a temple hoping it will cancel his bad dealings. Krishna says the Lord keeps no such ledger of good and bad deeds; the confusion comes from ignorance covering knowledge.
Did you like this verse?
The all-pervading Lord takes no one's sin or merit; ignorance covering knowledge is what deludes beings.
What this verse means
The divine does not collect anyone's good or bad actions. People get confused because ignorance covers their understanding.
Context & commentary
Krishna answers Arjuna on the battlefield, where duty feels impossible and every choice seems stained. He moves the focus from action itself to the ignorance that distorts understanding, showing why people stay confused about responsibility.
What it looks like today
A businessman donates to a temple hoping it will cancel his bad dealings. Krishna says the Lord keeps no such ledger of good and bad deeds; the confusion comes from ignorance covering knowledge.
“You are not trapped by what you did, but by what you fail to see.”
Explore related themes: jnana (24 verses), delusion (19 verses), karma phala (10 verses)