उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते ।गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येव योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते ॥
udāsīnavadāsīno guṇairyo na vicālyate |guṇā vartanta ityeva yo'vatiṣṭhati neṅgate ||
He who sits like one unconcerned and is not shaken by the gunas, who stands firm and does not waver, knowing that "it is only the gunas that are acting"…
Explanation
Arjuna has asked how one who has gone beyond the three gunas (guṇa, the qualities of nature: clarity, activity and inertia) lives and acts. Krishna describes such a person as seeming detached, like a bystander, because he sees that the gunas are what operate, and so he stays steady. Traditions differ on whether this means actions continue without a sense of doership, or that the person withdraws from action. The verse itself only describes inner steadiness.