ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः ।लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ॥
brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ |lipyate na sa pāpena padmapatramivāmbhasā ||
One who acts, offering their actions to Brahman and giving up attachment, is not touched by wrong, just as a lotus leaf is not touched by water.
Explanation
Krishna is explaining to Arjuna how a person can stay fully active in the world and still remain inwardly free. Such a person acts without attachment (saṅga) and places their actions in Brahman, the ultimate reality, so wrong (pāpa) does not cling to them, just as water slides off a lotus leaf. Commentators differ on whether Brahman here means the Supreme Being to whom actions are dedicated, or the universal reality or nature in which all action takes place.