|| 4.41 ||

योगसंन्यस्तकर्माणं ज्ञानसंछिन्नसंशयम्। आत्मवन्तं न कर्माणि निबध्नन्ति धनञ्जय।।

yoga-sannyasta-karmāṇaṁ jñāna-sañchinna-saṁśayam ātmavantaṁ na karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañjaya

yoga (by devotional service) sannyasta (renounced) karmāṇam (whose work) jñāna (by knowledge) sañchinna (cut) saṁśayam (doubts) ātmavantam (situated in the self) na (never) karmāṇi (works) nibadhnanti (do bind) dhanañjaya (O winner of wealth)

One who acts in devotional service, renouncing the fruits of his actions, and whose doubts have been destroyed by transcendental knowledge, is situated factually in the self. Thus he is not bound by the reactions of work, O conqueror of riches.

Kṛṣṇa summarizes the formula for spiritual success. A person who uses yoga to renounce the fruits of their work, and who uses knowledge to cut through their doubts, becomes ‘ātmavantam’—fully situated in their true self. Such a person is never bound by their actions. This is the two-pronged approach: 1) Action without attachment (Yoga). 2) Wisdom that removes confusion (Jñāna). Together, they act like a pair of scissors that cuts the strings of karma. The person continues to work in the world, but they are internally free. They are the ‘winner of real wealth’ (‘Dhanañjaya’). Arjuna had both problems: he was attached to the results, and he was full of doubts. Kṛṣṇa has provided the cure for both. He is telling Arjuna that if he can just apply these two principles, he can fight the greatest war in history and still remain as untouched as a saint in a forest. Freedom is a matter of internal alignment.