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BG 13.30 — 13.30 He sees, who sees that all actions are performed by Nature alone and that the Self is actionless.
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प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः |
यः पश्यति तथात्मानमकर्तारं स पश्यति ||१३-३०||

prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ . yaḥ paśyati tathātmānamakartāraṃ sa paśyati ||13-30||


13.30 He sees, who sees that all actions are performed by Nature alone and that the Self is actionless.

Word-by-word meanings

13.30 प्रकृत्या by Nature? एव alone? च and? कर्माणि actions? क्रियमाणानि being performed? सर्वशः all? यः who? पश्यति sees? तथा so also? आत्मानम् the Self? अकर्तारम् actionless? सः he? पश्यति sees.Commentary Nature is responsible for all activities. The Self is beyond all action. It is the silent witness only. He who experiences thus is the real seer or sage.He who knows that all actions proceeding from the five organs of knowledge? the five organs of action? the mind and the intellect are prompt

Commentaries

Non-dualism. The individual self and Brahman are one. The world is appearance (maya). Liberation through knowledge.

Sri Shankaracharya

13.30 And yah, he who; pasyati, sees, realizes; karmani, actions, those performed through speech, mind and body; as kriyamanani, being done, being accomplished; sarvasah, in various ways; prakrtya, by Nature-Nature is God's Maya consisting of the three alities, as is said in the Upanisadic text, 'However, know Maya as Nature' (Sv. 4.10); by that Nature; eva, itself-not by the other [Not by the Pradhana of the Sankhyas, known otherwise as prakrti.] which transforms itself in the form of cause and effects such as Mahat etc.; tatha, and also; atmanam, the Self, the Knower of the field; as akartaram, the non-agent, devoid of all adjuncts; sah, he; pasyati, sees-he is the one who has realized the supreme Reality. This is the idea. What is implied is that there is no valid proof about differences in the Non-agent who is devoid of alities and is unconditioned like space. The Lord elaborates again in other words that very true knowledge:

(Showing excerpt)

Swami Gambirananda

13.30 And he who sees actions as being done in various ways by Nature itself, and also the Self as the non-agent,-he sees.

This interpretation draws on the Advaita tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

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