शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ॥ ३१ ॥
anāditvānnirguṇatvātparamātmā’yamavyayaḥ .
śarīrastho’pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate .. 31 ..
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The Self has no beginning, no cause. That which has a cause perishes by itself, whereas This (Self) does not perish, because, as having no cause, He is without parts. Further, He does not perish because He is without qualities; for that which has qualities perishes by loss of qualities; whereas the Self does not perish, because He is devoid of qualities. Thus the Supreme Self imperishable. He suffers no destruction. Therefore, though dwelling in the body,—the Self is said to dwell in the body because the Self is manifested in the body,—yet He does not act. Because He does not act, He is not affected by the results of acts. The meaning is this:—He that is an agent is affected by the fruit of the act; but this (the Self) is a non-agent and is therefore not tainted by the fruit of action.
(Objection):—Who, then, in the bodies acts and is tainted? If, on the one hand, an embodied self, distinct from the Supreme Self, acts and is tainted, then the identity of Kṣetrajña with the Īśvara spoken of in such places as xiii. 2 would be inexplicable. If, on the other hand, there be no embodied self distinct from the Īśvara, then tell me who acts and is tainted: or say that the Īśvara is not Supreme.* On the ground that the doctrine or the Upaniṣads taught by the Lord is thus in every way difficult to understand and difficult to explain, it has been abandoned by the Vaiśeṣikas, as well as by the Sāṅkhyas, the Arhatas, and the Buddhists.
If the Isvara be the doer and enjoyer, He is no longer the Isvara, any more than ourselves—A.
(Answer):—As regards this objection, the following answer† has been afforded by the Lord Himself.—“It is Nature that acts” (v. 14). The idea that there is one who acts and is tainted is a mere illusion (avidya) and nothing else. Action does not really exist in the One Supreme Self. It has, for this very reason, been pointed out by the Lord here and there that there is no necessity of performing works (karma) for those devotees of Wisdom, for the order of Paramahamsa-Parivrajakas, who adhere to this doctrine of Supreme Truth (Paramartha-Sāṅkhya-darsana) and have risen above avidya and vyavahara, nescience and all experience (due to avidya).
The answer is this : The Supreme is in reality neither the doer nor the enjoyer. Agency and enjoyment are attributed to Him by avidya. Therefore the Lord’s teaching should be accepted as true.—A.
Like what does He not act, like what is he not tainted?—Here follows the illustration :