अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः । शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ॥
anāditvānnirguṇatvātparamātmāyamavyayaḥ | śarīrastho'pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate ||
Translation
Being without beginning and free from the gunas, this imperishable supreme Self, O son of Kunti — even dwelling in the body, neither acts nor is tainted.
Interpretation
The supreme Self's complete transcendence: anadivat (being without beginning), nirgunatvat (being free from the gunas — not subject to the three qualities of material nature), avyayah (imperishable). And the key paradox: sharirastho'pi (even while dwelling in the body) — na karoti (it does not act) and na lipyate (it is not tainted). The Self is in the body but not of it, as space is in a pot but not enclosed by it. When one truly knows this — that the Self within has never acted, never been tainted — liberation is immediate.