śarīra-vāṅ-manobhir yat
karma prārabhate naraḥ
nyāyyaṁ vā viparītaṁ vā
pañcaite tasya hetavaḥ
karma prārabhate naraḥ
nyāyyaṁ vā viparītaṁ vā
pañcaite tasya hetavaḥ
Synonyms
śarīra-body; vāk-speech; manobhiḥ-by the mind; yat-anything; karma-work; prārabhate-begins; naraḥ-a person; nyāyyam-right; vā-or; viparītam-the opposite; vā-or; pañca-five; ete-all these; tasya-its; hetavaḥ-causes.
Translation
Whatever right or wrong action a man performs by body, mind or speech is caused by these five factors.
Purport
The words "right" and "wrong" are very significant in this verse. Right work is work done in terms of the prescribed directions in the scriptures, and wrong work is work done against the principles of the scriptural injunctions. But whatever is done requires these five factors for its complete performance.