Bhagavad Gita 18.17
यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते।हत्वापि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते॥
yasya nāhankṛito bhāvo buddhir yasya na lipyate hatvā ‘pi sa imāl lokān na hanti na nibadhyate
Translation
He who is free from the egoistic notion, whose Reason is not affected, though he slay these peoples, he slayeth not, nor is bound.
What it means
Who is free of the notion "I am the doer," whose understanding is untainted: though such a one slay these people, they do not slay, nor are bound. Action without ownership leaves no residue. This is said to one about to fight, and it turns on the purity of motive, not on permission to harm.
Try this today
The chapter's hardest verse: action without the I-claim leaves no moral residue - the logic Arjuna's situation demands.
Something to reflect on
Can I act hard without the I-claim - and what in me insists on the signature?
Read it in Yathora