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न कर्मणामनारम्भान्नैष्कर्म्यं पुरुषोऽश्नुते |
न च संन्यसनादेव सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति || 4||
One cannot attain freedom from the action by not initiating action, nor can one attain the perfection of knowledge by mere physical renunciation.
Bhagwan Shri Krishna highlights to Arjuna the paths taken by individuals to attain the ultimate truth: the first line refers to Karma Yoga and the second line points out to the Sankhya Yoga.
Bhagwan explains to Arjuna that an individual which abstains from the work or his rightful action, that individual can never reach a state of freedom from karmic reactions because even if one abstains from the action, it is hard for the mind to abstain from the thoughts of the action which leads to desires and attachments. This places them away from the path of freedom. Thus one must not only abstain from the action but with the help of the knowledge, one must abstain the mind from getting attached to fruition thoughts.
