न मे पार्थास्ति कर्तव्यं त्रिषु लोकेषु किञ्चन | नानवाप्तमवाप्तव्यं वर्त एव च कर्मणि || २२ ||
na me pārthāsti kartavyaṁ triṣu lokeṣu kiñcana nānavāptam avāptavyaṁ varta eva ca karmaṇi
na—not; me—Mine; pārtha—O son of Pritha; asti—there is; kartavyam—duty; triṣu—in the three; lokeṣu—planetary systems; kiñcana—any; na—nothing; anavāptam—wanted; avāptavyam—to be gained; varte—I am engaged; eva—certainly; ca—also; karmaṇi—in prescribed duty.
“O Partha, there is nothing in the three worlds that I need to do, nor is there anything unattained that I need to attain. Yet I engage in action.”
Krishna, as the Supreme Person, has no unfulfilled desire or obligation, yet He acts — maintaining the cosmic order, appearing in the world, engaging with devotees. This is the acme of lila (divine play) — action without any trace of personal motivation. The Lord acts purely out of love and for the protection of the devotees. This is the ultimate model for nishkama karma.
When you feel that your actions must yield personal results to be worth doing, recall this verse. The Lord of all creation acts with no personal agenda. This invites you to examine whether there is a form of service or creativity you have avoided because it offered no personal gain — and to try engaging with it purely for its own sake.