Khushal Jethava Gita Gyan · Chapter 5 of 18
कर्मसंन्यासयोग
The Yoga of Renunciation · 29 verses
Arjuna asks again: renounce action, or act? Krishna says both lead to freedom, but acting without attachment is better, and in truth they are one. The one who acts this way lives in the body like a calm resident of a city of nine gates, sees all beings with an equal eye, and stays untouched, like a lotus leaf that water cannot wet.
Verses 5.1–5.6
Arjuna wants one clear answer: renounce, or act? Krishna says both lead to the highest good, but acting without attachment is better, and only children call the two different. Whoever sees them as one, sees (5.5).
Arjuna said
संन्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि।
यच्छ्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम् ॥
saṃnyāsaṃ karmaṇāṃ kṛṣṇa punaryogaṃ ca śaṃsasi
yacchreya etayorekaṃ tanme brūhi suniścitam
Krishna, you praise the renunciation of action, and then again its disciplined practice. Tell me decisively which one of the two is better.
Krishna said
संन्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ।
तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात्कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते ॥
saṃnyāsaḥ karmayogaśca niḥśreyasakarāvubhau
tayostu karmasaṃnyāsātkarmayogo viśiṣyate
Renunciation and the yoga of action both lead to the highest good, but of the two, the yoga of action is better than renouncing action.
ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति।
निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ॥
jñeyaḥ sa nityasaṃnyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati
nirdvandvo hi mahābāho sukhaṃ bandhātpramucyate
Know as a true renunciate the one who neither hates nor craves. Free from the pairs of opposites, mighty-armed, such a person is easily set free from bondage.
सांख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः।
एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम् ॥
sāṃkhyayogau pṛthagbālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ
ekamapyāsthitaḥ samyagubhayorvindate phalam
Children, not the wise, speak of Sankhya and Yoga as different. Whoever is truly established in even one of them gains the fruit of both.
यत्सांख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते।
एकं सांख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स पश्यति ॥
yatsāṃkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṃ tadyogairapi gamyate
ekaṃ sāṃkhyaṃ ca yogaṃ ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
The state reached by the followers of Sankhya is reached by the yogis too. Whoever sees Sankhya and Yoga as one truly sees.
संन्यासस्तु महाबाहो दुःखमाप्तुमयोगतः।
योगयुक्तो मुनिर्ब्रह्म नचिरेणाधिगच्छति ॥
saṃnyāsastu mahābāho duḥkhamāptumayogataḥ
yogayukto munirbrahma nacireṇādhigacchati
But renunciation, mighty-armed, is hard to attain without yoga. The sage disciplined in yoga reaches Brahman before long.
Verses 5.7–5.13
The yogi sees, hears, eats, walks and breathes, and knows it is only the senses moving among their objects. Offering everything, they stay unstained like a lotus leaf on water, and rest in the body like a calm resident of a city with nine gates.
योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रियः।
सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते ॥
yogayukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ
sarvabhūtātmabhūtātmā kurvannapi na lipyate
Disciplined in yoga, pure in heart, master of self and senses, whose self has become the self of all beings: such a person is not stained even while acting.
नैव किंचित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित्।
पश्यन् श्रृणवन्स्पृशञ्जिघ्रन्नश्नन्गच्छन्स्वपन् श्वसन् ॥
naiva kiṃcitkaromīti yukto manyeta tattvavit
paśyan śrṛṇavanspṛśañjighrannaśnangacchansvapan śvasan
"I do nothing at all," thinks the disciplined one who knows the truth, while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing,
प्रलपन्विसृजन्गृह्णन्नुन्मिषन्निमिषन्नपि।
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेषु वर्तन्त इति धारयन् ॥
pralapanvisṛjangṛhṇannunmiṣannimiṣannapi
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu vartanta iti dhārayan
speaking, letting go, grasping, opening and closing the eyes, holding firmly that it is only the senses moving among their objects.
ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः।
लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ॥
brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ
lipyate na sa pāpena padmapatramivāmbhasā
Whoever acts offering every action to Brahman, letting go of attachment, is not stained by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not wetted by water.
कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि।
योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वाऽऽत्मशुद्धये ॥
kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalairindriyairapi
yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṃ tyaktvā''tmaśuddhaye
Yogis act with body, mind and intellect, even with the senses alone, letting go of attachment, to purify the self.
युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम्।
अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते ॥
yuktaḥ karmaphalaṃ tyaktvā śāntimāpnoti naiṣṭhikīm
ayuktaḥ kāmakāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate
The disciplined one, giving up the fruit of action, reaches lasting peace; the undisciplined, driven by desire and attached to the fruit, is bound.
सर्वकर्माणि मनसा संन्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी।
नवद्वारे पुरे देही नैव कुर्वन्न कारयन् ॥
sarvakarmāṇi manasā saṃnyasyāste sukhaṃ vaśī
navadvāre pure dehī naiva kurvanna kārayan
Renouncing all actions with the mind, the self-controlled embodied one rests happily in the city of nine gates, neither acting nor causing action.
Verses 5.14–5.17
The Lord does not hand out credit or blame; nature does the acting. Knowledge is only covered by ignorance, like a sun in eclipse, and when ignorance is removed, knowledge shines like the sun and lights up the Supreme.
न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभुः।
न कर्मफलसंयोगं स्वभावस्तु प्रवर्तते ॥
na kartṛtvaṃ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ
na karmaphalasaṃyogaṃ svabhāvastu pravartate
The Lord does not create agency or actions for the world, nor the link between action and its fruit; it is one's own nature that carries these on.
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः।
अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः ॥
nādatte kasyacitpāpaṃ na caiva sukṛtaṃ vibhuḥ
ajñānenāvṛtaṃ jñānaṃ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ
The all-pervading one takes on no one's sin or merit. Knowledge is covered by ignorance, and so beings are deluded.
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः।
तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम् ॥
jñānena tu tadajñānaṃ yeṣāṃ nāśitamātmanaḥ
teṣāmādityavajjñānaṃ prakāśayati tatparam
But for those whose ignorance is destroyed by knowledge of the Self, that knowledge, like the sun, lights up the Supreme.
तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः।
गच्छन्त्यपुनरावृत्तिं ज्ञाननिर्धूतकल्मषाः ॥
tadbuddhayastadātmānastanniṣṭhāstatparāyaṇāḥ
gacchantyapunarāvṛttiṃ jñānanirdhūtakalmaṣāḥ
Minds fixed on That, their self one with That, established in That and devoted to That, their impurities shaken off by knowledge, they go where there is no return.
Verses 5.18–5.23
The wise see the same in a learned brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste (5.18). Unmoved by pleasant and unpleasant, they find a happiness within that outer pleasures, which begin and end, can never give.
विद्याविनयसंपन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि।
शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः ॥
vidyāvinayasaṃpanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śvapāke ca paṇḍitāḥ samadarśinaḥ
The wise see with an equal eye a learned and humble brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog and one who eats dogs.
इहैव तैर्जितः सर्गो येषां साम्ये स्थितं मनः।
निर्दोषं हि समं ब्रह्म तस्माद्ब्रह्मणि ते स्थिताः ॥
ihaiva tairjitaḥ sargo yeṣāṃ sāmye sthitaṃ manaḥ
nirdoṣaṃ hi samaṃ brahma tasmādbrahmaṇi te sthitāḥ
Even here, birth and death are conquered by those whose minds rest in equality. Brahman is flawless and the same in all, so they rest in Brahman.
न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम्।
स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद्ब्रह्मणि स्थितः ॥
na prahṛṣyetpriyaṃ prāpya nodvijetprāpya cāpriyam
sthirabuddhirasammūḍho brahmavidbrahmaṇi sthitaḥ
Not elated at getting what is pleasant, not shaken at getting what is unpleasant, steady in understanding and undeluded, the knower of Brahman rests in Brahman.
बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम्।
स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते ॥
bāhyasparśeṣvasaktātmā vindatyātmani yatsukham
sa brahmayogayuktātmā sukhamakṣayamaśnute
Unattached to outer contacts, one finds the happiness that is in the Self; joined to Brahman through yoga, one enjoys a happiness that never ends.
ये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते।
आद्यन्तवन्तः कौन्तेय न तेषु रमते बुधः ॥
ye hi saṃsparśajā bhogā duḥkhayonaya eva te
ādyantavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ
Pleasures born of contact are wombs of sorrow; they have a beginning and an end, son of Kunti. The wise do not delight in them.
शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात्।
कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः ॥
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṃ prākśarīravimokṣaṇāt
kāmakrodhodbhavaṃ vegaṃ sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ
Whoever, here, before leaving the body, can withstand the surge of desire and anger is disciplined; that person is happy.
Verses 5.24–5.29
Happy within, delighting within, lit from within: such a one reaches the peace of Brahman. Krishna gives a first glimpse of meditation, shutting out outer contacts, gaze between the brows, the breath made even, and the next chapter takes it further.
योऽन्तःसुखोऽन्तरारामस्तथान्तर्ज्योतिरेव यः।
स योगी ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं ब्रह्मभूतोऽधिगच्छति ॥
yo'ntaḥsukho'ntarārāmastathāntarjyotireva yaḥ
sa yogī brahmanirvāṇaṃ brahmabhūto'dhigacchati
Whoever is happy within, delights within and is lit from within, that yogi, one with Brahman, reaches the peace of Brahman (brahma-nirvana).
लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः।
छिन्नद्वैधा यतात्मानः सर्वभूतहिते रताः ॥
labhante brahmanirvāṇamṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇakalmaṣāḥ
chinnadvaidhā yatātmānaḥ sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ
Sages whose impurities are worn away, whose doubts are cut, who are self-controlled and delight in the good of all beings, attain the peace of Brahman.
कामक्रोधवियुक्तानां यतीनां यतचेतसाम्।
अभितो ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं वर्तते विदितात्मनाम् ॥
kāmakrodhaviyuktānāṃ yatīnāṃ yatacetasām
abhito brahmanirvāṇaṃ vartate viditātmanām
For ascetics free from desire and anger, minds controlled, who know the Self, the peace of Brahman is near on every side.
स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः।
प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ ॥
sparśānkṛtvā bahirbāhyāṃścakṣuścaivāntare bhruvoḥ
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantaracāriṇau
Shutting out outer contacts, fixing the gaze between the brows, making the in-breath and out-breath even as they move within the nostrils,
यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिर्मुनिर्मोक्षपरायणः।
विगतेच्छाभयक्रोधो यः सदा मुक्त एव सः ॥
yatendriyamanobuddhirmunirmokṣaparāyaṇaḥ
vigatecchābhayakrodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ
senses, mind and intellect controlled, intent on freedom, with desire, fear and anger gone: that sage is free forever.
भोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम्।
सुहृदं सर्वभूतानां ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिमृच्छति ॥
bhoktāraṃ yajñatapasāṃ sarvalokamaheśvaram
suhṛdaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ jñātvā māṃ śāntimṛcchati
Knowing me as the enjoyer of sacrifices and austerities, the great lord of all the worlds and the friend of all beings, one attains peace.