Gurun ahatvahi mahanubhavan shreyo bhoktum bhaikshyam apiha loke hatvartha-kamams tu gurun ihaiva bhunjiya bhoga rudhira-pradigdhan
Arjuna says it is better to live as a beggar than to kill his noble teachers who are his elders and guides. Even if they are covetous of wealth, killing them would stain all enjoyments with their blood. He weighs worldly gain against moral purity and chooses renunciation over violence.
- •Moral integrity is worth more than worldly gain
- •Killing one's teachers is a grave spiritual transgression
- •Renunciation of ill-gotten gains is honorable
Kamatmanah svarga-para janma-karma-phala-pradam kriya-vishesha-bahulam bhogaishvarya-gatim prati
Being full of desires and intent on heavenly enjoyment, they prescribe many elaborate rituals that promise birth, good actions, and various results aimed at enjoyment and power. Such a materialistic approach to religion keeps the soul bound to the cycle of birth, enjoyment, and death without achieving true liberation.
- •Desire-driven religious practice keeps the soul in bondage
- •Seeking pleasure and power through religion is a spiritual trap
- •True dharma transcends the pursuit of worldly and heavenly rewards
Karma-jam buddhi-yukta hi phalam tyaktva manisinah janma-bandha-vinirmuktah padam gacchanty anamayam
By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries. Renouncing the fruits of karma through wisdom-yoga, the wise transcend the cycle of rebirth.
- •Renunciation of karmic fruits leads to liberation from rebirth
- •Action without attachment purifies the soul
- •The path of wisdom-karma leads to the state beyond all suffering
Vihaya kaman yah sarvan pumams carati nihsprhah, nirmamo nirahankarah sa shantim adhigacchati
That person who gives up all material desires and lives free from a sense of possessiveness, proprietorship, and egotism, attains perfect peace.
- •Renounce attachment to desires
- •Let go of ego and ownership
- •True peace comes from detachment
Na karmanam anarambhan naishkarmyam purusho 'shnute, na ca sannyasanad eva siddhim samadhigacchati
Not by abstaining from action does one attain freedom from action. Nor by mere renunciation does one attain perfection.
- •Action is necessary for spiritual growth
- •Renunciation doesn't mean inaction
- •Work intelligently, don't avoid it
Karmendriyani samyamya ya aste manasa smaran, indriyarthan vimudhatma mithyacarah sa ucyate
One who restrains the organs of action but mentally dwells on sense objects is a hypocrite and is called a false renunciant. True renunciation requires inner detachment, not merely outward restraint.
- •Outward restraint without inner detachment is hypocrisy
- •The mind must also be withdrawn, not just the body
- •Authentic practice requires alignment of action and intention
Nirasir yata-cittatma tyakta-sarva-parigrahah, shariram kevalam karma kurvan napnoti kilbisham
Without hope or possessiveness, with the mind and self under control, abandoning all acquisitiveness, performing action through the body alone — such a person incurs no sin.
- •Performing only what the body must, without claiming ownership, is pure
- •Renunciation of possessiveness removes the stain from action
- •Control of mind and body together constitutes complete action
Arjuna uvaca: Sannyasam karmanam krishna punar yogam ca shamsasi, yac chreya etayor ekam tan me bruhi su-nishchitam
Arjuna asks Krishna to clarify definitively which is better — renunciation of action or the performance of action with devotion — since Krishna seems to praise both. This opening question frames the entire chapter's inquiry into true sannyasa versus karma yoga.
- •Sincere inquiry is the beginning of wisdom
- •Apparent contradictions in spiritual teaching invite deeper reflection
- •The student must seek clarity rather than remain confused
Jneyah sa nitya-sannyasi yo na dveshti na kankshaති, nirdvandvo hi maha-baho sukham bandhat pramucyate
That person is a true renunciant who neither hates nor desires. Free from all dualities, such a person is easily liberated from bondage.
- •True renunciation is mental, not physical
- •Freedom from attraction and aversion
- •Liberation through equanimity
Sannyasas tu maha-baho duhkham aptum ayogatah, yoga-yukto munir brahma na cirenadhigacchati
True renunciation is difficult to attain without the discipline of yoga; the sage who is united in yoga reaches Brahman without delay. Renunciation without inner purification through practice is painful and fruitless.
- •External renunciation without inner yoga is burdensome
- •Yoga prepares the mind for genuine renunciation
- •The yogi attains Brahman swiftly through disciplined practice
Yuktah karma-phalam tyaktva shantim apnoti naishthikim, ayuktah kama-karena phale sakto nibadhyate
The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace by renouncing the fruits of action, whereas the unsteady soul is bound by desire for rewards.
- •Peace comes from renouncing outcomes
- •Attachment to results creates bondage
- •Steady practice leads to liberation
Shreyo hi jnanam abhyasaj jnanad dhyanam vishishyate, dhyanat karma-phala-tyagas tyagac chantir anantaram
If you cannot practice knowledge, then devote yourself to meditation. Better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for peace immediately follows such renunciation.
- •Hierarchy of spiritual practices
- •Renunciation of fruits brings peace
- •Multiple paths to the same goal
Anapekṣhaḥ śhuchir dakṣha udāsīno gata-vyathaḥ, sarvārambha-parityāgī yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
Free from wants, pure, expert, without cares, untroubled, and renouncing all undertakings—such devotees are very dear to Me.
- •Freedom from desires and worries
- •Purity and expertise combined
- •Let go of personal agendas
Manapamanayos tulyas tulyo mitrari-pakshayoh, sarvarambha-parityagi gunatatita uchyate
One who treats honor and dishonor equally, who is equal toward friend and enemy, and who has renounced all material activities — such a person is said to have transcended the three gunas. Complete equanimity across all social and material distinctions defines the guna-transcendent state.
- •Equal treatment of honor and dishonor marks transcendence
- •Seeing friend and enemy alike is a sign of liberation
- •Renunciation of all material undertakings completes the picture
arjuna uvaca: sannyasasya maha-baho tattvamicchhami veditum tyagasya ca hrishikesa prithak keshi-nisudana
Arjuna asks Krishna to explain the difference between sannyasa (renunciation of action) and tyaga (renunciation of the fruits of action). This opening question sets the stage for the final chapter's comprehensive teaching on liberation.
- •Arjuna sincerely seeks clarity on two distinct paths of renunciation
- •The distinction between sannyasa and tyaga is philosophically significant
- •Genuine inquiry is the gateway to spiritual wisdom
na hi deha-bhrita sakyam tyaktum karmany asesatah yas tu karma-phala-tyagi sa tyagity abhidhiyate
It is impossible for an embodied being to completely give up all action. Therefore, one who renounces the fruits of action is truly called a renunciant. The path of fruit-renunciation is accessible to everyone living in a body.
- •Complete cessation of action is impossible for an embodied soul
- •True renunciation means giving up attachment to fruits, not abandoning action itself
- •Karma-phala-tyaga is the practical and attainable form of renunciation
anistam istam misram ca tri-vidham karmanah phalam bhavaty atyaginam pretya na tu sannyasinam kvacit
After death, those who are not renunciants receive the threefold fruits of their actions — the undesirable, the desirable, and the mixed. But for true renunciants who have given up attachment to fruits, no such fruits arise at all.
- •Non-renunciants face threefold karmic consequences after death
- •The three fruits are undesirable, desirable, and mixed outcomes
- •True renunciants are liberated from karmic fruition entirely
Asakta-buddhih sarvatra jitatma vigata-sprihah, naishkarmya-siddhim paramam sannyasenadhigacchati
Those whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who have mastered the self and are free from desires, attain through renunciation the supreme state of freedom from action.
- •Complete detachment from outcomes
- •Self-mastery and desirelessness
- •Ultimate freedom through renunciation
buddhya visuddhaya yukto dhritya 'tmanam niyamya ca sabdadin visayams tyaktva raga-dvesau vyudasya ca
United with pure intellect, firmly controlling oneself with steadiness, abandoning the objects of sound and other senses, casting aside attraction and repulsion — this begins the description of the qualifications for attaining Brahman.
- •Pure intellect and self-control are prerequisites for Brahman-realization
- •Abandonment of sense objects and sense-attachment is essential for the highest state
- •The deliberate casting aside of raga and dvesha clears the path to liberation