Sārathi

Chapter 5 of 18

कर्मसंन्यासयोग Karma Sanyasa Yoga

Path of Renunciation. 29 verses.

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About this chapter

The fifth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is "Karma Sanyasa Yoga". In this chapter, Krishna compares the paths of renunciation in actions (Karma Sanyas) and actions with detachment (Karma Yoga) and explains that both are means to reach the same goal and we can choose either. A wise person should perform his/her worldly duties without attachment to the fruits of his/her actions and dedicate them to God. This way they remain unaffected by sin and eventually attain liberation.

  1. 5.1संन्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि।sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛiṣhṇa punar yogaṁ cha śhansasiArjuna said, "O Krishna, you praise renunciation of actions and also yoga. Please tell me conclusively which is better of the two."
  2. 5.2संन्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ।sannyāsaḥ karma-yogaśh cha niḥśhreyasa-karāvubhauThe Blessed Lord said, "Renunciation and the Yoga of action both lead to the highest bliss; but of the two, the Yoga of action is superior to the renunciation of action."
  3. 5.3ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति।jñeyaḥ sa nitya-sannyāsī yo na dveṣhṭi na kāṅkṣhatiHe should be known as a perpetual Sannyasi who neither hates nor desires; for, free from the pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he is easily freed from bondage.
  4. 5.4सांख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः।sānkhya-yogau pṛithag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥChildren, not the wise, speak of knowledge and the Yoga of action, or the performance of action, as though they are distinct and different; he who is truly established…
  5. 5.5यत्सांख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते।yat sānkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ tad yogair api gamyateThat place which is reached by the Sankhyas or the Jnanis is also reached by the Yogis (Karma Yogis). He who sees knowledge and the performance of action (Karma Yoga) as…
  6. 5.6संन्यासस्तु महाबाहो दुःखमाप्तुमयोगतः।sannyāsas tu mahā-bāho duḥkham āptum ayogataḥBut, O mighty-armed Arjuna, renunciation is hard to attain without Yoga; the sage who is in harmony with Yoga quickly goes to Brahman.
  7. 5.7योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रियः।yoga-yukto viśhuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥHe who is devoted to the path of action, whose mind is pure, who has conquered the self, who has subdued his senses, and who realizes his Self as the Self in all beings…
  8. 5.8नैव किंचित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित्।naiva kiñchit karomīti yukto manyeta tattva-vitI do nothing at all," thus would the harmonized knower of Truth think, seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, and breathing.
  9. 5.9प्रलपन्विसृजन्गृह्णन्नुन्मिषन्निमिषन्नपि।pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann unmiṣan nimiṣann api indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu vartanta iti dhārayanSpeaking, letting go, seizing, opening, and closing the eyes, one should be convinced that the senses move among the sense-objects.
  10. 5.10ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः।brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥHe who does actions, offering them to Brahman and abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not tainted by water.
  11. 5.11कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि।kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair apiYogis, having abandoned attachment, perform actions only through the body, mind, intellect, and even the senses, for the purification of the self.
  12. 5.12युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम्।yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā śhāntim āpnoti naiṣhṭhikīmThe one who is united (the well-poised or harmonized) having abandoned the fruit of action attains eternal peace; whereas the one who is not united (the unsteady or…
  13. 5.13सर्वकर्माणि मनसा संन्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी।sarva-karmāṇi manasā sannyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśhīMentally renouncing all actions and being self-controlled, the embodied one happily rests in the nine-gated city, neither acting nor causing others (body and senses) to…
  14. 5.14न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभुः।na kartṛitvaṁ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛijati prabhuḥNeither does the Lord create agency nor actions for the world, nor union with the fruits of actions; rather, it is Nature that acts.
  15. 5.15नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः।nādatte kasyachit pāpaṁ na chaiva sukṛitaṁ vibhuḥThe Lord takes neither the demerit nor the merit of any; knowledge is enveloped by ignorance, and beings are deluded.
  16. 5.16ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः।jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ yeṣhāṁ nāśhitam ātmanaḥBut to those whose ignorance is destroyed by knowledge of the Self, like the sun, knowledge reveals the Supreme Brahman.
  17. 5.17तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः।tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas tan-niṣhṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥTheir intellect absorbed in That, their self being That, established in That, with That as their supreme goal, they go whence there is no return, their sins dispelled by…
  18. 5.18विद्याविनयसंपन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि।vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastiniSages look with an equal eye on a Brahmana endowed with learning and humility, on a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste.
  19. 5.19इहैव तैर्जितः सर्गो येषां साम्ये स्थितं मनः।ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo yeṣhāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥEven here in this world, those whose minds rest in reality overcome birth; Brahman is indeed spotless and real; therefore they are established in Brahman.
  20. 5.20न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम्।na prahṛiṣhyet priyaṁ prāpya nodvijet prāpya chāpriyamResting in Brahman, with a steady intellect and undeluded, the knower of Brahman neither rejoices upon obtaining what is pleasant nor grieves upon obtaining what is…
  21. 5.21बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम्।bāhya-sparśheṣhvasaktātmā vindatyātmani yat sukhamWith the self unattached to external contacts, he finds happiness in the Self; with the self engaged in the meditation of Brahman, he attains endless happiness.
  22. 5.22ये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते।ye hi sansparśha-jā bhogā duḥkha-yonaya eva teThe enjoyments that arise from contact are only sources of pain, for they have a beginning and an end, O Arjuna; the wise do not rejoice in them.
  23. 5.23शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात्।śhaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ prāk śharīra-vimokṣhaṇātHe who is able, while still here in this world, to withstand the impulse born out of desire and anger before the liberation from the body, he is a Yogi, and he is a…
  24. 5.24योऽन्तःसुखोऽन्तरारामस्तथान्तर्ज्योतिरेव यः।yo 'ntaḥ-sukho 'ntar-ārāmas tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥHe who is happy within, who rejoices within, and who is illuminated within, that Yogi attains absolute freedom, or Moksha, becoming Brahman himself.
  25. 5.25लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः।labhante brahma-nirvāṇam ṛiṣhayaḥ kṣhīṇa-kalmaṣhāḥThe sages obtain absolute freedom or Moksha when their sins have been destroyed, their dualities have been torn asunder, they are self-controlled, and they are intent on…
  26. 5.26कामक्रोधवियुक्तानां यतीनां यतचेतसाम्।kāma-krodha-viyuktānāṁ yatīnāṁ yata-chetasāmAbsolute freedom exists on all sides for those self-controlled ascetics who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thoughts, and who have realized the…
  27. 5.27स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः।sparśhān kṛitvā bahir bāhyānśh chakṣhuśh chaivāntare bhruvoḥShutting out all external contacts and fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, realizing the outgoing and incoming breaths moving within the nostrils.
  28. 5.28यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिर्मुनिर्मोक्षपरायणः।yatendriya-mano-buddhir munir mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥWith the senses, mind, and intellect ever controlled, having liberation as their supreme goal, free from desire, fear, and anger, the sage is truly liberated forever.
  29. 5.29भोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम्।bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśhvaramHe who knows Me as the enjoyer of sacrifices and austerities, the great Lord of all the worlds, and the friend of all beings, attains peace.