अर्जुन उवाच |
arjuna uvāca |
Arjuna asks Krishna to decisively clarify which path is truly superior — the renunciation of all actions (sannyasa) or the disciplined performance of action (karma yoga) — since Krishna seems to praise both.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
Krishna declares that both renunciation of action and the yoga of selfless action lead to the highest good, but of the two, the yoga of action is superior because it is more practical and accessible.
ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति |
jñeyaḥ sa nityasannyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati |
The true renunciate is not one who has abandoned action, but one who neither hates nor desires. Free from the dualities of like and dislike, such a person is easily liberated from bondage.
साङ्ख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः |
sāṅkhyayogau pṛthagbālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ |
Only the immature say that the path of knowledge (Sankhya) and the path of selfless action (Yoga) are different. The wise know that one who is truly established in either path obtains the fruit of both.
यत्साङ्ख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते |
yatsāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṃ tadyogairapi gamyate |
The state attained by those who follow the path of knowledge is also reached by those who follow the path of action. One who sees that knowledge and action are one — that person truly sees.
संन्यासस्तु महाबाहो दुःखमाप्तुमयोगतः |
sannyāsastu mahābāho duḥkhamāptumayogataḥ |
Renunciation without the discipline of yoga is difficult to achieve and leads to suffering. But the sage established in yoga — selfless action — attains Brahman quickly.
योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रियः |
yogayukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ |
One who is disciplined in yoga, pure of heart, master of the self and senses, and who realizes the Self in all beings — such a person is not tainted by action even while acting.
नैव किञ्चित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित् |
naiva kiñcitkaromīti yukto manyeta tattvavit |
The knower of truth, established in yoga, understands 'I do nothing at all' — even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, and breathing.
प्रलपन्विसृजन्गृह्णन्नुन्मिषन्निमिषन्नपि |
pralapanvisṛjangṛhṇannunmiṣannimiṣannapi |
Speaking, letting go, grasping, opening and closing the eyes — the wise person holds firmly to the understanding that it is merely the senses interacting with their objects, and the Self remains uninvolved.
ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः |
brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ |
One who dedicates all actions to Brahman (the Supreme) and acts without attachment is not touched by sin, just as a lotus leaf is never wetted by water.
कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि |
kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalairindriyairapi |
Yogis perform action through the body, mind, intellect, and senses alone — abandoning all attachment — solely for the purpose of self-purification.
युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम् |
yuktaḥ karmaphalaṃ tyaktvā śāntimāpnoti naiṣṭhikīm |
The disciplined person, renouncing the fruits of action, attains lasting peace. The undisciplined one, driven by desire and attached to results, remains bound.
सर्वकर्माणि मनसा संन्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी |
sarvakarmāṇi manasā sannyasyāste sukhaṃ vaśī |
The embodied being who has mastered the self, mentally renouncing all actions, dwells happily in the city of nine gates (the body) — neither acting nor causing action.
न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभुः |
na kartṛtvaṃ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ |
The Lord does not create agency, actions, or the connection between action and its fruit for people. It is their own nature (svabhava) that drives them to act.
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः |
nādatte kasyacitpāpaṃ na caiva sukṛtaṃ vibhuḥ |
The all-pervading Lord accepts neither the sin nor the merit of anyone. Knowledge is covered by ignorance, and because of that, beings are deluded.
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः |
jñānena tu tadajñānaṃ yeṣāṃ nāśitamātmanaḥ |
But for those whose ignorance of the Self is destroyed by knowledge, that knowledge, like the sun, illuminates the Supreme Truth.
तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः |
tadbuddhayastadātmānastanniṣṭhāstatparāyaṇāḥ |
Those whose intellect is absorbed in That, whose self is identified with That, who are firmly established in That, and whose supreme goal is That — their impurities washed away by knowledge, they reach the state from which there is no return.
विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि |
vidyāvinayasampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini |
The truly wise see with equal vision a learned and humble brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste — they perceive the same divine Self in all beings.
इहैव तैर्जितः सर्गो येषां साम्ये स्थितं मनः |
ihaiva tairjitaḥ sargo yeṣāṃ sāmye sthitaṃ manaḥ |
Even here in this world, those whose minds rest in equality have conquered creation. Brahman is flawless and equal; therefore, they are established in Brahman.
न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम् |
na prahṛṣyetpriyaṃ prāpya nodvijetprāpya cāpriyam |
One should not rejoice upon gaining what is pleasant, nor be disturbed upon encountering what is unpleasant. With steady intellect, free from delusion, the knower of Brahman is established in Brahman.
बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम् |
bāhyasparśeṣvasaktātmā vindatyātmani yatsukham |
One whose self is unattached to external contacts discovers the happiness that is within the Self. Such a person, united with Brahman through yoga, enjoys imperishable bliss.
ये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते |
ye hi saṃsparśajā bhogā duḥkhayonaya eva te |
The pleasures born of sensory contact are themselves the wombs of suffering, for they have a beginning and an end. The wise person does not delight in them, O son of Kunti.
शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात् |
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṃ prākśarīravimokṣaṇāt |
One who is able to withstand, here in this body before death, the impulse arising from desire and anger — that person is a yogi, that person is truly happy.
योऽन्तःसुखोऽन्तरारामस्तथान्तर्ज्योतिरेव यः |
yo'ntaḥsukho'ntarārāmastathāntarjyotireva yaḥ |
One whose happiness is within, whose delight is within, and whose light is within — that yogi, having become Brahman, attains the bliss of Brahman (brahma-nirvana).
लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः |
labhante brahmanirvāṇamṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇakalmaṣāḥ |
The sages whose impurities are destroyed, whose doubts are cut asunder, who are self-controlled, and who rejoice in the welfare of all beings — they attain the bliss of Brahman.
कामक्रोधवियुक्तानां यतीनां यतचेतसाम् |
kāmakrodhaviyuktānāṃ yatīnāṃ yatacetasām |
For the self-controlled ascetics who are free from desire and anger, who have mastered their minds and realized the Self — the bliss of Brahman exists everywhere, all around them.
स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवोः |
sparśānkṛtvā bahirbāhyāṃścakṣuścaivāntare bhruvoḥ |
Shutting out all external contacts, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, and equalizing the inward and outward breaths flowing through the nostrils —
यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिर्मुनिर्मोक्षपरायणः |
yatendriyamanobuddhirmunirmokṣaparāyaṇaḥ |
The sage whose senses, mind, and intellect are controlled, who is dedicated to liberation, and from whom desire, fear, and anger have departed — such a person is forever free.
भोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् |
bhoktāraṃ yajñatapasāṃ sarvalokamaheśvaram |
Knowing Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, the great Lord of all worlds, and the friend of all beings — one attains peace.