Bhagvad Gita - Chapter: 18 Moksha Sannyasa Yogah

Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - The threefold fruit of action - disagreeable, agreeable and mixed - accrues after death to those who do not practice relinquishment, but never to renouncers.

अनिष्टमिष्टं मिश्रं च त्रिविधं कर्मण: फलम् |
भवत्यत्यागिनां प्रेत्य न तु सन्न्यासिनां क्वचित् ||12||

The threefold fruit of action - disagreeable, agreeable and mixed - accrues after death to those who do not practice relinquishment, but never to renouncers.

Aniṣṭam: Undesirable result.
Iṣṭaṃ: Desirable result.
Miśraṃ: Mixed result.
Pretya: After death.

Here Krishna reveals the consequences of action across lifetimes, introducing karma's threefold fruition. This establishes why renunciation of results is essential for liberation, connecting immediate practice with ultimate spiritual consequences.

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Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - Learn from Me, O mighty-armed one, these five factors for the accomplishment of all actions, as declared in the Sankhya which is the end of all actions.

पञ्चैतानि महाबाहो कारणानि निबोध मे |
साङ् ख्ये कृतान्ते प्रोक्तानि सिद्धये सर्वकर्मणाम् ||13||

Learn from Me, O mighty-armed one, these five factors for the accomplishment of all actions, as declared in the Sankhya which is the end of all actions.

Kāraṇāni: Factors or causes.
Sāṅkhye: In Sankhya philosophy.
Kṛtānte: In the conclusion.
Sarvakarmāṇām: Of all actions.

Krishna transitions to Sankhya philosophy's analysis of action, broadening his teaching beyond individual choice to the cosmic principles governing all activity. This analytical framework helps Arjuna understand action from an objective, metaphysical perspective.

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अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम् |
विविधाश्च पृथक्चेष्टा दैवं चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ||14||

The seat (body), the doer, the various instruments, the different kinds of efforts, and divine providence as the fifth.

Adhiṣṭhānaṃ: The seat/body.
Kartā: The doer.
Karaṇaṃ: The instruments.
Daivaṃ: Divine providence.

This verse outlines the five factors involved in every action, emphasizing that individuals are not the sole agents. By including divine providence (daivam), Krishna subtly introduces how cosmic order and individual will interact, addressing the paradox of free will and determinism.

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शरीरवाङ्मनोभिर्यत्कर्म प्रारभते नर: |
न्याय्यं वा विपरीतं वा पञ्चैते तस्य हेतव: ||15||

Whatever action a man performs with his body, speech, and mind, whether right or wrong, these five are its causes.

Śarīravāṅmanobhiḥ: By body, speech, mind.
Nyāyyaṃ: Righteous.
Viparītaṃ: Unrighteous.
Hetavaḥ: Causes.

Krishna extends the analysis to moral dimensions of action, showing that the same five factors operate regardless of whether actions are righteous or unrighteous. This objective framework helps Arjuna move beyond subjective judgment to a deeper understanding of causality.

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Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - Now, such being the case, he who through an untrained understanding looks upon his Self, which is isolated, as the doer, he, of perverted intelligence, does not see.

तत्रैवं सति कर्तारमात्मानं केवलं तु य: |
पश्यत्यकृतबुद्धित्वान्न स पश्यति दुर्मति: ||16||

Now, such being the case, he who through an untrained understanding looks upon his Self, which is isolated, as the doer, he, of perverted intelligence, does not see.

Akṛtabuddhitvāt: Through untrained intellect.
Durmatih: Of perverted intelligence.
Ātmānaṃ: The Self.
Kevalaṃ: Alone.

Krishna addresses the ego's misidentification as the sole doer of actions. This delusion forms the root of suffering, as one mistakenly claims absolute agency while ignoring the complex factors described earlier. True wisdom recognizes the interdependent nature of all action.

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Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - He whose nature is free from egotism, whose understanding is not tainted, though he slays these people, he slays not, nor is he bound.

यस्य नाहङ् कृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते |
हत्वाऽपि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते ||17||

He whose nature is free from egotism, whose understanding is not tainted, though he slays these people, he slays not, nor is he bound.

Ahaṅkṛto: Of egotism.
Bhāvo: State of being.
Lipyate: Gets tainted.
Nibadhyate: Gets bound.

This verse contains one of the Gita's most profound paradoxes: one who acts without ego-identification is actually not acting at all. The enlightened warrior can fulfill his duty without accruing karma, resolving Arjuna's dilemma about the morality of warfare.

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Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - Knowledge, the known and the knower form the threefold impulse to action; the instrument, the action and the doer form the threefold basis of action.

ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं परिज्ञाता त्रिविधा कर्मचोदना |
करणं कर्म कर्तेति त्रिविध: कर्मसंग्रह: ||18||

Knowledge, the known and the knower form the threefold impulse to action; the instrument, the action and the doer form the threefold basis of action.

Jñānaṃ: Knowledge.
Jñeyaṃ: The knowable.
Parijñātā: The knower.
Karmasaṅgrahaḥ: Components of action.

Krishna systematically categorizes the components of action into two triads, creating a comprehensive framework for understanding human behavior. This analytical approach helps transform Arjuna's emotional conflict into philosophical clarity, preparing him for the classification that follows.

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