Bhagvad Gita - Chapter: 18 Moksha Sannyasa Yogah

Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - But even these actions should be performed giving up attachment and the desire for rewards. This, O Partha, is My decided and best conviction.

एतान्यपि तु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च |
कर्तव्यानीति मे पार्थ निश्चितं मतमुत्तमम् ||6||

But even these actions should be performed giving up attachment and the desire for rewards. This, O Partha, is My decided and best conviction.

Saṅgam: Attachment to actions.
Phalāni: Fruits or results.
Matam: Opinion or doctrine.
Uttamam: Highest or best.

This verse reveals the Gita's middle path between extreme asceticism and worldly attachment. The instruction to perform actions without attachment to results establishes the foundation for karma yoga, where action becomes a form of spiritual practice rather than bondage.

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Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - Verily, renunciation of obligatory action is not proper. Abandonment through delusion is declared to be of the nature of tamas.

नियतस्य तु सन्न्यास: कर्मणो नोपपद्यते |
मोहात्तस्य परित्यागस्तामस: परिकीर्तित: ||7||

Verily, renunciation of obligatory action is not proper. Abandonment through delusion is declared to be of the nature of tamas.

Niyatasya: Of obligatory duty.
Nopapadyate: Is not proper.
Mohāt: Out of delusion.
Tāmasaḥ: Of darkness quality.

Krishna directly challenges the notion that abandoning prescribed duties is spiritual. By connecting improper renunciation to tamas (ignorance), he establishes an important hierarchy of action, where how and why one acts becomes more important than whether one acts.

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Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - He who abandons action out of fear of bodily trouble because it is painful, performing rajasic relinquishment, does not obtain the reward of relinquishment.

दु:खमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्यजेत् |
स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत् ||8||

He who abandons action out of fear of bodily trouble because it is painful, performing rajasic relinquishment, does not obtain the reward of relinquishment.

Kāyakleśa: Bodily discomfort.
Bhayāt: From fear.
Rājasaṃ: Mode of passion.
Tyāgaphalaṃ: Fruit of renunciation.

This verse explores psychological motivations behind renunciation, warning against abandoning duties merely to avoid discomfort. True spirituality isn't about avoiding difficulty but transcending the duality of pleasure and pain through proper understanding of duty.

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Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - When obligatory action is performed only because it ought to be done, abandoning attachment and fruit, that relinquishment is regarded as sattvic.

कार्यमित्येव यत्कर्म नियतं क्रियतेऽर्जुन |
सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलं चैव स त्याग: सात्त्विको मत: ||9||

When obligatory action is performed only because it ought to be done, abandoning attachment and fruit, that relinquishment is regarded as sattvic.

Niyataṃ: Obligatory work.
Sāttvikaḥ: Mode of goodness.
Phalaṃ: Result or fruit.
Mataḥ: Considered.

The concept of sattvic relinquishment introduces the highest form of action—performed simply because it is right, without attachment to outcomes. This establishes the framework for selfless service (nishkama karma) that becomes the Gita's practical solution to action vs. inaction.

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Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - The relinquisher who is imbued with sattva, who is wise and whose doubts are cut asunder, does not hate disagreeable action, nor is he attached to agreeable action.

न द्वेष्ट्यकुशलं कर्म कुशले नानुषज्जते |
त्यागी सत्त्वसमाविष्टो मेधावी छिन्नसंशय: ||10||

The relinquisher who is imbued with sattva, who is wise and whose doubts are cut asunder, does not hate disagreeable action, nor is he attached to agreeable action.

Akuśalaṃ: Disagreeable action.
Kuśale: Agreeable action.
Chinnasaṃśayaḥ: Doubts cut asunder.
Medhāvī: Intelligent person.

Krishna describes the psychological state of the sattvic relinquisher, who has transcended preferences and aversions. This balanced outlook, free from exaggerated attachment or aversion, characterizes the mind of one established in wisdom—the prerequisite for selfless action.

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Moksha Sannyasa Yogah - Verily, the embodied cannot completely relinquish actions. He who relinquishes the fruits of action is called a relinquisher.

न हि देहभृता शक्यं त्यक्तुं कर्माण्यशेषत: |
यस्तु कर्मफलत्यागी स त्यागीत्यभिधीयते ||11||

Verily, the embodied cannot completely relinquish actions. He who relinquishes the fruits of action is called a relinquisher.

Dehabhṛtā: For the embodied.
Aśeṣataḥ: Completely.
Karmaphalatyāgī: Renouncer of action-fruits.
Abhidhīyate: Is called.

This verse acknowledges human limitations while offering a practical solution. Rather than impossible total renunciation of action, Krishna provides the accessible path of renouncing attachment to results—making liberation possible while living in the world.

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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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