Bhagvad Gita - Chapter: 18 Moksha Sannyasa Yogah

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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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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