Bhagavad Gita 18.2
Spoken by Krishna ☆ Key verse · Verse 2 of 78
काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं सन्न्यासं कवयो विदुः । सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस् त्यागं विचक्षणाः ॥
kāmyānāṃ karmaṇāṃ nyāsaṃ sannyāsaṃ kavayo viduḥ | sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṃ prāhus tyāgaṃ vicakṣaṇāḥ ||
Sannyāsa = abandoning desire-motivated action; tyāga = abandoning fruits of ALL action — say the learned.
Word by word (3)
- kāmyānāṃ karmaṇāṃ nyāsaṃ sannyāsaṃ kavayo viduḥ
- — the laying down/putting aside (nyāsam) of desire-motivated actions (kāmyānāṃ karmaṇāṃ = actions done from desire/kāma) — this the learned/poets (kavayaḥ) know/declare as sannyāsa (sannyāsam) — sannyāsa = abandoning desire-driven action
- sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṃ prāhus tyāgaṃ vicakṣaṇāḥ
- — the abandonment (tyāgam) of the fruits (phala) of ALL actions (sarva-karma) — the wise/discerning ones (vicakṣaṇāḥ) declare this (prāhuḥ = they say) as tyāga — tyāga = releasing the fruit of all action, not the action itself
- kāmyānāṃ vs. sarva-karma
- — the key distinction: sannyāsa targets desire-driven actions (kāmya = desire-motivated); tyāga targets the fruits of ALL actions (sarva = all, including prescribed/nitya karma) — sannyāsa = what you stop doing; tyāga = what you stop expecting from what you do
The learned understand sannyāsa as the laying aside of desire-motivated actions. The discerning call the abandonment of the fruits of all actions 'tyāga.'
A modern analogy
Sannyāsa is like quitting your job because you're done with career ambition. Tyāga is like continuing to work at your job but donating every paycheck — you do all the work but release the fruit entirely. The Gita will show that tyāga is deeper than sannyāsa: because it continues action while releasing attachment, rather than simply withdrawing from action.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Sages understand 'sannyāsa' to be the renouncement of interested works; the abandonment of the fruits of all works, the learned declare, is 'tyāga.' [1]
MISSING from index. Ganguli and Telang used as primary. [4]
By renunciation the sages understand the rejection of actions done with desires. The wise call the abandonment of the fruit of all actions (by the name) abandonment. [9]
The rejection of the works with desire is known by the learned as renunciation. The abandonment of the fruit of all work, the discerning call abandonment. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Therefore, Brahman-knowers always begin yajña, dāna, and tapas with 'OṀ' as ordained by scripture.
Uttering 'Tat,' without fruit-desire, mokṣa-seekers perform yajña, tapas, and various acts of dāna.
Sat means: being/reality, goodness/virtue, and praiseworthy action — three registers of the one word.
Some say all karma is faulty and should be abandoned; others say yajña-dāna-tapas must not be abandoned.
Sāttvic tyāga: niyata karma done ONLY because 'this must be done,' having abandoned attachment and fruit.
The yogi abandons fruit and attains lasting peace. The non-yogi, bound to fruit by desire, is fettered.
Verse 2 of 78 · back to Chapter 18