Bhagavad Gita 18.7
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 7 of 78
नियतस्य तु सन्न्यासः कर्मणो नोपपद्यते । मोहात् तस्य परित्यागस् तामसः परिकीर्तितः ॥
niyatasya tu sannyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate | mohāt tasya parityāgas tāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||
Renouncing ordained/niyata karma is not appropriate; its abandonment through delusion is declared tāmasic.
Word by word (3)
- niyatasya tu sannyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate
- — but (tu) the sannyāsa/renunciation (sannyāsaḥ) of a prescribed/obligatory action (niyatasya karmaṇaḥ = of niyata/ordained karma) is not appropriate (nopapadyate = does not fit/is not proper) — niyata karma (like yajña-dāna-tapas from V5) simply cannot be renounced
- mohāt tasya parityāgas tāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ
- — its (tasya) abandonment (parityāgaḥ = complete giving up) from delusion (mohāt = from moha/delusion) — that is declared (parikīrtitaḥ = fully proclaimed) tāmasic (tāmasaḥ) — when prescribed acts are abandoned, it is always from delusion (moha = tamas-quality blindness)
- niyatasya karmaṇaḥ
- — of niyata karma — the ordained/prescribed action (niyata = fixed, appointed, ordained); in the Vedic system, niyata karma = nitya karma = the obligatory rites that must be performed regardless of desire or fruit-expectation; renouncing these is impossible without moha
But the renunciation of ordained duty is not fitting. Its abandonment through delusion is declared tāmasic.
A modern analogy
Tāmasic renunciation is like a doctor abandoning their patients because medicine is 'too painful to practice' — and calling it spiritual renunciation. The niyata karma (their duty to heal) is not optional; abandoning it is not liberation but delusion. This verse closes the debate by naming the first view — that karma is faulty and should be abandoned — as tāmasic: it arises from moha (delusion), not from wisdom.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
MISSING from index. [1]
MISSING from index. Ganguli and Telang used. [4]
The renunciation of prescribed action is not proper. Its abandonment through delusion is described as of the quality of darkness. [9]
The renunciation of an act prescribed in the scriptures is not proper. Its abandonment from delusion is therefore declared to be of the quality of darkness. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Sannyāsa = abandoning desire-motivated action; tyāga = abandoning fruits of ALL action — say the learned.
Wise action without fruit-seeking breaks the birth-cycle and leads to the sorrowless state.
Actions don't taint Me — I have no longing for their fruits. Whoever knows Me thus is not bound by their actions.
Arjuna asks: what is sannyāsa vs. tyāga? Tell me distinctly, O Mighty-armed, Hṛṣīkeśa, Keśi-slayer.
Some say all karma is faulty and should be abandoned; others say yajña-dāna-tapas must not be abandoned.
Even yajña-dāna-tapas must be performed having abandoned attachment and fruits — My settled, highest opinion.
Verse 7 of 78 · back to Chapter 18