Bhagavad Gita 5.1
Spoken by Arjuna · Verse 1 of 29 · Arjuna's Journey
अर्जुन उवाच। संन्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि। यच्छ्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम्॥५-१॥
arjuna uvāca | sannyāsaṃ karmaṇāṃ kṛṣṇa punar yogaṃ ca śaṃsasi | yac chreya etayor ekaṃ tan me brūhi su-niścitam || 5.1 ||
Arjuna asks: You praise both renunciation and action — tell me decisively which is truly better.
Word by word (7)
- sannyāsam
- — renunciation of actions
- karmaṇām
- — of actions
- yogam
- — yoga / active path
- śaṃsasi
- — you praise / commend
- yat śreyaḥ
- — which is better / more beneficial
- etayoḥ ekam
- — one of these two
- su-niścitam
- — with certainty / definitively
Arjuna asks Krishna: You keep praising renunciation of action, but then you also praise active yoga. These two seem to contradict each other. Tell me clearly and definitively which one I should follow.
A modern analogy
Like a student asking a mentor: 'You told me to detach from outcomes for mental peace, but you also said to give 100% to my work. Which is it? I need a clear answer before I act.'
What it does NOT mean
Arjuna is not lazy or trying to avoid his duty. He is genuinely confused by what seem like two opposing philosophical positions Krishna has presented. This is the sincere question of a student.
Take with you
- Apparent contradictions in spiritual teaching deserve direct questioning — Arjuna's honesty is itself a virtue.
- The tension between 'let go' and 'act fully' is real and universal — Krishna's answer resolves it across Ch.5.
- Seeking clarity before acting is wisdom, not weakness.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
"O Kṛṣṇa, Thou praisest both renunciation of action and the performance of action. Tell me definitely which of these two is the better." [1]
"O Krishna, Thou praisest renunciation of actions and also the Yoga of action; tell me definitely which one is the better of the two." [4]
"O Krishna, Thou praisest renunciation of works and again Yoga. Which one of these two is better? Tell me the one certain (way)." [5]
"O Krishna, thou praisest the renunciation of actions and also the practice of devotion. Tell me which of these two is preferable." [6]
"Yet, Krishna! at one time thou dost extol Surcease of works, and then at other times Service through works. Of these twain plainly tell Which is the better way? make this thing clear." [7]
"O Krishna! thou praisest abandonment of actions, and again devotion [to action]. Tell me with certainty, which one of these two is better." [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Arjuna's honest confusion: if wisdom is better than action, why push me into this terrible fight?
Action renounced through yoga, doubt cut by knowledge, self-possessed — actions cannot bind that person.
Who acts in duty without depending on fruit — that one is the true sannyāsī and yogī, not the fireless or the inactive.
Abandon all desires born of mental planning — without remainder — and restrain the senses completely, by the mind alone.
Sannyāsa = abandoning desire-motivated action; tyāga = abandoning fruits of ALL action — say the learned.
Sāttvic tyāga: niyata karma done ONLY because 'this must be done,' having abandoned attachment and fruit.
Verse 1 of 29 · back to Chapter 5