Chapter 18 · 78 versesमोक्षसंन्यासयोगMoksha Sanyaas Yoga

Summary

The eighteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is "Moksha Sanyas Yoga". Arjuna requests the Lord to explain the difference between the two types of renunciations - sanyaas(renunciation of actions) and tyaag(renunciation of desires). Krishna explains that a sanyaasi is one who abandons family and society in order to practise spiritual discipline whereas a tyaagi is one who performs their duties without attachment to the rewards of their actions and dedicating them to the God. Krishna recommends the second kind of renunciation - tyaag. Krishna then gives a detailed analysis of the effects of the three modes of material nature. He declares that the highest path of spirituality is pure, unconditional loving service unto the Supreme Divine Personality, Krishna. If we always remember Him, keep chanting His name and dedicate all our actions unto Him, take refuge in Him and make Him our Supreme goal, then by His grace, we will surely overcome all obstacles and difficulties and be freed from this cycle of birth and death.

सारांश

भगवद गीता का अठारहवा अध्याय मोक्षसन्यासयोग है। अर्जुन कृष्ण से अनुरोध करते हैं कि वे संन्यास और त्याग के बीच अंतर को समझाने की कृपा करें। कृष्ण बताते हैं कि एक संन्यासी वह है जो आध्यात्मिक अनुशासन का अभ्यास करने के लिए परिवार और समाज को त्याग देता है जबकि एक त्यागी वह है जो अपने कर्मों के फलों कि चिंता करे बिना भगवन को समर्पित करके कर्म करता रहता है। कृष्ण बताते हैं कि त्याग संन्यास से श्रेष्ठ है। फिर कृष्णा भौतिक संसार के तीन प्रकार के गुणों का विस्तारपूर्वक वर्णन करते हैं। कृष्णा घोषणा करते हैं कि परमात्मा की शुद्ध एवं सत्य भक्ति ही आध्यात्मिकता का उच्चतम मार्ग है। अगर हम हर क्षण उनका स्मरण करते रहें, उनका नाम जपते रहें, अपना सर्वस्व उनको समर्पित कर दें, उन्हें ही अपना सर्वोच्च लक्ष्य बना लें तो उनकी कृपा से हम निश्चित रूप से सभी बाधाओं और कठिनाइओं को दूर कर पाएंगे और इस जन्म और मृत्यु के चक्र से मुक्त हो पाएंगे।

Verses

1. 18.1संन्यासस्य महाबाहो तत्त्वमिच्छामि वेदितुम्।Arjuna said, "O mighty-armed Hrishikesa, I desire to know the essence or truth of renunciation and abandonment severally, O slayer of Kesi."
2. 18.2काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं संन्यासं कवयो विदुः।The Blessed Lord said, "The sages understand sannyasa to be the renunciation of action with desire; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all actions to be tyaga."
3. 18.3त्याज्यं दोषवदित्येके कर्म प्राहुर्मनीषिणः।Some philosophers declare that actions should be abandoned as evil; while others declare that acts of sacrifice, gift, and austerity should not be relinquished.
4. 18.4निश्चयं श्रृणु मे तत्र त्यागे भरतसत्तम।Hear from Me the conclusion or the final truth about this abandonment, O best of the Bharatas; abandonment, indeed, O best of men, has been declared to be of three kinds.
5. 18.5यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत्।Acts of sacrifice, gift, and austerity should not be abandoned, but should be performed; for sacrifice, gift, and austerity are the purifiers of the wise.
6. 18.6एतान्यपि तु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च।But even these actions should be performed, leaving aside attachment and the desire for rewards, O Arjuna; this is my certain and most assured conviction.
7. 18.7नियतस्य तु संन्यासः कर्मणो नोपपद्यते।Verily, the renunciation of obligatory action is not proper; the abandonment of the same out of delusion is declared to be Tamasic.
8. 18.8दुःखमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्त्यजेत्।He who abandons action out of fear of bodily trouble (because it is painful), does not obtain the merit of renunciation by performing such Rajasic renunciation.
9. 18.9कार्यमित्येव यत्कर्म नियतं क्रियतेऽर्जुन।Whatever obligatory action is done, O Arjuna, merely because it ought to be done, abandoning attachment and also the desire for reward, that renunciation is regarded as sattvic (pure).
10. 18.10न द्वेष्ट्यकुशलं कर्म कुशले नानुषज्जते।The man of renunciation, pervaded by purity, intelligent, and with his doubts cut asunder, does not hate an unpleasant task nor is he attached to a pleasant one.
11. 18.11न हि देहभृता शक्यं त्यक्तुं कर्माण्यशेषतः।Indeed, it is not possible for an embodied being to completely abandon actions; however, he who relinquishes the rewards of actions is truly called a man of renunciation.
12. 18.12अनिष्टमिष्टं मिश्रं च त्रिविधं कर्मणः फलम्।The threefold fruit of action (evil, good, and mixed) accrues after death to those who do not abandon it, but never to those who do.
13. 18.13पञ्चैतानि महाबाहो कारणानि निबोध मे।Learn from Me, O mighty-armed Arjuna, these five causes, as declared in the Sankhya system, for the accomplishment of all actions.
14. 18.14अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम्।The body, the doer, the various senses, the different functions of various kinds, and the presiding deity—the fifth.
15. 18.15शरीरवाङ्मनोभिर्यत्कर्म प्रारभते नरः।Whatever action a person performs with their body, speech, and mind, whether right or wrong, these five are its causes.
16. 18.16तत्रैवं सति कर्तारमात्मानं केवलं तु यः।Now, such being the case, verily he who, owing to an untrained understanding, looks upon his Self, which is isolated, as the agent, he of perverted intelligence does not see.
17. 18.17यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते।He who is free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted by good or evil, though he slays these people, he does not slay, nor is he bound by the action.
18. 18.18ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं परिज्ञाता त्रिविधा कर्मचोदना।Knowledge, the knowable, and the knower form the threefold impulse for action; the organ, the action, and the agent form the threefold basis of action.
19. 18.19ज्ञानं कर्म च कर्ता च त्रिधैव गुणभेदतः।Knowledge, action, and actor are declared in the science of the Gunas (Sankhya philosophy) to be of three kinds only, according to the distinction of the Gunas. Of these, hear duly.
20. 18.20सर्वभूतेषु येनैकं भावमव्ययमीक्षते।That by which one sees the indestructible Reality in all beings, not separate in any of them—know that knowledge to be Sattvic.
21. 18.21पृथक्त्वेन तु यज्ज्ञानं नानाभावान्पृथग्विधान्।But that knowledge which sees in all beings various entities of distinct kinds as being distinct from one another, know thou that knowledge to be Rajasic.
22. 18.22यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम्।But that which clings to one single effect as if it were the whole, without reason, without any foundation in Truth, and is trivial—that is declared to be Tamasic.
23. 18.23नियतं सङ्गरहितमरागद्वेषतः कृतम्।An action that is ordained, free from attachment, done without love or hatred, and without desire for reward is declared to be Sattvic.
24. 18.24यत्तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहङ्कारेण वा पुनः।But that action which is done by one longing for the fulfillment of desires or gain with egotism or with much effort is declared to be Rajasic (passionate).
25. 18.25अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम्।That action which is undertaken from delusion, without regard for the consequences, loss, injury, and one's own ability, is declared to be Tamasic (dark).
26. 18.26मुक्तसङ्गोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वितः।An agent who is free from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with firmness and enthusiasm, and unaffected by success or failure, is considered to be of a Sattvic (pure) nature.
27. 18.27रागी कर्मफलप्रेप्सुर्लुब्धो हिंसात्मकोऽशुचिः।Passionate, desiring to obtain the reward of their actions, greedy, cruel, impure, moved by joy and sorrow, such an agent is said to be Rajasic.
28. 18.28अयुक्तः प्राकृतः स्तब्धः शठो नैष्कृतिकोऽलसः।Unsteady, vulgar, inflexible, deceitful, malicious, lazy, despondent, and procrastinating—such an agent is called Tamasic.
29. 18.29बुद्धेर्भेदं धृतेश्चैव गुणतस्त्रिविधं श्रृणु।Hear thou the threefold division of intellect and firmness, according to the Gunas, as I declare them fully and distinctly, O Arjuna.
30. 18.30प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च कार्याकार्ये भयाभये।The intellect which knows the path of work and renunciation, what should be done and what should not be done, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation—that intellect is Sattvic (pure), O Arjuna.
31. 18.31यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च।That by which one wrongly understands dharma and adharma, and also what ought to be done and what ought not to be done—that intellect, O Arjuna, is rajasic (passionate).
32. 18.32अधर्मं धर्ममिति या मन्यते तमसाऽऽवृता।That intellect, O Arjuna, which is enveloped in darkness and sees Adharma as Dharma and all things perverted, is Tamasic (dark).
33. 18.33धृत्या यया धारयते मनःप्राणेन्द्रियक्रियाः।The unwavering firmness, through which Yoga restrains the functions of the mind, life-force, and senses—that firmness, O Arjuna, is Sattvic (pure).
34. 18.34यया तु धर्मकामार्थान् धृत्या धारयतेऽर्जुन।But that, O Arjuna, by which one holds fast to Dharma (duty), enjoyment of pleasures, and earning of wealth, on account of attachment and desire for reward—that firmness, O Arjuna, is Rajasic (passionate).
35. 18.35यया स्वप्नं भयं शोकं विषादं मदमेव च।That firmness, O Arjuna, by which a stupid man does not abandon sleep, fear, grief, despair, and conceit, is Tamasic.
36. 18.36सुखं त्विदानीं त्रिविधं श्रृणु मे भरतर्षभ।And now, O Arjuna, hear from Me of the threefold pleasure, in which one rejoices through practice and surely comes to the end of pain.
37. 18.37यत्तदग्रे विषमिव परिणामेऽमृतोपमम्।That which is like poison at first but in the end like nectar—that happiness is declared to be sattvic, born of the purity of one's own mind due to self-realization.
38. 18.38विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम्।That happiness which arises from the contact of the senses with the objects, which is initially like nectar but eventually like poison, is said to be Rajasic.
39. 18.39यदग्रे चानुबन्धे च सुखं मोहनमात्मनः।That happiness which at first, as well as in the end, deludes the self, and which arises from sleep, indolence, and heedlessness—that is declared to be Tamasic.
40. 18.40न तदस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः।There is no being on earth or in heaven among the gods that is liberated from the three qualities born of Nature.
41. 18.41ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परंतप।Of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras, O Arjuna, the duties are distributed according to the qualities born of their own nature.
42. 18.42शमो दमस्तपः शौचं क्षान्तिरार्जवमेव च।Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness, and uprightness, as well as knowledge, realization, and belief in God, are the duties of Brahmanas, born of their own nature.
43. 18.43शौर्यं तेजो धृतिर्दाक्ष्यं युद्धे चाप्यपलायनम्।Prowess, splendor, firmness, dexterity, and not fleeing from battle, generosity, and lordliness are the duties of the Kshatriyas, born of their own nature.
44. 18.44कृषिगौरक्ष्यवाणिज्यं वैश्यकर्म स्वभावजम्।Agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade are the duties of the Vaisya (merchant), born of their own nature; and service is the duty of the Sudra (servant-class), born of their own nature.
45. 18.45स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः संसिद्धिं लभते नरः।Each person devoted to their own duty attains perfection. How they attain perfection while being engaged in their own duty, hear now.
46. 18.46यतः प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम्।He from whom all the beings have evolved and by whom all this is pervaded, worshipping Him with his own duty, one attains perfection.
47. 18.47श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्।Better is one's own duty, even if it is destitute of merits, than the duty of another well performed. He who does the duty ordained by his own nature incurs no sin.
48. 18.48सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषमपि न त्यजेत्।One should not, O Arjuna, abandon the duty to which one is born, though it may be faulty; for, all undertakings are enveloped by evil, just as fire is by smoke.
49. 18.49असक्तबुद्धिः सर्वत्र जितात्मा विगतस्पृहः।He whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has subdued his self, from whom desire has fled, he attains the supreme state of freedom from action through renunciation.
50. 18.50सिद्धिं प्राप्तो यथा ब्रह्म तथाप्नोति निबोध मे।Learn from Me, O Arjuna, in brief how one who has attained perfection reaches Brahman—the Eternal, that supreme state of knowledge.
51. 18.51बुद्ध्या विशुद्धया युक्तो धृत्याऽऽत्मानं नियम्य च।Endowed with a pure intellect, controlling the self through firmness, relinquishing sound and other objects and abandoning attraction and hatred.
52. 18.52विविक्तसेवी लघ्वाशी यतवाक्कायमानसः।Dwelling in solitude, eating sparingly, with speech, body, and mind subdued, always engaged in meditation and concentration, and resorting to dispassion.
53. 18.53अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम्।Having abandoned egoism, strength, arrogance, desire, anger, and covetousness, and being free from the notion of 'mine' and peaceful, he is fit for becoming Brahman.
54. 18.54ब्रह्मभूतः प्रसन्नात्मा न शोचति न काङ्क्षति।Becoming Brahman, serene in the Self, he neither grieves nor desires; he is the same to all beings, and obtains supreme devotion to Me.
55. 18.55भक्त्या मामभिजानाति यावान्यश्चास्मि तत्त्वतः।By devotion, he knows Me in truth, who and what I am; then, having known Me in truth, he immediately enters into the Supreme.
56. 18.56सर्वकर्माण्यपि सदा कुर्वाणो मद्व्यपाश्रयः।Having taken refuge in Me and doing all actions, by My grace he obtains the eternal, indestructible state of being.
57. 18.57चेतसा सर्वकर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्परः।Mentally renouncing all actions in Me, having Me as the highest goal, and resorting to the yoga of discrimination, do thou ever fix thy mind on Me.
58. 18.58मच्चित्तः सर्वदुर्गाणि मत्प्रसादात्तरिष्यसि।Fixing your mind on Me, you shall, by My grace, overcome all obstacles; but if you will not hear Me due to egoism, you shall perish.
59. 18.59यदहङ्कारमाश्रित्य न योत्स्य इति मन्यसे।If, filled with egoism, thou thinkest, "I will not fight," then thy resolve is vain; nature will compel thee.
60. 18.60स्वभावजेन कौन्तेय निबद्धः स्वेन कर्मणा।O Arjuna, bound by your own Karma (action) born of your own nature, that which from delusion you wish not to do, even that you shall do helplessly.
61. 18.61ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति।The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, causing all beings, by His illusory power, to revolve as if mounted on a machine.
62. 18.62तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत।Fly to Him for refuge with all your being, O Arjuna; by His grace you will obtain supreme peace and the eternal abode.
63. 18.63इति ते ज्ञानमाख्यातं गुह्याद्गुह्यतरं मया।Thus, wisdom more secret than secrecy itself has been declared to you by me. Reflect on it fully, then act as you wish.
64. 18.64सर्वगुह्यतमं भूयः श्रृणु मे परमं वचः।Hear again My supreme word, most secret of all; for you are dearly beloved of Me, I will tell you what is good.
65. 18.65मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु।Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me. You will come to Me; I truly promise you this, for you are dear to Me.
66. 18.66सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज।Abandon all duties and take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
67. 18.67इदं ते नातपस्काय नाभक्ताय कदाचन।Never speak this to one who is devoid of austerities or devotion, who does not render service, who does not desire to listen, or who cavils at Me.
68. 18.68य इमं परमं गुह्यं मद्भक्तेष्वभिधास्यति।He who, with supreme devotion to Me, teaches this supreme secret to My devotees, shall undoubtedly come to Me.
69. 18.69न च तस्मान्मनुष्येषु कश्िचन्मे प्रियकृत्तमः।There is no one among men who does service dearer to Me, nor shall there be anyone on earth dearer to Me than him.
70. 18.70अध्येष्यते च य इमं धर्म्यं संवादमावयोः।And he who studies this sacred dialogue of ours, by him I shall have been worshipped through the sacrifice of wisdom; such is my conviction.
71. 18.71श्रद्धावाननसूयश्च श्रृणुयादपि यो नरः।Also, the man who hears this, full of faith and free from malice, shall attain to the happy worlds of those of righteous deeds, and be liberated.
72. 18.72कच्चिदेतच्छ्रुतं पार्थ त्वयैकाग्रेण चेतसा।Has this been heard, O Arjuna, with one-pointed focus? Has the delusion of your ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya?
73. 18.73नष्टो मोहः स्मृतिर्लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान्मयाच्युत।Arjuna said, "My delusion has been destroyed, for I have gained my knowledge (memory) through Your grace, O Krishna. I am now free from doubts. I will act according to Your word."
74. 18.74इत्यहं वासुदेवस्य पार्थस्य च महात्मनः।Sanjaya said, Thus, I have heard this wonderful dialogue between Krishna and the high-souled Arjuna, which causes one's hair to stand on end.
75. 18.75व्यासप्रसादाच्छ्रुतवानेतद्गुह्यमहं परम्।Through the grace of Vyasa, I have heard this supreme and most secret Yoga, directly from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, Himself declaring it.
76. 18.76राजन्संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य संवादमिममद्भुतम्।O King, remembering this wonderful and holy dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, I continually rejoice.
77. 18.77तच्च संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य रूपमत्यद्भुतं हरेः।And, remembering again and again that most wonderful form of Hari, I am filled with great wonder, O King; and I rejoice again and again.
78. 18.78यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः।Wherever Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, is; and wherever Arjuna, the wielder of the bow, is; there is prosperity, victory, happiness, and a firm policy; this is my conviction.