mokṣasaṃnyāsayoga
atha aṣṭādaśo'dhyāyaḥ
śloka 2
śrībhagavānuvāca |
kāmyānāṃ karmaṇāṃ nyāsaṃ saṃnyāsaṃ kavayo viduḥ |
sarvakarmaphalatyāgaṃ prāhustyāgaṃ vicakṣaṇāḥ ||18-2||
Translation
Sri Bhagavan said: (Some) learned men understand the abandonment of desire-prompted actions as 'Sannyasa,' and thoughtful people call the abandonment of the fruits of all actions 'Tyaga.'
śloka 3
tyājyaṃ doṣavadityeke karma prāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ |
yajñadānatapaḥkarma na tyājyamiti cāpare ||18-3||
Translation
Some wise men say that all actions are to be abandoned because they are fault-ridden; and others say that actions in the form of sacrifice, charity and austerity are not to be abandoned.
śloka 5
yajñadānatapaḥkarma na tyājyaṃ kāryameva tat |
yajño dānaṃ tapaścaiva pāvanāni manīṣiṇām ||18-5||
Translation
Actions in the form of sacrifice, charity and austerity are not to be abandoned; rather they are certainly to be performed; sacrifice, charity and austerity purify the wise (practitioners).
śloka 8
duḥkhamityeva yatkarma kāyakleśabhayāttyajet |
sa kṛtvā rājasaṃ tyāgaṃ naiva tyāgaphalaṃ labhet ||18-8||
Translation
The person who abandons action thinking it to be painful, out of fear of bodily hardship—that person, having performed that Rajasic abandonment, never attains the fruit of abandonment.
śloka 9
kāryamityeva yatkarma niyataṃ kriyate'rjuna |
saṅgaṃ tyaktvā phalaṃ caiva sa tyāgaḥ sāttviko mataḥ ||18-9||
Translation
O Arjuna! That prescribed action which is performed by abandoning attachment and fruit, understanding that "to perform action is duty"—that alone is considered Sattvic abandonment.
śloka 10
na dveṣṭyakuśalaṃ karma kuśale nānuṣajjate |
tyāgī sattvasamāviṣṭo medhāvī chinnasaṃśayaḥ ||18-10||
Translation
The person who neither hates inauspicious action nor is attached to auspicious action—that person endowed with Sattva is free from doubt, wise and a true renunciant.
śloka 12
aniṣṭamiṣṭaṃ miśraṃ ca trividhaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam |
bhavatyatyāgināṃ pretya na tu saṃnyāsināṃ kvacit ||18-12||
Translation
These three kinds of fruit of actions—auspicious, inauspicious and mixed—are attained even after death only by those who have not abandoned; but never by those who have renounced.
śloka 16
tatraivaṃ sati kartāramātmānaṃ kevalaṃ tu yaḥ |
paśyatyakṛtabuddhitvānna sa paśyati durmatiḥ ||18-16||
Translation
Now, in this regard, the person who, due to uncultivated intellect, considers only the pure Atman to be the doer—that person of clouded mind does not see (reality) correctly.
śloka 17
yasya nāhaṃkṛto bhāvo buddhiryasya na lipyate |
hatvā'pi sa imā~llokānna hanti na nibadhyate ||18-17||
Translation
The person in whom there is no sense of ego and whose intellect is not attached to anything (good or evil)—that person, even having slain all these worlds, neither slays nor is bound (by sin) in reality.
śloka 18
jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ parijñātā trividhā karmacodanā |
karaṇaṃ karma karteti trividhaḥ karmasaṃgrahaḥ ||18-18||
Translation
Knowledge, the knowable and the knower—these three are the motivators of action; and the instrument, the action and the doer—these three are the constituents of action.
śloka 19
jñānaṃ karma ca kartāca tridhaiva guṇabhedataḥ |
procyate guṇasaṅkhyāne yathāvacchṛṇu tānyapi ||18-19||
Translation
Knowledge, action and the doer are also said to be threefold in the Sankhya scripture according to the distinction of the Gunas; hear them from Me as they are.
śloka 22
yattu kṛtsnavadekasminkārye saktamahaitukam |
atattvārthavadalpaṃ ca tattāmasamudāhṛtam ||18-22||
Translation
And that knowledge by which a person becomes attached to a single effect (the body) alone, as if that alone were the complete reality—and which is without reason, devoid of the essence of truth and narrow—that knowledge is Tamasic.
śloka 23
niyataṃ saṅgarahitamarāgadveṣataḥ kṛtam |
aphalaprepsunā karma yattatsāttvikamucyate ||18-23||
Translation
That action which is prescribed (by scripture), free from attachment, and performed by one who does not desire the fruit, without any attachment or aversion—that action is called Sattvic.
śloka 25
anubandhaṃ kṣayaṃ hiṃsāmanapekṣya ca pauruṣam |
mohādārabhyate karma yattattāmasamucyate ||18-25||
Translation
That action which is undertaken merely out of delusion, without considering the consequence, harm, harm to others and one's own capacity—that action is called Tamasic.
śloka 26
muktasaṅgo'nahaṃvādī dhṛtyutsāhasamanvitaḥ |
siddhyasiddhyornirvikāraḥ kartā sāttvika ucyate ||18-26||
Translation
The doer who is free from attachment, devoid of self-conceit, endowed with fortitude and enthusiasm, and who remains undisturbed in success and failure—that doer is called Sattvic.
śloka 30
pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca kāryākārye bhayābhaye |
bandhaṃ mokṣaṃ ca yā vetti buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī ||18-30||
Translation
O Partha! That intellect which knows truly what is to be done and what is not to be done, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation—that intellect is Sattvic.
śloka 32
adharmaṃ dharmamiti yā manyate tamasāvṛtā |
sarvārthānviparītāṃśca buddhiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī ||18-32||
Translation
O Partha! That intellect which is shrouded by Tamas (the darkness of ignorance), which regards Adharma as Dharma and knows all things inversely—that intellect is Tamasic.
śloka 34
yayā tu dharmakāmārthāndhṛtyā dhārayate'rjuna |
prasaṅgena phalākāṅkṣī dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha rājasī ||18-34||
Translation
O son of Pritha, Arjuna! That fortitude by which a person desirous of the fruit of action holds fast to Dharma, Artha and Kama (these three goals of human life) with excessive attachment—that fortitude is Rajasic.
śloka 36 and 37
sukhaṃ tvidānīṃ trividhaṃ śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha |
abhyāsādramate yatra duḥkhāntaṃ ca nigacchati ||18-36||
yattadagre viṣamiva pariṇāme'mṛtopamam |
tatsukhaṃ sāttvikaṃ proktamātmabuddhiprasādajam ||18-37||
Translation
O best of Bharata! Now hear from Me the threefold happiness, in which (the practitioner) delights through practice and attains the end of sorrows. That happiness which at first (in the beginning) appears like poison, but in the end is like nectar—that happiness arising from the grace of self-knowledge is said to be Sattvic.
śloka 38
viṣayendriyasaṃyogādyattadagre'mṛtopamam |
pariṇāme viṣamiva tatsukhaṃ rājasaṃ smṛtam ||18-38||
Translation
That happiness which arises from the contact of sense-objects with the senses—at first it is like nectar, but in the end it is like poison—that happiness is said to be Rajasic.
śloka 39
yadagre cānubandhe ca sukhaṃ mohanamātmanaḥ |
nidrālasyapramādotthaṃ tattāmasamudāhṛtam ||18-39||
Translation
That happiness which deludes the self (the person) both in the beginning and in the end—that happiness arising from sleep, sloth and heedlessness is called Tamasic.
śloka 46
yataḥ pravṛttirbhūtānāṃ yena sarvamidaṃ tatam |
svakarmaṇā tamabhyarcya siddhiṃ vindati mānavaḥ ||18-46||
Translation
By worshipping Him (the Paramatman) through one's own duty—He from whom all beings have arisen and by whom this entire world is pervaded—a person attains perfection.
śloka 47
śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt |
svabhāvaniyataṃ karma kurvannāpnoti kilbiṣam ||18-47||
Translation
One's own Dharma, though imperfect, is better than another's Dharma well performed. (For) performing the duty ordained by one's nature, a person does not incur sin.
śloka 49
asaktabuddhiḥ sarvatra jitātmā vigataspṛhaḥ |
naiṣkarmyasiddhiṃ paramāṃ saṃnyāsenādhigacchati ||18-49||
Translation
That person who has intellect free from attachment everywhere, who is free from desire and self-controlled—attains the supreme perfection of actionlessness through Sannyasa.
śloka 51, 52, 53
buddhyā viśuddhayā yukto dhṛtyātmānaṃ niyamya ca |
śabdādīnviṣayāṃstyaktvā rāgadveṣau vyudasya ca ||18-51||
viviktasevī laghvāśī yatavākkāyamānasaḥ |
dhyānayogaparo nityaṃ vairāgyaṃ samupāśritaḥ ||18-52||
ahaṃkāraṃ balaṃ darpaṃ kāmaṃ krodhaṃ parigraham |
vimucya nirmamaḥ śānto brahmabhūyāya kalpate ||18-53||
Translation
Endowed with purified intellect, exercising self-restraint through fortitude, abandoning sound and other sense-objects, and abandoning attachment and aversion.... Dwelling in solitude, eating modestly (moderate diet), having restrained body, speech and mind, ever engaged in the practice of meditation-Yoga, and taking refuge in dispassion. Abandoning ego, strength, arrogance, desire, anger and possessiveness, free from the sense of 'mine' and peaceful—such a person becomes fit for the attainment of Brahman.
śloka 54
brahmabhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati |
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu madbhaktiṃ labhate parām ||18-54||
Translation
Having become Brahman (the practitioner who has become Brahman), the person with a peaceful mind neither desires nor grieves; being equal toward all beings, he attains My supreme devotion.
śloka 55
bhaktyā māmabhijānāti yāvānyaścāsmi tattvataḥ |
tato māṃ tattvato jñātvā viśate tadanantaram ||18-55||
Translation
Through that (supreme) devotion he knows Me truly—how vast I am and what I am. Having known Me truly, he immediately enters into Me, that is, becomes of My nature.
śloka 60
svabhāvajena kaunteya nibaddhaḥ svena karmaṇā |
kartuṃ necchasi yanmohātkariṣyasyavaśopi tat ||18-60||
Translation
O Kaunteya! You are bound by your natural duties; (therefore) that action which you do not wish to do out of delusion—that very action you will do helplessly.
śloka 64
sarvaguhyatamaṃ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṃ vacaḥ |
iṣṭo'si me dṛḍhamiti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam ||18-64||
Translation
Once more hear from Me the supreme word (teaching), the most secret of all secrets. You are exceedingly dear to Me; therefore I shall speak to you for your welfare.
śloka 67
idaṃ te nātapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana |
na cāśuśrūṣave vācyaṃ na ca māṃ yo'bhyasūyati ||18-67||
Translation
This knowledge should not be spoken to one who is without austerity, nor to one who is without devotion; nor to one who does not serve; and it should not be spoken to one who finds fault with Me (the Lord), that is, who sees defects in Me.
śloka 68
ya idaṃ paramaṃ guhyaṃ madbhakteṣvabhidhāsyati |
bhaktiṃ mayi parāṃ kṛtvā māmevaiṣyatyasaṃśayaḥ ||18-68||
Translation
The person who, with supreme love (supreme devotion) for Me, teaches this supreme secret knowledge to My devotees—that person undoubtedly attains Me alone.
śloka 71
śraddhāvānanasūyaśca śṛṇuyādapi yo naraḥ |
so'pi muktaḥ śubhā~llokānprāpnuyātpuṇyakarmaṇām ||18-71||
Translation
And the person who is faithful and free from fault-finding, who merely hears this—he too, freed (from sins), will attain the auspicious (supreme) worlds of those who perform meritorious deeds.
śloka 73
arjuna uvāca |
naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtirlabdhā tvatprasādānmayācyuta |
sthito'smi gatasandehaḥ kariṣye vacanaṃ tava ||18-73||
Translation
Arjuna said: O Achyuta! By Your grace my delusion has been destroyed, and I have attained memory (knowledge). Now I am free from doubt and I shall act according to Your word (command).
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