📿 Shloka Collection

Kamyanam Karmanam

Gita 18.2 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18 — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga
काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं संन्यासं कवयो विदुः ।
सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस्त्यागं विचक्षणाः ॥
Kamyanam karmanam nyasam sannyasam kavayo viduh
Sarvakarma-phala-tyagam prahus tyagam vichakshanah
काम्यानाम्
desire-driven — motivated by personal wants
कर्मणाम्
of actions
न्यासम्
renunciation — giving up
संन्यासम्
sannyasa
कवयः
the wise — learned thinkers
सर्वकर्मफलत्यागम्
giving up the fruit of all actions
विचक्षणाः
the discerning — the clear-sighted

Krishna begins with definitions. The wise call sannyasa the complete renunciation of desire-driven actions — those things you do only because you want something in return. Tyaga, on the other hand, means continuing to act but releasing your grip on the results. The difference is sharp: one drops the action itself, the other drops the craving that clings to it.

Think of a farmer who plants rice every season. If he stops farming altogether because he once had a bad harvest, that is more like sannyasa of action — walking away entirely. But if he keeps planting with full care, rain or drought, and does not lose sleep over whether the yield will double this year, that is tyaga. The hands stay busy. The mind stays free.

This distinction runs through the rest of the chapter. Krishna will make clear which path he recommends — and it is not the one that involves walking away.

This shloka defines two central concepts of the Gita. The shlokas that follow will expand on these definitions, eventually landing on Krishna's own verdict.

The distinction between sannyasa and tyaga is one of the Gita's original contributions to Indian philosophy — not abandoning action, but acting free of attachment to outcomes.

Chapter 18 · 2 / 78
Chapter 18 · 2 / 78 Next →