FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 18.12

अनिष्टमिष्टं मिश्रं च त्रिविधं कर्मण: फलम् । भवत्यत्यागिनां प्रेत्य न तु सन्न्यासिनां क्‍वचित् ॥ १२ ॥
aniṣṭam iṣṭaṁ miśraṁ ca
[anishtam ishtam mishram cha]
tri-vidhaṁ karmaṇaḥ phalam
[tri-vidham karmanah phalam]
bhavaty atyāgināṁ pretya
[bhavaty atyaaginaam pretya]
na tu sannyāsināṁ kvacit
[na tu sannyaasinaam kvachit]
Word-for-word
aniṣṭam — leading to hell iṣṭam — leading to heaven miśram — mixed ca — and tri - vidham — of three kinds karmaṇaḥ — of work phalam — the result bhavati — comes atyāginām — for those who are not renounced pretya — after death na — not tu — but sannyāsinām — for the renounced order kvacit — at any time .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
aniṣṭam iṣṭaṁ miśraṁ ca
aniṣṭam
leading to hell
iṣṭam
leading to heaven
miśram
mixed
ca
and
tri-vidhaṁ karmaṇaḥ phalam
tri - vidham
of three kinds
karmaṇaḥ
of work
phalam
the result
bhavaty atyāgināṁ pretya
bhavati
comes
atyāginām
for those who are not renounced
pretya
after death
na tu sannyāsināṁ kvacit
na
not
tu
but
sannyāsinām
for the renounced order
kvacit
at any time .
Important Words
  • aniṣṭam — undesirable
    Leading to lower destinations. The first of three karmic fruits — born of action done for selfish gain that violated dharma.
  • iṣṭam — desirable
    Leading to higher planets. The second fruit. Note Kṛṣṇa lists this too as bondage — even heavenly results bind the soul to the wheel.
  • miśram — mixed
    The third fruit, born of ordinary mixed-motive action — the bulk of human karma. Most of life lands here, and the verse warns even this binds.
  • pretya — after death
    Adverb of timing. The fruits do not all ripen now; they wait. The non-renouncer carries an invisible account into the next body.
  • sannyāsinām — for the renounced
    Genitive plural. For *these*, no fruit accrues — neither aniṣṭa nor iṣṭa nor miśra. The phala-tyāgī breaks the entire ledger.
For one who is not renounced, the threefold fruits of action – desirable, undesirable and mixed – accrue after death. But those who are in the renounced order of life have no such result to suffer or enjoy.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Non-renouncers carry the three-fold karmic harvest beyond death; true sannyāsīs (those who have inwardly let go of fruit-grasping) never inherit any such harvest. The fruit-renunciation of v. 11 yields total post-mortem freedom.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
Closes the opening section on tyāga/sannyāsa. The three-fold karma-phala (aniṣṭa, iṣṭa, miśra) maps to hell/heaven/mixed births. 'Pretya' (after dying) locates the difference where it matters most — what one carries forward. Notice that 'sannyāsin' here means the inner fruit-renouncer of v. 11, not formal monastic order — Kṛṣṇa has gently equated the two.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
अनिष्टम् इष्टं मिश्रं च त्रि-विधं कर्मणः फलम् अत्यागिनां प्रेत्य भवति, सन्न्यासिनां तु क्व‍चित् न ।
aniṣṭam iṣṭaṃ miśraṃ ca tri-vidhaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam atyāgināṃ pretya bhavati, sannyāsināṃ tu kva‍cit na |
The three-fold fruit of action — undesired, desired, and mixed — accrues to non-renouncers after death; but to the sannyāsīs, never anywhere.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
अनिष्टम् इष्टं मिश्रं च त्रि-विधं कर्मणः फलम् । भवति अत्यागिनां प्रेत्य न तु सन्न्यासिनां क्व‍चित् ॥
aniṣṭam iṣṭaṃ miśraṃ ca tri-vidhaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam | bhavati atyāgināṃ pretya na tu sannyāsināṃ kva‍cit ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
अनिष्टम् aniṣṭam अ + इष्ट (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. undesired
इष्टम् iṣṭam √इष् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. desired
मिश्रम् miśram मिश्र (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. mixed
च ca ind. (indeclinable) and
त्रि-विधम् tri-vidham dvigu cpd. (compound) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. three-fold
कर्मणः karmaṇaḥ कर्मन् (n.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) of action
फलम् phalam फल (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) fruit
भवति bhavati √भू pres. (present) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) becomes
अत्यागिनाम् atyāginām अ + त्यागिन् (m.) gen.pl. (genitive plural) of non-renouncers
प्रेत्य pretya प्र + √इ abs. (absolutive) after death
न na ind. (indeclinable) negation not
तु tu ind. (indeclinable) but
सन्न्यासिनाम् sannyāsinām सन्न्यासिन् (m.) gen.pl. (genitive plural) of sannyāsīs
क्वचित् kvacit ind. (indeclinable) ever, anywhere
Purport

A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness acting in knowledge of his relationship with Kṛṣṇa is always liberated. Therefore he does not have to enjoy or suffer the results of his acts after death.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
12. Those who do not renounce in the prescribed way get results in the form of hellish suffering, heavenly enjoyment or human birth in the next life. This is not so for one who renounces in the correct manner.
Commentary

The fault of not following this process of tyāga is described. Those who do not renounce in the prescribed way get results in the form of suffering of hell (aniṣṭam), the pleasures of Svarga (iṣṭam) and human birth (miśram) in the next life (pretya).

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
12. Those who do not renounce in the prescribed way get results in the form of hellish suffering, heavenly enjoyment or human birth in the next life. This is not the result for the person who renounces in the correct manner.
Commentary

This verse explains the fault in not having such renunciation. For those who do not renounce in the way described by Me (atyāginām), after death (pretya), there are three types of results: suffering in the form of hell (aniṣṭam); happiness in the form of svarga (isṭām); and a mixture of happiness and suffering in a human birth (miśram). This is not so for the persons who renunouce as I have declared. They attain liberation by the jñāna contained with the actions. That is the real result of tyāga that I have explained.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Most of the fruits of one's actions for one who is attached is mixed like the rose with the nice fragrance and the thorns both. In this verse which sums‑up this section, Krsna uses 'sannyasinam' and 'atyaginam' and 'karmanah phalam'. He describes clearly that tyaga, or renunciation and sannyasa, the renounced order of life (where one is detached from the fruits of his work), they are exactly the same. Sannyasa and tyaga has been defined by Krsna, in His own opinion, as exactly the same. This Section A which just ended may sound very familiar to everyone, because we heard about it so many times in the first six chapters of the Bhagavad‑gita. This section sums‑up all the points on karma from the first six chapters of the Bhagavad‑gita. In the next section, Krsna is going to sum‑up jnana and to help us to perform activities without being bound, Krsna cites Vedanta and He analyzes the activities, comprised of five different factors. Krsna is going to describe things in a jnana type of manner so that we can analyze them for the same purpose of detaching us from the fruits of our work, knowing that we are not this body, etc. And Krsna takes us one step further for the perfection of jnana ‑ He is going to explain how one should surrender to the Supersoul.

[B. THE CONCLUSION OF SANKHYA AND VEDANTA: ACTIONS DIRECTED BY THE SUPERSOUL BRING FREEDOM FROM REACTION (18. 13‑18) Vedanta describes five factors that comprise all activities, and the most important factor is the Supersoul. One who acts under the direction of the Supersoul is not affected by the reactions to his actions. ]

Krsna is going to analyze how one can act without being bound which is the same point of Section A but from the point of view of jnana.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

. Although various good and bad reactions result from religious duties, one who works without

desires for these fruits is not subject to them. He becomes liberated from all the threefold reactions –

desirable, undesirable and mixed

It explains the result achieved after death, by both attached and the detached
Attached – Has to suffer or enjoy the threefold reactions of material existence
Detached – Does not have to suffer or enjoy the results of the threefold reactions
Krishna conscious person is always liberated
Because a person in Krishna consciousness is acting in knowledge of relationship with Krishna
Therefore he does not have to suffer or enjoy the results of his acts after death
We should note that in this verse Krishna has again used both words, sannyasa and tyaga, to emphasize that they are synonymous. Thus Krishna has again established that the superior method of becoming free from the reactions to work is niskama-karma—renouncing the fruits of work, not the work itself.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
18.12 These trividham, threefold-of three kinds; phalam, results; karmanah, of actions characterized as the righteous and the unritheous; anistam, the undesirable, consisting in (birth in) hell, (among) animals, etc.; istam, the desirable, consisting in (birth as) gods and others; and misram, the mixed, having a mixture of the desirable and the undesirable, consisting in (birht as) human beings;-these results that are of these kinds, bhavati, accrues; pretya, after death, after the fall of the body; atyaginam, to those who do not resort to renunciation, to the unilllumined, the men with rites and duties, who are not men of renunciation in the truest sense. The derivative sense of the word phala (pha-la) is this: On accunt of being accomplished through the operation of diverse external accessories, and a result of ignorance, comparable to the charm cast by jugglery, a source of great delusion and appearing as though close to the indwelling Self, it is phalgu (unsubstantial), and as a conseence it undergoes layam (disappearance). (The result that is of this kind accrues to those who do not resort to renunciation). Tu, but; na kvacit, never; sannyasinam, to those who resort tomonasticism for the sake of the highest Reality, to the class of monks called paramahamsas who remain steadfast in Knowledge alone. For, it cannot be that those who are devoted wholly to steadfastness in complete enlightenment do not dig out the seed of transmigration. This is the meaning. Therefore it is only for those who have realized the supreme Truth that it is possible to become a monk who renounces actions totally, because action, accessories and results are superimmpositions on the Self through ignorance. But the renunciation of all actions is not possible for an unenlightened person who perceives the locus (the body etc.), action, agentship and accessories as the Self. This the Lord shows in the following verses:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
18.12 The 'undesirable result' is Naraka etc., 'the desirable' is heaven etc., 'the mixed' is sons, cows, food etc., which are combined with some undesirable results. Those who have not renounced, namely, those who are devoid of renunciation of agency, possessiveness and fruits - they meet with threefold conseences after death. The meaning of 'after death' (Pretya) may be understood as subseent to the performance of actions. But 'to those who have renounced, none whatsoever,' viz., to those who have relinished the sense of agency etc., no such results antagonistic to release accrue. Here the purport is this: Agnihotra, the great sacrifices etc. are obligatory throughout life and are reired for attaining the objects of desire; but in regard to release their application is different. Though externally they appear to be the same in their nature in both the conditions, they are different in their fruits by virtue of difference in application. Their application to release is seen in such texts as 'The Brahmanas desire to know Him by the study of the Vedas, by sacrifices, by gifts, by austerities conjoined with fasting' (Br. U., 4.4.22). Here the performance of actions without sense of agency is enforced. Such giving up agency etc., are relevant only with regard to acts that are actually performed. Thus Sannyasa or renouncing of this kind is established in the Sastras. The same is also called Tyaga or giving up. Sri Krsna now explains the manner of realising that one is non-agent, by attributing all agency to God, who is the Supreme Person and the Inner Ruler, By cultivating this attitude, an aspirant can attain the renunciation of possessiveness with regard to actions and also their fruits. For it is the Supreme Person who performs all actions through the individual selves who belong to Him. The organs, bodies and Pranas of embodied beings are His. They exist for the sake of His own sport as the only purpose. Therefore, even the appeasement of hunger etc., and such other acts which affect the life of the individual souls and their works constitute only the means for accomplishing that purpose, namely, the sport of the Highest Purusa Himself. The purport of the argument is this: The analogy of seeds producing the tree and its fruits is not applicable to the actions of release-seekers. Their actions may look like those of fruit-seekers externally. But as mentally they do not entertain any such purpose, the conseence of their actions can be ite different. The purpose served by their actions is only affording sport for the Supreme Being.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
18.12 Anistam etc. To those who are not men of relinishment : to those who are full of [desire for] fruit. Even at the stage of mundane life, where all the five factors do exist for actions, those persons, blind with their ignorance, obstinately burden their own Self with the entire load of agency. Hence they fetter their own Self with their own thinking. But, in fact, there is no bondage for Him (the Self). This is now being taught as :
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
18.12 The threefold fruit of action (evil, good and mixed) accrues after death to the non-abandoners, but never to the abandoners.
Commentary

18.12 अनिष्टम् unwished or disagreeable or evil? इष्टम् wished or agreeable or good? मिश्रम् mixed? च and? त्रिविधम् threefold? कर्मणः of action? फलम् fruit? भवति accrues? अत्यागिनाम् to nonrenouncers? प्रेत्य after death? न not? तु but? संन्यासिनाम् to renouncers? क्वचित् ever.Commentary One fruit (of action) is pleasant? another is unpleasant? while the third is a mixture of both. Those in whom good actions preponderate are rorn as gods. Men of evil lives are rorn into animal or vegetable kingdoms. If their actions are eally good and bad? they are rorn into the human kingodm. These distinctions of good? evil and mixed do not exist for the liberated sage who has gone beyond the bonds of Karma by destroying egoism? by annihilating the idea of agency and by abandoning the hope of rewards of actions.The action of a renouncer does not generate desire or attachment thereto. Therefore? after death he is not born again. The actions that are performed without any desire for the reward can bring no bondage to the man at any time.He who has surrendered the fruits of all his works to the Lord is free from the bondage of Karma. Some kind of action is inevitable and natural to all beings? but the man of renunciation abandons the fruits of actions.Phalam Fruit This is caused by the operation of various external factors. This is brought forth by Avidya (ignornace). It is like jugglery and very delusive. The term Phala denotes something that ickly passes away? something not real? not solid.Karma Action Virtue and vice.Anishtam Disagreeable or evil? such as hell? the animal kingdom? etc.Ishtam Wished or agreeable or good.Misram Good and evil mixed together the human birth.Only the unenlightened who have not renounced the fruits of actions reap these three sorts of fruits. The real Sannyasins who belong to the highest order of Sannyasa (Paramahamsa Parivrajakas) who are ever engaged in meditation on the pure? immortal Self? who are solely devoted to Selfknowledge? and who rest in their own essential nature as ExistenceKnowledgeBliss Absolute do not reap any fruits as the fire of Selfknowledge has burnt ignorance and its effects which are the seeds of Samsara.Only a liberated sage who has attained knowledge of the Self and who has no identification with the body can totally relinish all actions. He knows that the Self is beyond all actions and that action is attributed to the Self by ignorance. The ignorant man who identifies himself with the body cannot abandon actions. He thinks that he is the agent or the doer of all actions and expects to attain the fruits of his actions and so he is born again and again in this world to reap the fruits of these actions.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
18.12 The threefold results of actions-the undesirable, the desirable, and the mixed-accrues after death to those who do not resort to renunciation, but never to those who resort to monasticism.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
18.12 For those who cannot renounce all desire, the fruit of action hereafter is threefold - good, evil, and partly good and partly evil. But for him who has renounced, there is none.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 4.14 BG 5.10 BG 9.28 SB 11.20.12 SB 6.1.15 SB 10.14.8 CC Madhya 22.142 CC Antya 4.178 CC Madhya 24.90 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.3Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.23
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Three kinds of fruit-results — desirable, undesirable, mixed — accrue to those who don't renounce; but for the renouncer, no such results.
Practical Applications
  • Recognize that even desirable results bind.
  • Don't romanticize good outcomes; they too tie.
  • Cultivate fruit-blindness.
Reflection Questions
  • What desirable outcome am I clinging to?
  • What does fruit-blindness offer?
Analogy

Two travelers eat from the same field. One eats with hands full of ownership and goes home heavier with debts of pleasure and pain. The other eats as the Lord's prasāda, leaves the field as he found it, and walks on weightless. The food is the same; only one carries it after death.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 18