FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 18.10

న ద్వేష్ట్యకుశలం కర్మ కుశలే నానుషజ్జ‍తే । త్యాగీ సత్త్వసమావిష్టో మేధావీ ఛిన్నసంశయ: ॥ ౧౦ ॥
na dveṣṭy akuśalaṁ karma
[na dveshty akushalam karma]
kuśale nānuṣajjate
[kushale naanushajjate]
tyāgī sattva-samāviṣṭo
[tyaagee sattva-samaavishto]
medhāvī chinna-saṁśayaḥ
[medhaavee chinna-samshayah]
Word-for-word
na — never dveṣṭi — hates akuśalam — inauspicious karma — work kuśale — in the auspicious na — nor anuṣajjate — becomes attached tyāgī — the renouncer sattva — in goodness samāviṣṭaḥ — absorbed medhāvī — intelligent chinna — having cut off saṁśayaḥ — all doubts .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na dveṣṭy akuśalaṁ karma
na
never
dveṣṭi
hates
akuśalam
inauspicious
karma
work
kuśale nānuṣajjate
kuśale
in the auspicious
na
nor
anuṣajjate
becomes attached
tyāgī sattva-samāviṣṭo
tyāgī
the renouncer
sattva
in goodness
samāviṣṭaḥ
absorbed
medhāvī chinna-saṁśayaḥ
medhāvī
intelligent
chinna
having cut off
saṁśayaḥ
all doubts .
Important Words
  • dveṣṭi — hates
    Verb negated in the verse. The sāttvika tyāgī does not push away unpleasant duty. Aversion is itself a form of saṅga — clinging in reverse.
  • akuśalam — inauspicious, unpleasant
    Work that does not bring obvious benefit or pleasure. The verse cuts both extremes: no recoil from such work, no attraction to its opposite.
  • anuṣajjate — becomes attached
    From the same root as saṅga. The verse negates this verb: he does not even cling to *pleasant* duty. The sāttvika is equipoised across the kuśala-akuśala axis.
  • medhāvī — intelligent, possessing buddhi
    A specific kind of intelligence — one informed by śāstra and steadied by sattva. Not cleverness, but the discernment that has digested the teaching.
  • chinna — cut off
    Past participle of chid — to slice. With saṁśayaḥ, the verse says doubts about work and renunciation have been *cut*, not merely answered. The quiet promise: a stable inner ground is possible.
The intelligent renouncer situated in the mode of goodness, neither hateful of inauspicious work nor attached to auspicious work, has no doubts about work.
Purport

A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness or in the mode of goodness does not hate anyone or anything which troubles his body. He does work in the proper place and at the proper time without fearing the troublesome effects of his duty. Such a person situated in transcendence should be understood to be most intelligent and beyond all doubts in his activities.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
10. The wise renunciate situated in sattva, devoid of doubt, does not hate uncomfortable duties nor prefer comfortable duties.
Commentary

This verse describes the characteristics of one fixed in such sattvic tyāga. Akuśalam means those activities which bring suffering to the body, such as bathing during the winter. Kuśala means those activities which are pleasurable for the body, such as bathing during the summer.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
10. The wise renunciate situated in sattva, devoid of doubt, does not hate uncomfortable duties nor prefer comfortable duties.
Commentary

This verse describes the quality of a renunciate in the mode of goodness. He does not hate that which gives pain (akuśalam) such as taking bath in the winter. He is not attached to that which gives comfort (kuśale), such as bathing during the summer heat. This is because he is firmly fixed in sattva (sattva samāviṣṭaḥ), and thus very discerning, [Note: Seeing things as they are is the quality of sattva.] that intelligence is steady (medhāvī), and because he does not doubt that performance of prescribed actions under difficult circumstances will produce knowledge (chinna saṁśayaḥ). Such a person is known as a renunciate in the mode of goodness.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Arjuna asks: " But why can't I just renounce both auspicious and inauspicious work. What is wrong with that?" ‑ Krsna answer is in next text.

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

Defines “Intelligent renouncer”

One who is in the mode of goodness
Neither hateful of inauspicious work nor attached to auspicious work, which implies:
One does not hate anyone or anything that troubles his body
Works in proper place at proper time
Without fearing the troublesome effects
Has no doubts about work LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 18.10 & 18.11: Can’t one just renounce all work, both the auspicious and inauspicious? This is answered in Text 18.11
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
18.10 Na devesti, he does not hate; akusalam, unbefitting; karma, action, rites and duties meant for desired results-with the idea, 'What is the usefulness of this which is a cause of transmigration through fresh embodiment?' Na anusajjate, he does not become attached to; kusale, befitting activity, daily obligatory duties, by thinking that this is the cause of Liberation by virtue of its being the cause of purification of the mind, rise of Knowledge and steadfastness in it. That is to say, he does not entertain any liking even for it, because he finds no purpose in it. Who, again, is he? Tyagi, the man of renunciation, who has become so by having given up attachment and rewards of action in the manner stated above. He is a tyagi who performs nityakarmas by relinishing attachment to those acts and (their) results. Again, it is being stated as to when that person does not hate an unbefitting act and does not become attached to a befitting activity: When he has become sattva-samavistah, imbued with sattva, i.e., when he is filled with, possessed of, sattva, which is the means to the knowledge that discriminates between the Self and the not-Self; and hence medhavi, wise-endowed with intelligence (medha), intuitive experience, characterized as knowledge of the Self; one possessed of that is medhavai (wise)-; and owing to the very fact of being wise, chinnasamsayah, freed from doubts-one whose doubts created by ignorance have been sundered, one who is freed from doubts by his firm conviction that nothing but abiding in the ture nature of the Self is the supreme means to the highest Good. The person competent (for rites and duties) who, having gradually become purified in mind through the practice of Karma-yoga in the way described above, has realized as his own Self the actionless Self, which is devoid of modifications like birth etc., he, '৷৷.having given up all actions mentally, remaining at without doing or causing (others) to do anything at all' (cf. 5.13), attains steadfastness in Knowledge, which is characterized as 'actionless-ness'. In this way, the purpose of the aforesaid Karma-yoga has been stated through the present verse. On the other hand, since, for the unenlightened person-who, while being alified (for rites and duties), holds on to the body owing to the erroneous conception that the body is the Self, and who has the firm conviction, 'I am the agent,' because of the persistence of his idea that the Self is the agent-it is not possible to renounce actions totally, therefore he has competence only for performing enjoined duties by giving up fruits of actions. But he is not to renounce them (actions). In order to point out this idea the Lord says:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
18.10 Thus, 'filled with Sattva,' endowed with right knowledge, i.e., with the knowledge of the reality as it is, and as a conseence of it 'having all doubts shattered' - he alone becomes a renouncer of attachment to work and the fruits of work. He 'neither hates works productive of harmful effects,' nor 'loves others productive of worldly prosperity.' Disagreeable acts are fraught with undesirable fruits; and agreeable acts bring about desirable results such as heaven, sons, cows, food etc. On account of his renouncing all results other than the Brahman and on account of his renouncing the sense of agency, he shows neither love nor hatred for above-mentioned types of works. Here 'sinful acts having undesirable fruits' are only such acts as are inadvertently performed. For it has been taught in the Srutis that nor turning away from bad conduct is antagonistic to the production of knowledge. 'But one who has not ceased from bad conduct, who is not tranil, is not composed, is not of peaceful mind, cannot obtain Him by knowledge' (Ka. U., 1.2.24). Thus, 'the abandonment' according to the Sastras is renunciation of the sense of agency, attachment and fruits of actions, and not total relinishment of actions as such. He explains this further:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
18.10 See Comment under 18.11
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
18.10 The man of renunciation, pervaded by purity, intelligent, and with his doubts cut asunder, does not hate a disagreeable work nor is he attached to an agreeable one.
Commentary

18.10 न not? द्वेष्टि hates? अकुशलम् disagreeable? कर्म action? कुशले to an agreeable one? न not? अनुषज्जते is attached? त्यागी the abandoner? सत्त्वसमाविष्टः pervaded by purity? मेधावी intelligent? छिन्नसंशयः with his doubts cut asunder.Commentary All actions are eally welcome to the man of renunciation. He is not affected by either pleasure or pain. He is not elated at performing pleasant actions nor does he find unpleasantness when he does disagreeable actions. He does not hate the latter? nor is he attached to the former. Neither has he aversion to painful actions nor attraction to pleasant ones. As he has no attachment to any action or its rewards? he will do any action for the welfare of all beings.Akusalam Karma Disagreeable work or work done with expectation of reward? which becomes the cause of bondage to Samsara? by producing a body. He does not hate an unpleasnt action? thinking? Of what use is itKusale To good ones which include obligatory daily duties. He has no attachment to them even with the notion that they lead to salvation by purifying the heart and conseently giving rise to the dawn of knowledge and devotion to it.When one abandons attachment to action and desire for its reward and performs actions vigorously? his heart is filled with Sattva or purity which produces discrimination between the Real and the unreal? the Eternal and the transient. Then he attains knowledge of the Self which dispels all the doubts caused by ignorance. He now realises that the only means of attaining the spureme bliss or eternal peace or immortality is knowledge of the Self. This rends asunder all his doubts. What is the nature of doubt Does Brahman exist or not Do the Upanishads deal with Saguna Brahman or Nirguna Brahman Is the individual soul identical with the Supreme Being or not Will I be able to realise the Self or not Will any of the Karmas (Prarabdha? Sanchita and Agami) affect me Does this Samsara whose nature is the feelings I do this and I enjoy this belong to the Self or to the mind and intellect What are the means for liberation -- Yoga? devotion? Karma or knowledge of the Self What is Moksha Is it Selfrealisation or the attainment of the Salokya? Samipya? Sarupya and Sayujya states (dwelling in the kingdom of God? proximity to Him? assuming the same form as the Lord and merging in Him)When a man practises Karma Yoga he gets purity of heart and through purity of heart knows himself to be the immutable actionless Self Who is destitute of birth? or remains without acting or causing others to act (Cf.V.13). He attains devotion to the knowledge of the Self and freedom from all actions. The purpose of the Karma Yoga described above has been taught in this verse.Medhavi He who is endowed or united with wisdom. He is a Sthitaprajna. What is Medha? then It is the immediate knowledge of the identity of the individual soul and the Supreme Being by meditation on the right significance of the great sentence (I am Brahman or That thou art)? which,is free from the three kinds of doubts? viz.? Samsaya Bhavana (doubt)? Asambhavana (improbability) and Viparitabhavana (perversion)? and by the practice of the four means and service of the Guru (who is versed in the scriptures and established in Brahman) and hearing the truths from him.Such a Medhavi will not think that prohibited actions which bind an ignorant man will be unfavourable to him. He will never think that they will bind him if he has to perform them? because he is above good and evil? virtue and vice? right and wrong. He has no idea of agency (Kartritva Abhimana) he feels that he is a Kritakritya? one who has accomplished all actions.This does not mean that he will do wrong actions. As his will is one with the cosmic will? whatever action he performs will be in accordance with the scriptures. He will never deviate even a fraction of an inch from the rules of the scriptures. The Lord alone works through his mind and senses as he has no individual will.RagaDvesha (likes and dislikes) are the motives that induce a worldly man to actions. As they are absent in a sage or a Medhavi? he can renounce the fruits of all actions and actions as well.As the ocean remains calm amidst stormy waves? even so a Sattvic man remains calm amidst adverse or stormy conditions of life. He recognises that the happenings of life are inevitable. He acts in a variety of ways but is not disturbed as he has a balanced and disciplined mind.There must be no hatred for unpleasant or disagreeable action that brings physical suffering? danger or unlucky results or untoward conseences? when it is the work that should be done. You will have to accept such work also with a willing heart and work with hear and soul. You must have a profound and comprehensive understanding of its need and meaning also. Arjuna failed to understand in the beginning the deep significance and need of the work given by the Lord. He brought in his own foolish philosophy. He failed to do his bounden duty because? due to ignorance? he thought it was an unpleasant or disagreeable action to kill people but in the end when his eyes were opened by the valuable teachings of the Lord? he understood the need and the meaning of the work although it appeared to him as disagreeable and unpleasant in the beginning? and said My illusion is destroyed. I have gained knowledge through Thy grace? O Krishna. I am firm? my doubts are gone. I will act according to Thy instructions.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
18.10 The man of renunciation who has become imbued with sattva, who is wise and freed from doubts, does not hate unbefitting action, nor does he become attached to befitting activity.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
18.10 The wise man who has attained purity, whose doubts are solved, who is filled with the spirit of self-abnegation, does not shrink from action because it brings pain, nor does he desire it because it brings pleasure.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)
Related verses
BG 2.56 BG 5.3 BG 12.17 SB 11.25.28 SB 11.19.36 SB 7.9.43 CC Madhya 8.78 CC Antya 4.175 CC Madhya 19.149 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.9Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.20
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The renouncer in sattva neither hates disagreeable work nor is attached to agreeable work — knowledge frees from all doubt.
Practical Applications
  • Cultivate equality toward agreeable and disagreeable work.
  • Use the encounter with disagreeable work as practice ground.
  • Refuse to dodge the disagreeable.
Reflection Questions
  • What disagreeable work am I dodging?
  • What does facing it offer?
Analogy

A mature gardener does not curse the weeds nor cling to the roses. He bends to whatever the season requires, the trowel moving by its own intelligence. No work disturbs him; no work attracts him; the doubts of the apprentice have burned away in years of steady hands.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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