FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

5 · Karma-yoga — Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness

29 verses
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8-9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27-28 29
Sanskrit Recitation
Reciter: His Grace Rādhā-Gopīnātha Prabhu

Audio hot-linked from bhagavadgitaclass.com — streamed from upstream, not stored.

Reading along — Chapter 5
5.1
arjuna uvāca
sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa
punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi
yac chreya etayor ekaṁ
tan me brūhi su-niścitam
5.2
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
sannyāsaḥ karma-yogaś ca
niḥśreyasa-karāv ubhau
tayos tu karma-sannyāsāt
karma-yogo viśiṣyate
5.3
jñeyaḥ sa nitya-sannyāsī
yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati
nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho
sukhaṁ bandhāt pramucyate
5.4
sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ
pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ
ekam apy āsthitaḥ samyag
ubhayor vindate phalam
5.5
yat sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ
tad yogair api gamyate
ekaṁ sāṅkhyaṁ ca yogaṁ ca
yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
5.6
sannyāsas tu mahā-bāho
duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ
yoga-yukto munir brahma
na cireṇādhigacchati
5.7
yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā
vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ
sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā
kurvann api na lipyate
5.8-9
naiva kiñcit karomīti
yukto manyeta tattva-vit
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann
aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann
unmiṣan nimiṣann api
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu
vartanta iti dhārayan
5.10
brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi
saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ
lipyate na sa pāpena
padma-patram ivāmbhasā
5.11
kāyena manasā buddhyā
kevalair indriyair api
yoginaḥ karma kurvanti
saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śuddhaye
5.12
yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā
śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa
phale sakto nibadhyate
5.13
sarva-karmāṇi manasā
sannyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśī
nava-dvāre pure dehī
naiva kurvan na kārayan
5.14
na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi
lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ
na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ
svabhāvas tu pravartate
5.15
nādatte kasyacit pāpaṁ
na caiva sukṛtaṁ vibhuḥ
ajñānenāvṛtaṁ jñānaṁ
tena muhyanti jantavaḥ
5.16
jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ
yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ
teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ
prakāśayati tat param
5.17
tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas
tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ
gacchanty apunar-āvṛttiṁ
jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ
5.18
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
5.19
ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo
yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ
nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma
tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ
5.20
na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya
nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam
sthira-buddhir asammūḍho
brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ
5.21
bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā
vindaty ātmani yat sukham
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā
sukham akṣayam aśnute
5.22
ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā
duḥkha-yonaya eva te
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya
na teṣu ramate budhaḥ
5.23
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ
prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ
sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ
5.24
yo ’ntaḥ-sukho ’ntar-ārāmas
tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ
brahma-bhūto ’dhigacchati
5.25
labhante brahma-nirvāṇam
ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ
chinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ
sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ
5.26
kāma-krodha-vimuktānāṁ
yatīnāṁ yata-cetasām
abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ
vartate viditātmanām
5.27-28
sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṁś
cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā
nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau
yatendriya-mano-buddhir
munir mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ
vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho
yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ
5.29
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
Chapter Overview — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Connection between Chapter 4 and Chapter 5
Chapter 2 gives
Preliminary knowledge of soul and its entanglement in the material body
Buddhi-yoga as the process to get out of this entanglement
Chapter 3 explains that a person on the platform of knowledge no longer has any duties to perform
Chapter 4 presents
The Lord telling Arjuna that all kind of sacrificial work culminates in knowledge
Also Krishna glorifies jnana and speaks of action in inaction and inaction in action (4.16 – 4.18)
In Text 4.41 also He glorifies jnana and renunciation
But in Text 4.42, He orders Arjuna to fight
Arjuna ‘s understanding up until this point
He thinks renunciation in knowledge involves cessation of all kinds of work performed as sense activities
But if one performs work in devotional service, as Krishna suggests – then how is work stopped?
Work and renunciation appears to be incompatible to Arjuna at this point of time.
Understanding what Arjuna lacks – Work in full knowledge is non-reactive and is therefore the same as inaction
Therefore Chapter 5 opens with Arjuna’s question similar to Text 3.1, “Which is better: ‘Work in devotion’ or ‘Renunciation of work’?” Krishna will answer Arjuna’s question and will explain the process of achieving liberation through Karma-yoga in greater depth than Chapter 3
— Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Chapter Quiz · 12 questions
12 questions · Chapter 5
1. What does Kṛṣṇa say about the choice between renunciation (sannyāsa) and karma-yoga in BG 5.2?
BG 5.2 — both bestow liberation, but karma-yoga is recommended.
Refs: 5.2
2. Who is described as nitya-sannyāsī in BG 5.3?
BG 5.3 — the karma-yogī, free from duality, is the eternal renunciant.
Refs: 5.3
3. What separates the body-identified soul from one who knows the self, per BG 5.13?
BG 5.13 — the embodied soul, when self-controlled, dwells happily in the nava-dvāre pure of the body, not acting yet permitting action.
Refs: 5.13
4. What is the position of the equally disposed wise person (sama-darśinaḥ) in BG 5.18?
BG 5.18 — the truly learned see the same spiritual essence in all beings.
Refs: 5.18
5. Who attains liberation, per BG 5.20?
BG 5.20 — sthita-buddhir asammūḍho brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ.
Refs: 5.20
6. Why is sense-derived pleasure called the source of misery in BG 5.22?
BG 5.22 — pleasure born of sense contact has a beginning and end; only the unwise rejoice in it.
Refs: 5.22
7. What is the meaning of 'śānti-pada' (place of peace) attained per BG 5.29?
BG 5.29 — knowing the Lord as bhoktāram, sarva-loka-maheśvaram, and suhṛd of all beings brings peace.
Refs: 5.29
8. How is the karma-yogī said to perform action without contamination, per BG 5.10?
BG 5.10 — 'brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi ... lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā'.
Refs: 5.10
9. What inner condition gives the muni the brahma-nirvāṇa state in BG 5.24?
BG 5.24 — the sage whose joy, delight, and light are all within achieves the supreme.
Refs: 5.24
10. What is the actual position of the body, per the analogy of 'nine gates' in BG 5.13?
BG 5.13 — the body is likened to a city with nine gates (two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, anus, genitals).
Refs: 5.13
11. What does the chapter recommend instead of mere study or empiric meditation?
BG 5.2-7 emphasises action united with knowledge — buddhi-yukta — as the practical path.
Refs: 5.7
12. What is the result of the yogī who controls breath and senses with the Supreme as ultimate goal (BG 5.28)?
BG 5.28 — such a sage is always liberated.
Refs: 5.28
Breakdown of Chapter 5
Section 1 (5.1–5.6)
Section 2 (5.7–5.12) — HOW TO PERFORM NISKAMA-KARMA-YOGA
One performing Niskama-karma-yoga identifies
Neither with his body
Nor the activities that his body performs
By his detached actions, he is freed from the reactions of his activities
Section 3 (5.13–5.16) — PLATFORM OF KNOWLEDGE – KNOWING THE THREE DOERS
The living being (Doer No. 1) who knows that all bodily activities are automatically carried out by the modes of material nature (Doer No. 2), after those activities are sanctioned by the Supersoul (Doer No. 3), attains enlightenment thorough that knowledge
Section 4 (5.17–5.26) — LIBERATION BY FOCUSSING ON THE SUPERSOUL
One who, in knowledge, devotionally fixes his consciousness on the Supersoul and remains materially equipoised, attains liberation in the near future
Section 5 (5.27–5.28) — LIBERATION THROUGH ASTANGA YOGA: A PREVIEW
Practice of Astanga-yoga gives the same liberation
— Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Section 1 (5.1–5.6)
Section overview
NISKAMA-KARMA-YOGA – EASIER THAN RENOUNCING WORK

Text 1-3: Karma yoga is same as sannyasa, but better

Text 4-6: Why Karma Yoga is better?

Arjuna again asks whether renouncing work is superior to working with detachment
Krishna replies
Both are equal in the sense that both are means to the same goal
Emphasizes working with detachment as easier and superior

Bhagavad-gītā 5.1

↗
అర్జున ఉవాచ సన్న్యాసం కర్మణాం కృష్ణ పునర్యోగం చ శంససి । యచ్ఛ్రేయ ఏతయోరేకం తన్మే బ్రూహి సునిశ్చితమ్ ॥ ౧ ॥
arjuna uvāca
[arjuna uvaacha]
sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa
[sannyaasam karmanaam krishna]
punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi
[punar yogam cha shamsasi]
yac chreya etayor ekaṁ
[yach chreya etayor ekam]
tan me brūhi su-niścitam
[tan me broohi su-nishchitam]
Word-for-word
arjunaḥ uvāca — Arjuna said sannyāsam — renunciation karmaṇām — of all activities kṛṣṇa — O Kṛṣṇa punaḥ — again yogam — devotional service ca — also śaṁsasi — You are praising yat — which śreyaḥ — is more beneficial etayoḥ — of these two ekam — one tat — that me — unto me brūhi — please tell su - niścitam — definitely .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
arjuna uvāca
arjunaḥ uvāca
Arjuna said
sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa
sannyāsam
renunciation
karmaṇām
of all activities
kṛṣṇa
O Kṛṣṇa
punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi
punaḥ
again
yogam
devotional service
ca
also
śaṁsasi
You are praising
yac chreya etayor ekaṁ
yat
which
śreyaḥ
is more beneficial
etayoḥ
of these two
ekam
one
tan me brūhi su-niścitam
tat
that
me
unto me
brūhi
please tell
su - niścitam
definitely .
Important Words
  • sannyāsam — renunciation
    From sam + ni + √as — 'to set down completely.' Arjuna uses the formal monastic term. He is asking about the renounced order itself, not just an inner mood. Kṛṣṇa's reply will distinguish formal sannyāsa from the inner renunciation karma-yoga teaches.
  • yogam — devotional service
    Here paired against sannyāsa. Prabhupāda glosses it as 'devotional service' because in the Gītā's grammar yoga without further qualification means karma-yoga — work offered in connection with Kṛṣṇa. The contrast Arjuna feels is between dropping work and offering it.
  • śreyaḥ — is more beneficial
    Not 'pleasant' (preyaḥ) but śreyas — the ultimate good. The Kaṭha Upaniṣad opens with this exact distinction. Arjuna is asking the highest-stakes question available to a human being and refusing to be fobbed off with the pleasant answer.
  • su-niścitam — definitely
    Su + niścita — 'thoroughly determined.' Arjuna asks for a single, settled answer, not a comparative essay. He has noticed that Kṛṣṇa's previous instructions sounded like they pointed in two directions, and he wants the matter decided.
  • etayoḥ — of these two
    Dual number, locative. Sanskrit grammar lets Arjuna posit a clean two-option choice — and Kṛṣṇa will then dismantle the binary in the next verse. The grammatical setup makes the teaching's overturning of the binary that much sharper.
Arjuna said: O Kṛṣṇa, first of all You ask me to renounce work, and then again You recommend work with devotion. Now will You kindly tell me definitely which of the two is more beneficial?
Purport

In this Fifth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that work in devotional service is better than dry mental speculation. Devotional service is easier than the latter because, being transcendental in nature, it frees one from reaction. In the Second Chapter, preliminary knowledge of the soul and its entanglement in the material body were explained. How to get out of this material encagement by buddhi-yoga, or devotional service, was also explained therein. In the Third Chapter, it was explained that a person who is situated on the platform of knowledge no longer has any duties to perform. And in the Fourth Chapter the Lord told Arjuna that all kinds of sacrificial work culminate in knowledge. However, at the end of the Fourth Chapter, the Lord advised Arjuna to wake up and fight, being situated in perfect knowledge. Therefore, by simultaneously stressing the importance of both work in devotion and inaction in knowledge, Kṛṣṇa has perplexed Arjuna and confused his determination. Arjuna understands that renunciation in knowledge involves cessation of all kinds of work performed as sense activities. But if one performs work in devotional service, then how is work stopped? In other words, he thinks that sannyāsa, or renunciation in knowledge, should be altogether free from all kinds of activity, because work and renunciation appear to him to be incompatible. He appears not to have understood that work in full knowledge is nonreactive and is therefore the same as inaction. He inquires, therefore, whether he should cease work altogether or work with full knowledge.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
1. Arjuna said: You praise both giving up action and performing action through karma-yoga. Please tell me definitely, which of the two is better.
Commentary

In the fifth chapter the Lord explains that karma as superior to jṣāna, because it strengthens jṣāna, and explains knowledge of Paramātmā, along with qualities such as seeing things with equal vision. Being worried about the contradiction between the two statements at the end of the previous chapter, Arjuna asks a question. In verse 41 of the last chapter you spoke of renouncing karma by jṣāna arising from karma-yoga (yoga-sannyasta-karmāṇam) but in verse 42 You again spoke of taking up karma-yoga (yogam ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata). It is not possible to perform both renunciation of action and karma-yoga at once because there is essential contradiction between the two, just as there is contradiction between remaining stationary and moving. Therefore the man of knowledge should either renounce karma or perform karma-yoga. Since I do not understand Your intention, I am asking. Among these two, which one is better? Please tell that definitely to me.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
1. Arjuna said: You praise both giving up action and performing action through karma yoga. Please tell me definitely, which of the two is better.
Commentary

In the fifth chapter Hari speaks of the superiority of karma over jṣāna, because of such reasons as easy performance. He also speaks about giving up performance of karma yoga by one who is pure. In the second chapter, speaking to the person desiring liberation, and having explained that realization of ātmā is a cause of liberation, Kṛṣṇa explained the necessity of niṣkāma karma as means towards that. In the third and fourth chapters He explained that there is no actions for that person who has attained realization of ātmā with yas tv ātma-ratir eva syāt (3.17 ), and sarvaṁ karmākhilaṁ pārtha (4.33) Finally he again advised Arjuna to perform niṣkāma karma with tasmād ajṣāna-saṁbhūtaṁ (BG 4.42) Arjuna now has a question concerning this. You praise the renunciation of actions, jṣāna yoga, a process for stopping the activities of the senses. But You also speak of yoga, performance of action, engaging the senses in action. It is not possible to perform both at once, because of the opposite nature of the two, like non-moving and moving, or darkness and light. I cannot understand your desire—whether one who has attained jṣāna should renounce actions or perform them. Therefore I am asking you. Please tell me definitely which is better, renouncing actions or engaging in actions.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Srila Prabhupada explains in his Purport: "In the Second Chapter, preliminary knowledge of the soul and its entanglement in the material body were explained. How to get out of this material encagement by buddhi‑yoga, or devotional service, was also explained therein. In the Third Chapter, it was explained that a person who is situated on the platform of knowledge no longer has any duties to perform. And in the Fourth Chapter the Lord told Arjuna that all kinds of sacrificial work culminate in knowledge. However, at the end of the Fourth Chapter, the Lord advised Arjuna to wake up and fight, being situated in perfect knowledge. Therefore, by simultaneously stressing the importance of both work in devotion and inaction in knowledge, Krsna has perplexed Arjuna and confused his determination. Arjuna understands that renunciation in knowledge involves cessation of all kinds of work performed as sense activities. But if one performs work in devotional service, then how is work stopped? In other words, he thinks that sannyasa, or renunciation in knowledge, should be altogether free from all kinds of activity, because work and renunciation appear to him to be incompatible. He appears not to have understood that work in full knowledge is nonreactive and is therefore the same as inaction. He inquires, therefore, whether he should cease work altogether or work with full knowledge." Now, Krsna had made Arjuna not understand this point. We may understand something but that is due to having Srila Prabhupada's Purports. But Arjuna on the battlefield amidst all the excitement of Krsna's words he doesn't understand. But since all this dialogue is taking place for our benefit, what is going on is that Krsna is making this point, stressing it again and again until we clearly understand it. The question is: should a person who has acquired knowledge work or not? If knowledge is superior, if sacrifice ends in knowledge, when we get knowledge should we still continue to perform sacrifice (or work)? This is the question.

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

Arjuna asks question, “What is better and more beneficial?” ‘Work’ and ‘renunciation’ appears

incompatible

Text 5.1 purport mentions that ‘work in devotion’ is easier than ‘dry mental speculation’. Because
It is transcendental in nature and thus,
It frees one from all reactions

PLEASE NOTE: The remaining points of the purport are mentioned in the Connection between Chapter 4 and 5

above

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.1 (O Krsna,) samsasi, You praise, i.e. speak of; sannyasam, renunciation; karmanam, of actions, of performance of various kinds of rites enjoined by the scriptures; punah ca, and again; You praise yogam, yoga, the obligatory performance of those very rites! Therefore I have a doubt as to which is better-Is the performance of actions better, or their rejection? And that which is better should be undertaken. And hence, bruhi, tell; mam, me; suniscitam, for certain, as the one intended by You; tat ekam, that one-one of the two, since performance of the two together by the same person is impossible; yat, which; is sreyah, better, more commendable; etayoh, between these two, between the renunciation of actions and the performance of actions [Ast. reads karma-yoga-anusthana (performance of Karma-yoga) in place of karma-anusthana (performance of actions).-Tr.], by undertaking which you think I shall acire what is beneficial. While stating His own opinion in order to arrive at a conclusion-
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.1 Arjuna said 'You praise the renunciation of actions, i.e., Jnana Yoga at one time, and next Karma Yoga'. This is what is objected to: In the second chapter, you have said that Karma Yoga alone should be practised first by an aspirant for release; and that the vision of the self should be achieved by means of Jnana Yoga by one whose mind has its blemishes washed away by Karma Yoga. Again, in the third and fourth chapters, you have praised Karma Yoga or devotion to Karma as better than Jnana Yoga even for one who has attained the stage of Jnana Yoga, and that, as a means of attaining the self, it (Karma Yoga) is independent of Jnana Yoga. Therefore, of these two, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga - tell me precisely which by itself is superior, i.e., most excellent, being more easy to practise, and icker to confer the vision of the self.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.1 Samnyasam etc. Is renunciation superior or Yoga ? this is the estion of the doubting person (Arjuna).
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.1 Arjuna said Renunciation of actions, O Krishna, Thou praisest, and again Yoga. Tell me conclusively that which is the better of the two.
Commentary

5.1 संन्यासम् renunciation? कर्मणाम् of actions? कृष्ण O Krishna? पुनः again? योगम् Yoga? च and? शंससि (Thou) praisest? यत् which? श्रेयः better? एतयोः of these two? एकम् one? तत् that? मे to me? ब्रूहि tell? सुनिश्चितम् conclusively.Commentary Thou teachest renunciation of actions and also their performance. This has confused me. Tell decisively now which is better. It is not possible for a man to resort to both of them at the same time. Yoga here means Karma Yoga. (Cf.III.2)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.1 Arjuna said O Krsna, You praise renunciation of actions, and again, (Karma-) yoga. Tell me for certain that one which is better between these two.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.1 "Arjuna said: My Lord! At one moment Thou praisest renunciation of action; at another, right action. Tell me truly, I pray, which of these is the more conducive to my highest welfare?
Related values & verses
Related values
Prema (Divine Love)Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Dana (Charity / Generosity)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Yajña (Sacrifice / Spirit of Offering)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)
Related verses
BG 3.1 BG 2.49 BG 6.2 SB 1.2.13 SB 11.20.6 SB 7.9.44 CC Madhya 22.99 CC Madhya 19.149 CC Ādi 7.71 Īśa Upaniṣad 1 Īśa Upaniṣad 2
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Arjuna again asks the perennial question: renunciation of action, or action without attachment? — the seeker's natural confusion deserves a clear answer.
Practical Applications
  • Be willing to ask the same question twice, in different forms, until clarity dawns.
  • Don't manufacture artificial certainty.
  • Bring repeated confusions back to your guide instead of resolving alone.
Reflection Questions
  • What question has my heart been asking that I keep restating?
  • What guide could re-receive my confusion freshly?
Analogy

A traveler at a fork in the road, having just been pointed down one path, turns back to ask once more: 'Are you sure?' This is not weakness but the honest gesture of a soul that wants its compass re-checked before committing the steps. Arjuna does what every serious seeker eventually does — he restates his confusion to the teacher rather than swallowing it silently.

Stories
Naciketas at the door of Yama

When the boy Naciketas was sent to Yama by his father, he waited three nights at the door without food. Yama, embarrassed, offered three boons. Naciketas first asked safe things — his father's peace, the fire-sacrifice. Then he asked the dangerous question: what happens after death?

Yama tried to deflect. He offered wealth, sons, kingdoms, celestial women — anything but that question. Naciketas refused them all. 'These wear out; the question remains.' He restated the question until Yama had to answer.

Like Arjuna in this verse, Naciketas shows that the seeker's duty is to re-ask the real question until clarity comes — not to settle for any answer that merely calms the surface.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.2

↗
శ్రీభగవానువాచ సన్న్యాస: కర్మయోగశ్చ ని:శ్రేయసకరావుభౌ । తయోస్తు కర్మసన్న్యాసాత్కర్మయోగో విశిష్యతే ॥ ౨ ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
[shree-bhagavaan uvaacha]
sannyāsaḥ karma-yogaś ca
[sannyaasah karma-yogash cha]
niḥśreyasa-karāv ubhau
[nihshreyasa-karaav ubhau]
tayos tu karma-sannyāsāt
[tayos tu karma-sannyaasaat]
karma-yogo viśiṣyate
[karma-yogo vishishyate]
Word-for-word
śrī - bhagavān uvāca — the Personality of Godhead said sannyāsaḥ — renunciation of work karma - yogaḥ — work in devotion ca — also niḥśreyasa - karau — leading to the path of liberation ubhau — both tayoḥ — of the two tu — but karma - sannyāsāt — in comparison to the renunciation of fruitive work karma - yogaḥ — work in devotion viśiṣyate — is better .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
śrī - bhagavān uvāca
the Personality of Godhead said
sannyāsaḥ karma-yogaś ca
sannyāsaḥ
renunciation of work
karma - yogaḥ
work in devotion
ca
also
niḥśreyasa-karāv ubhau
niḥśreyasa - karau
leading to the path of liberation
ubhau
both
tayos tu karma-sannyāsāt
tayoḥ
of the two
tu
but
karma - sannyāsāt
in comparison to the renunciation of fruitive work
karma-yogo viśiṣyate
karma - yogaḥ
work in devotion
viśiṣyate
is better .
Important Words
  • sannyāsaḥ — renunciation of work
    Kṛṣṇa now uses the term Arjuna asked about. By framing it as karma-sannyāsa — renunciation of action — He prepares to distinguish it from sannyāsa proper as the Gītā will eventually define it: renunciation of the fruits, not of action.
  • karma-yogaḥ — work in devotion
    The hyphenated compound is significant. Yoga here is not separable from karma; it is the manner of doing the work. This is Prabhupāda's lifelong emphasis — bhakti expressed as engaged service, not retreat.
  • niḥśreyasa-karau — leading to the path of liberation
    Dual form. Both paths produce niḥśreyasa — the highest good. Kṛṣṇa first affirms equivalence at the level of destination so that the next word, viśiṣyate, lands as practical counsel about means, not a metaphysical demotion of renunciation.
  • viśiṣyate — is better
    From vi + √śiṣ — 'to distinguish, to mark as superior.' The verbal form is a passive-instrumental: karma-yoga is marked-as-superior. Kṛṣṇa is making a definite judgment, exactly the su-niścitam Arjuna asked for.
  • ubhau — both
    Dual. Important because Kṛṣṇa refuses to dismiss sannyāsa outright. The Gītā never disparages the genuine renunciate; it only redirects souls not ready for that path back toward engaged service.
The Personality of Godhead replied: The renunciation of work and work in devotion are both good for liberation. But, of the two, work in devotional service is better than renunciation of work.
Purport

Fruitive activities (seeking sense gratification) are cause for material bondage. As long as one is engaged in activities aimed at improving the standard of bodily comfort, one is sure to transmigrate to different types of bodies, thereby continuing material bondage perpetually. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.4–6) confirms this as follows: nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti na sādhu manye yata ātmano ’yam asann api kleśa-da āsa dehaḥ parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam yāvat kriyās tāvad idaṁ mano vai karmātmakaṁ yena śarīra-bandhaḥ evaṁ manaḥ karma-vaśaṁ prayuṅkte avidyayātmany upadhīyamāne prītir na yāvan mayi vāsudeve na mucyate deha-yogena tāvat “People are mad after sense gratification, and they do not know that this present body, which is full of miseries, is a result of one’s fruitive activities in the past. Although this body is temporary, it is always giving one trouble in many ways. Therefore, to act for sense gratification is not good. One is considered to be a failure in life as long as he makes no inquiry about his real identity. As long as he does not know his real identity, he has to work for fruitive results for sense gratification, and as long as one is engrossed in the consciousness of sense gratification one has to transmigrate from one body to another. Although the mind may be engrossed in fruitive activities and influenced by ignorance, one must develop a love for devotional service to Vāsudeva. Only then can one have the opportunity to get out of the bondage of material existence.” Therefore, jñāna (or knowledge that one is not this material body but spirit soul) is not sufficient for liberation. One has to act in the status of spirit soul, otherwise there is no escape from material bondage. Action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not, however, action on the fruitive platform. Activities performed in full knowledge strengthen one’s advancement in real knowledge. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, mere renunciation of fruitive activities does not actually purify the heart of a conditioned soul. As long as the heart is not purified, one has to work on the fruitive platform. But action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness automatically helps one escape the result of fruitive action so that one need not descend to the material platform. Therefore action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is always superior to renunciation, which always entails a risk of falling. Renunciation without Kṛṣṇa consciousness is incomplete, as is confirmed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.258): prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate “When persons eager to achieve liberation renounce things related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thinking them to be material, their renunciation is called incomplete.” Renunciation is complete when it is in the knowledge that everything in existence belongs to the Lord and that no one should claim proprietorship over anything. One should understand that, factually, nothing belongs to anyone. Then where is the question of renunciation? One who knows that everything is Kṛṣṇa’s property is always situated in renunciation. Since everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, everything should be employed in the service of Kṛṣṇa. This perfect form of action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is far better than any amount of artificial renunciation by a sannyāsī of the Māyāvādī school.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
2. The Lord said: Both renunciation of work and karma-yoga produce the highest benefit. But of the two, karma-yoga is better than renunciation of karma.
Commentary

Karma-yoga is better. Even for the jṣānī, performing action is not at all a fault. Rather, by performance of niṣkāma-karma, the heart becomes fixed in purity. From that, jṣāna becomes fixed. Sometimes there may arise disturbance in the heart of the sannyāsī. In order to alleviate that disturbance, is it forbidden to engage in karma? Disturbance in the heart certainly obstructs the practice of jṣāna, but taking up enjoyment of sense objects (rather than performing niṣkāma-karma) is a real degradation.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
2. The Lord said: Both renunciation of work and karma yoga produce the highest benefit. But of the two, karma yoga is better than renunciation of karma.
Commentary

Asked by Arjuna, the Lord spoke. Both are beneficial, since they both lead to liberation. But karma yoga is better than jṣāna yoga (karma saṁnyāsāt). The meaning is this. Karma yoga does not bear the same faults that arise in practicing jṣāna, but because of containing jṣāna within it, it makes jṣāna steady. For one who has renounced action because of steadiness in jṣāna, if he develops a fault in the consciousness, he must perform karma yoga to correct the fault. This is the injunction of scriptures for remedying the problem. Statements indicating renunciation of action say that when one attains absorption in ātmā, then all actions leave that person spontaneously. Therefore karma yoga is better because it is easier to perform, because it is safer, and because it contains jṣāna within it.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

The question isn't which path is superior. The question is: which path is better in the sense of more practical and easy. And this is explained in the next Text.

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

Answers the question asked in Text 5.1

Both good for liberation
But work in devotion (karma-yoga) is better than renunciation of work (sannyasa)
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.2 Ubhau, both, to be sure; sannyasah, renunciation of actions; ca, and; karma-yogah, Karma-yoga-their performance-; nihsreyasa-karau, lead to Liberation. Though both lead to Liberation by virtue of being the cause of the rise of Knowledge, even then, tayoh, between the two which are the causes of Liberation; Karma-yoga, tu, however; visisyate, excels; karma-sannyasat, over mere renunciation of actions. Thus He extols Karma-yoga. [Karma-yoga is better than renunciation of actions that is not based on Knowledge.] Why? In answer the Lord says:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.2 The Lord said Even while granting that some persons are competent for the practice of Jnana Yoga exclusively, it has to be conceded that renunciation, i.e., Jnana Yoga, and Karma Yoga can be practised as independent of each other in the pursuit of the highest excellence. Still, of these two, Karma Yoga excels over the renunciation of actions, i.e., Jnana Yoga. Sri Krsna explains why this is so.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.2 Samnyasah etc. Renunciation and the Yoga of action-not only one, but two-are mentioned here. Happily joining together they yield salvation. (However), the superiority of the Yoga [over the renunciation] is due to the fact that but for the Yoga, renunciation does not exist.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.2 The Blessed Lord said Renunciation and the Yoga of action both lead to the highest bliss; but of the two, the Yoga of action is superior to the renunciation of action.
Commentary

5.2 संन्यासः renunciation? कर्मयोगः Yoga of action? च and? निःश्रेयसकरौ leading to the highest bliss? उभौ both? तयोः of these two? तु but? कर्मसंन्यासात् than renunciation of action? कर्मयोगः Yoga of action? विशिष्यते is superior.Commentary Sannyasa (renunciation of action) and Karma Yoga (performance of action) both lead to Moksha or liberation or the highest bliss. Though both lead to Moksha? yet of the two means of attaining to Moksha? Karma Yoga is better than mere Karma Sannyasa (renunciation of action) without the knowledge of the Self.But renunciation of actions with the knowledge of the Self is decidedly superior to Karma Yoga.Moreover? Karma Yoga is easy and is therefore suitable to all. (Cf.III.3V.5VI.46)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.2 The Blessed Lord said Both renunciation of actions and Karma-yoga lead to Liberation. Between the two, Karma-yoga, however, excels over renunciation of actions.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.2 Lord Shri Krishna replied: Renunciation of action and the path of right action both lead to the highest; of the two, right action is the better.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
BG 3.3 BG 3.8 BG 6.1 SB 11.20.7 SB 11.20.8 SB 1.5.17 CC Madhya 22.105 CC Madhya 8.58 CC Madhya 9.261 Īśa Upaniṣad 2 BRS 1.2.255
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Both renunciation and karma-yoga lead to liberation; but karma-yoga is better than mere renunciation of action.
Practical Applications
  • Honor active service over performed renunciation.
  • Don't romanticize 'leaving everything' — Kṛṣṇa says karma-yoga is better.
  • Engage rather than withdraw, with the right inner stance.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I imagining renunciation is the higher path when Kṛṣṇa says action is?
  • What active service is being asked of me?
Analogy

Two boats can both cross the river, but one cuts straight through current while the other hugs the bank. Both reach the far shore; one reaches it sooner. Kṛṣṇa concedes that renunciation of work is a real boat — and then says karma-yoga is the better boat for the river of this age.

Stories
King Janaka, the working sage

Janaka of Mithilā never abandoned his throne. He ran a kingdom, met ambassadors, judged court cases, fought battles when needed. Yet he ruled as a niṣkāma-karma-yogī — performing every duty as offering, claiming none of its fruit.

When Śuka, the parrot-saint and son of Vyāsa, was sent by his father to learn renunciation, he was sent not to a forest hermit but to King Janaka — to learn that detachment lives inside action, not outside it. The Bhāgavatam (9.13) records Janaka's line as a dynasty of Vaiṣṇavas, devoted to the Lord while serving the world.

Kṛṣṇa Himself cites Janaka in 3.20 as the proof-case: karma-yoga, not formal renunciation, is the recommended path. This verse opens the argument Janaka's life closes.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.3

↗
జ్ఞేయ: స నిత్యసన్న్యాసీ యో న ద్వేష్టి న కాఙ్‍క్షతి । నిర్ద్వన్ద్వో హి మహాబాహో సుఖం బన్ధాత్ప్రముచ్యతే ॥ ౩ ॥
jñeyaḥ sa nitya-sannyāsī
[jneyah sa nitya-sannyaasee]
yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati
[yo na dveshti na kaankshati]
nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho
[nirdvandvo hi mahaa-baaho]
sukhaṁ bandhāt pramucyate
[sukham bandhaat pramuchyate]
Word-for-word
jñeyaḥ — should be known saḥ — he nitya — always sannyāsī — renouncer yaḥ — who na — never dveṣṭi — abhors na — nor kāṅkṣati — desires nirdvandvaḥ — free from all dualities hi — certainly mahā - bāho — O mighty-armed one sukham — happily bandhāt — from bondage pramucyate — is completely liberated .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
jñeyaḥ sa nitya-sannyāsī
jñeyaḥ
should be known
saḥ
he
nitya
always
sannyāsī
renouncer
yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati
nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho
sukhaṁ bandhāt pramucyate
yaḥ
who
na
never
dveṣṭi
abhors
na
nor
kāṅkṣati
desires
nirdvandvaḥ
free from all dualities
hi
certainly
mahā - bāho
O mighty-armed one
sukham
happily
bandhāt
from bondage
pramucyate
is completely liberated .
Important Words
  • nitya — always
    Adverbial. Not occasionally renounced — perpetually so. The Gītā's renunciate is not the one who took the formal vow yesterday but the one whose mind today wants nothing and rejects nothing.
  • sannyāsī — renouncer
    Redefined. Kṛṣṇa moves the title away from the orange cloth and toward an inner posture. This is the verse's quiet revolution: sannyāsa is a stance, not an order.
  • nirdvandvaḥ — free from all dualities
    Nir + dvandva — 'without the pair-game.' Heat-cold, praise-blame, gain-loss, success-failure: the entire stereo system of material experience runs on pairs. Step out of the binary and bondage loses its grip.
  • sukham — happily
    Adverbial. Liberation is not won by violent austerity but flows easily — sukham — once the dual game is dropped. Prabhupāda often stresses this: Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sukhaṁ kartum, easy to perform, in contrast to dry renunciation.
  • pramucyate — is completely liberated
    Pra + √muc, passive — 'is loosed forth.' The prefix pra intensifies; not partial loosening but complete release. Note the passive: he is liberated, not he liberates himself. The dropping of grasping is what allows release to happen to him.
One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his activities is known to be always renounced. Such a person, free from all dualities, easily overcomes material bondage and is completely liberated, O mighty-armed Arjuna.
Purport

One who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is always a renouncer because he feels neither hatred nor desire for the results of his actions. Such a renouncer, dedicated to the transcendental loving service of the Lord, is fully qualified in knowledge because he knows his constitutional position in his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. He knows fully well that Kṛṣṇa is the whole and that he is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Such knowledge is perfect because it is qualitatively and quantitatively correct. The concept of oneness with Kṛṣṇa is incorrect because the part cannot be equal to the whole. Knowledge that one is one in quality yet different in quantity is correct transcendental knowledge leading one to become full in himself, having nothing to aspire to or lament over. There is no duality in his mind because whatever he does, he does for Kṛṣṇa. Being thus freed from the platform of dualities, he is liberated – even in this material world.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
3. O Mighty-armed one, the person engaged in niṣkāma-karma with pure heart, who is without duality, neither hating nor desiring, is known as the constant sannyāsī. Easily he is freed from bondage.
Commentary

It should not be said that taking sannyāsa (renouncing all duties or karma) gives liberation and not taking sannyāsa does not give liberation. The pure hearted person engaged in action should be known as the constant sannyāsī (nitya-sannyāsī). He is a true warrior who conquers the city of liberation, O Mighty-armed one (mahā-bāho).

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
3. O Mighty-armed one, the karma yogī is known as the constant saṁyāsī who tolerates the dualities, neither hating nor desiring objects. Easily he is freed from bondage.
Commentary

Why is it better? This person, the karma yogī, with pure heart, is called nitya saṁnyāsī. This means that the karma yogī is always fixed (nitya) in jṣāna yoga. Because he is completely satisfied with the realization of ātmā contained within karma yoga, he does not long for or hate anything at all. He tolerates the dualities. By being fixed in karma which is easy to perform, without effort (sukham), he is freed from bondage.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

The term used here by Krsna is 'nitya‑sannyasi'. The person who is actually renounced and detached from the fruits of his activities is actually a 'nitya‑sannyasi'. He is renounced, he is always a 'sannyasi'. This is the true meaning of 'sannyasi' ‑ "one who neither hates or desires the fruits of his activities. Such a person free from all dualities, easily overcomes material bondage and is completely liberated." This first Section (1‑6) explains that 'niskama karma' is equal to renunciation of work but it is easier. This is the point why it is better ‑ because it is easier.

[2 . Although the results of renunciation and devotional service are ultimately the same, devotional service is superior, for the devotee can quickly achieve Krsna. (4‑6) ]

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

One who works in devotion is a true sannyasi and easily achieves liberation

Definition of true sannyasi – neither hates nor desires fruits and is free from all dualities
Focus of Learning

(a) Krishna Conscious person is a true sannyasi – How?

He has perfect transcendental knowledge i.e. soul and Krishna are one in quality but different in quantity
Incorrect transcendental knowledge – oneness in quantity with Krishna, because a part can never be equal to whole
Result of perfect knowledge – one becomes full in himself
Full in himself – implies no desire/hatred/lamentation for the results of action
No duality in mind – because whatever he does is for Krishna
Thus liberated even in material world

(a) Path of action: Krishna conscious action vs Fruitive action – Devotional Service / Action in Krishna

Consciousness is the only way to get rid of material bondage (Ref. SB 5.5.4-6)

On the other hand fruitive action creates bondage
To act for sense gratification – not good because fruitive acts cause material bondage and transmigration; each body is temporary and miserable.
Failure of life – if no inquiry about real identity
Suggestion to “get out” of bondage – Develop love for Devotional service to Vasudeva

(b) Path of renouncing all action: Process of Jnana (of spiritual identity) / dry renunciation

One may think that action causes bondage, therefore we should renounce action altogether
but one should know that Jnana (of spiritual identity) or dry renunciation is not sufficient for liberation from bondage,
but one must act on the level of status of spirit soul
Action in Krishna Consciousness is different from action on fruitive platform
Action in full knowledge strengthens one’s advancement in real knowledge
Mere renunciation of fruitive action without Krishna Consciousness does not purify the heart

(c) Srila Rupa Goswami on ‘renunciation’ (Ref. Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu)

Incomplete Renunciation (Phalgu-vairagya) — to renounce things related to Supreme Personality of Godhead thinking them material, with desire for liberation
Complete renunciation (Yukta-vairagya) — implies to know
Everything belongs to the Lord
Use everything in His service
Do not claim proprietorship

Texts 5.4* – 5.5

COMMON THEME: Karma-yoga and Sannyasa are same, because both lead to spiritual realization and have

same conclusion

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 5.5 & 5.6: It is important to understand that Krishna is not speaking about a

variety of paths leading to a variety of inferior or superior destinations. Rather, He is describing two

aspects of a path—one easy and one difficult—with the same goal. (These verses are applicable to

anyone trying to attain Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan realization, but Srila Prabhupada translated yoga as

“devotional service” to highlight Krishna’s actual desire and purpose.)

If we renounce activities before our hearts are clean, we will be forced by our unclean hearts to engage in

improper activities. The senses will demand engagement, but the jnana-yoga process forbids sense activity.

Unless the senses are engaged in good work, it will be difficult to stop improper work. Krishna therefore

recommends keeping the senses always engaged, while simultaneously purifying the heart by working with

detachment. This is the more practical and, therefore, superior path. The comparison between the two paths

continues in the following verse.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.3 For, O mighty-armed one, he who is free from duality becomes easily freed from bondage. That performer of Karma-yoga, yah, who; na dvesti, does not hate anything; and na kanksati, does not crave; jneyah, should be known; as nitya-sannyasi, a man of constant [A man of constant renunciation: He is a man of renunciation ever before the realization of the actionless Self.] renunciation. The meaning is that he who continues to be like this in the midst of sorrow, happiness and their sources should be known as a man of constant renunciation, even though engaged in actions. Hi, for; mahabaho, O mighty-armed one; nirdvandvah, one who is free from duality; pramucyate, becomes freed; sukham, easily, without trouble; bandhat, from bondage. It is reasonable that in the case of renunciation and Karma-yoga, which are opposed to each other and can be undertaken by different persons, there should be opposition even between their results; but it canot be that both of them surely lead to Liberation. When such a estion arises, this is the answer stated:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.3 That Karma Yogin, who, being satisfied with the experience of the self implied in Karma Yoga, does not desire anything different therefrom and conseently does not hate anything, and who, because of this, resignedly endures the pairs of opposites - he should be understood as ever given to renunciation, i.e., even devoted to Jnana Yoga. Such a one therefore is freed from bondage because of his being firmly devoted to Karma Yoga which is easy to practise. The independence of Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga from each other as means for attainment of the self is now declared.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.3 Jneyah etc. Therefore he alone is all the time man-of-renunciation, by whom both desire and hatred have been renounced from his mind. Because his intellect has come out of the pairs of anger, delusion and others, he is released just easily.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.3 He should be known as a perpertual Sannyasi who neither hates nor desires; for, free from the pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he is easily set free from bondage.
Commentary

5.3 ज्ञेयः should be known? सः he? नित्यसंन्यासी perpetual ascetic? यः who? न not? द्वेष्टि hates? न not? काङ्क्षति desires? निर्द्वन्द्वः one free from the pairs of opposites? हि verily? महाबाहो O mightyarmed? सुखम् easily? बन्धात् from bondage? प्रमुच्यते is set free.Commentary A man does not become a Sannyasi by merely giving up actions because of laziness or ignorance or some family arrel or calamity or unemployment. A true Sannyasi is not a hypocritical coward.The Karma Yogi who neither hates pain and the objects which give him pain? nor desires pleasure and the objects that give him pleasure? who has neither attachment nor aversion to any senseobject and who has risen above the pairs of heat and cold? joy and sorrow? success and failure? victory and defeat? gain and loss? praise and censure? honour and dishonour? should be known as a perpetual Sannyasi though he is ever engaged in action.One need not have taken Sannyasa formally but if he has the above mental attitutde? he is a perpetual Sannyasi. Mere ochrecoloured robe cannot make one a Sannyasi. What is wanted is a pure heart with true renunciation of egoism and desires. Physical renunciation of objects is no renunciation at all. (Cf.VI.1)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.3 He who does not hate and does not crave should be known as a man of constant renunciation.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.3 He is a true ascetic who never desires or dislikes, who is uninfluenced by the opposites and is easily freed from bondage.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 2.56 BG 12.17 BG 6.9 SB 11.19.45 SB 7.9.45 SB 3.25.21 CC Madhya 22.145 CC Antya 20.21 CC Madhya 8.66 Īśa Upaniṣad 6 Īśa Upaniṣad 7
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his activities is the truly renounced — beyond the dualities, easily liberated.
Practical Applications
  • Notice when you flinch from a task or chase one — both reveal attachment.
  • Cultivate equanimity within action, not through avoidance.
  • Treat dualities as the field, not the obstacle.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I flinch and chase, revealing attachment in disguise?
  • What does true equanimity in this circumstance look like?
Analogy

A lake unstirred by either falling leaves or thrown stones holds the moon perfectly on its surface. The yogī who neither pulls toward pleasant fruits nor pushes away unpleasant ones becomes that lake. Dualities cease to ripple him, and the reflection of the Supreme appears clearly within.

Stories
Prahlāda in the fire and the poison

When his father Hiraṇyakaśipu tried to kill him — burning fire, mountain cliffs, serpent-pits, poison cups — young Prahlāda neither flinched from the torment nor begged for relief. He simply continued to chant. Pleasant and unpleasant came; he leaned toward neither.

The Bhāgavatam records that this very steadiness, this nirdvandva-stance under maximum provocation, was what made him sukham bandhāt pramucyate — happily liberated from bondage. Bondage could find no handle on a boy who would not grab and would not flinch.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.4

↗
సాం‍ఖ్యయోగౌ పృథగ్బాలా: ప్రవదన్తి న పణ్డితా: । ఏకమప్యాస్థిత: సమ్యగుభయోర్విన్దతే ఫలమ్ ॥ ౪ ॥
sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ
[saankhya-yogau prithag baalaah]
pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ
[pravadanti na panditaah]
ekam apy āsthitaḥ samyag
[ekam apy aasthitah samyag]
ubhayor vindate phalam
[ubhayor vindate phalam]
Word-for-word
sāṅkhya — analytical study of the material world yogau — work in devotional service pṛthak — different bālāḥ — the less intelligent pravadanti — say na — never paṇḍitāḥ — the learned ekam — in one api — even āsthitaḥ — being situated samyak — complete ubhayoḥ — of both vindate — enjoys phalam — the result .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ
sāṅkhya
analytical study of the material world
yogau
work in devotional service
pṛthak
different
bālāḥ
the less intelligent
pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ
pravadanti
say
na
never
paṇḍitāḥ
the learned
ekam apy āsthitaḥ samyag
ekam
in one
api
even
āsthitaḥ
being situated
samyak
complete
ubhayor vindate phalam
ubhayoḥ
of both
vindate
enjoys
phalam
the result .
Important Words
  • bālāḥ — the less intelligent
    Literally 'children.' Not insult but diagnosis: the immature thinker categorizes prematurely. Sectarian rivalry over paths is a developmental stage; paṇḍitāḥ have outgrown it.
  • paṇḍitāḥ — the learned
    From the same root as paṇḍā, intelligence. In the Gītā, paṇḍita names not someone who has accumulated information but someone whose seeing has matured. The chapter will return to this word in verse 18.
  • ekam — in one
    Singular accusative. Kṛṣṇa's economy is striking: applying yourself well to one path yields the fruits of both. The implication is do not switch lanes mid-river. Mastery of one path is preferred over dilettante sampling of many.
  • samyak — complete
    'Properly, thoroughly.' The qualifier is doing serious work. Half-hearted practice of either path yields half the fruit. The convergence at the top is real only for the practitioner who has actually climbed.
  • ubhayoḥ — of both
    Dual genitive. The fruit of both paths flows to the serious practitioner of either — which means a karma-yogī receives the jñāna-fruit too, and a sāṅkhya-yogī the karma-fruit. This anticipates the synthesis Kṛṣṇa will build through the next chapters.
Only the ignorant speak of devotional service [karma-yoga] as being different from the analytical study of the material world [Sāṅkhya]. Those who are actually learned say that he who applies himself well to one of these paths achieves the results of both.
Purport

The aim of the analytical study of the material world is to find the soul of existence. The soul of the material world is Viṣṇu, or the Supersoul. Devotional service to the Lord entails service to the Supersoul. One process is to find the root of the tree, and the other is to water the root. The real student of Sāṅkhya philosophy finds the root of the material world, Viṣṇu, and then, in perfect knowledge, engages himself in the service of the Lord. Therefore, in essence, there is no difference between the two because the aim of both is Viṣṇu. Those who do not know the ultimate end say that the purposes of Sāṅkhya and karma-yoga are not the same, but one who is learned knows the unifying aim in these different processes.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
4. The ignorant speak of jṣāna and karma-yoga as different, but the wise do not. Performing one of these completely, one attains the results of both.
Commentary

Your statement about which is the better of the two does not actually apply, because intelligent people do not see any difference between the two. The word sāṅkhya refers to being fixed in jṣāna. An aṅga (component) of that practice is sannyāsa. The fools, not the wise, speak of the difference between sannyāsa and karma-yoga. As the previous verse mentioned, “one should know the karma-yogī to be the real sannyāsī.” Thus, performing one of the two gives the result of both.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
4. The ignorant speak of jṣāna and karma yoga as different, not the wise. Performing one of these completely, one attains the result of both, seeing the ātmā.
Commentary

Asking which of the two is better does not arise. The fools, not the wise men, will say that karma yoga and jṣāna yoga are different because of having different fruits. Performing one, a person attains the result of both, seeing the ātmā.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

'Sankhya' or 'Jnana' or 'Karma‑sannyasi' (which means renouncing one's work). Krsna says here, that first of all, they are non‑different ‑ the renunciation of work (being situated in a renouced position) and analytical study of the material world. This sankhya is the work of one who has no material activity, no physical activity, who has taken this type of sannyasi. Krsna explains that karma‑yoga or work in detachment, only a ignorant speaks of that karma‑yoga or devotional service or work that is detached ‑ as being different from analytical study of the material world (sankhya). They are both the same. The question is: which is easier? And should one who has achieved jnana, should he continue working or not? Krsna explains that they are the same but 'niskama karma' is easier. Either jnana and sankhya are the same ‑ they both mean sannyasi, renunciation of work. And yoga and karma are the same ‑ they both mean work with the senses. Here is that same issue discussed again: should one renounce work and attain jnana or should one work with detachment? Krsna's answer is clear: "anyone who applies himself to one of those paths, achieves the result of anyone of those paths". The same point is repeated in the next Text.

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

How are work and renunciation the same? If I am holding a rock in my hand and I want to pick up

my ax, I drop the rock to free my hand. Then I can pick up the ax. Similarly, someone with material

desires must first drop his material attachment before acquiring a spiritual taste.

However, these two steps can also be performed as one step. By picking up one object I will

automatically drop the other. Karma-yoga done with detachment allows us to become materially

detached and spiritually attached at the same time. This topic will now be further discussed.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.4 Balah, the fools; na panditah, not the learned ones; pravadanti, speak of; sankhya-yogau, Sankhya [Sankhya, i.e. monasticism, is that which is suited for sankhya, Self-iniry.] (the Path of Knowledge) and (Karma-)yoga; as prthak, different, having opposite and different results. The learned ones, the wise, however, admit one, unconflicting result. How? Any one who samyak, properly; asthitah, resorts to, i.e. follows; ekam api, even one, between the Path of Knowledge and (Karma-) yoga; vindate, gets; phalam, the result; ubhayoh, of both. For, the result of both is that Liberation itself. Therefore there is no conflict with regard to the result. Objection: After beginning the topic with the words, 'renunciation' and '(Karma-) yoga', how is it that the Lord speaks of the identity of the results of the path of Knowledge and (Karma-) yoga, which is beside the point? Reply: This defect does not arise. Although the estion was put by Arjuna merely with regard to renunciation and Karma-yoga, yet the Lord, without actually avoiding them, and by adding something special which was intended by Him, gave the answer by expressing them through other words, 'Sankhya' and '(Karma-) yoga'. Those very 'renunciation and 'Karma-yoga', when they are (respectively) associated with Knowledge and such of Its means as eanimity etc., are meant by the words 'Sankhya' and 'yoga'. This is the Lord's veiw. Therefore there is no discussion out of the context. How can the result of both be attained by the proper performance of only one? The answer is:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.4 Those who say that Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga are distinct because of the difference in results, are children, i.e., are persons with incomplete knowledge; they do not know the entire truth. The meaning is that they do not possess true knowledge, who say that Karma Yoga results in Jnana Yoga only and that Jnana Yoga alone results in the vision of the self and that the two are thus distinct because of the difference in their fruits. But on the contrary as both have only the vision of the self as the fruit, a person who is firmly set in one of them, wins that one fruit common to both. Sri Krsna further expounds the same:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.4 See Comment under 5.5
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.4 Children, not the wise, speak of knowledge and the Yoga of action or the performance of action as though they are distinct and different; he who is truly established in one obtains the fruits of both.
Commentary

5.4 सांख्ययोगौ Sankhya (knowledge) and Yoga (Yoga of action or performance of action)? पृथक् distinct? बालाः children? प्रवदन्ति speak? न not? पण्डिताः the wise? एकम् one? अपि even? आस्थितः established in? सम्यक् truly? उभयोः of both? विन्दते obtains? फलम् fruit.Commentary Children the ignorant people who have no knowledge of the Self? and who have only a theoretical knowledge of the scriptures.Children or ignorant people only say that knowledge and the performance of action are different and produce distinct and opposite results. But the wise who have the knowledge of the Self say that they produce the same result only? viz.? Moksha or liberation. He who is duly established in,one? he who truly lives in one? Sankhya or Yoga? obtains the fruits of both. Therefore there is no diversity in the result or the fruit. This is the gist of this verse. (Cf.VI.2)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.4 The fools, not the learned ones, speak of Sankhya (the path of Knowledge) and (Karma-) yoga as different. Any one who properly resorts to even one (of them) gets the result of both.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.4 Only the unenlightened speak of wisdom and right action as separate, not the wise. If any man knows one, he enjoys the fruit of both.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Prema (Divine Love)
Related verses
BG 5.5 BG 3.3 BG 13.25 SB 11.20.6 SB 11.20.7 SB 3.25.32 CC Madhya 19.167 CC Madhya 25.29 CC Ādi 7.145 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.22
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Only the ignorant call renunciation different from karma-yoga — those who know either correctly receive the fruits of both.
Practical Applications
  • Stop comparing your path to another's; their differences are surface, not substance.
  • Practice your path well, knowing it converges with all genuine paths.
  • Refuse sectarian rivalry over which yoga is 'highest.'
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I unnecessarily comparing paths?
  • What would deeper practice of my own path open up?
Analogy

Two rivers descending from the same mountain by different sides eventually meet the same ocean. The villager who insists his river is the only true one has not yet climbed high enough to see them both. Kṛṣṇa is taking Arjuna to the height from which the convergence is obvious.

Stories
Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī

When the sage Yājñavalkya prepared to leave home for the renounced life, he offered to divide his wealth between his two wives. Maitreyī refused her share. 'If the whole world were mine, would it make me immortal?' she asked.

Yājñavalkya answered her with the famous Bṛhad-āraṇyaka teaching that the self is what is to be heard, reflected upon, meditated on. The Bhāgavatam recasts that very inquiry in personal terms: the ātmā worth knowing is the Paramātmā, and that knowing flowers as loving service to Bhagavān (SB 2.2; 11.2).

The Gītā tradition reads the scene this way too. Maitreyī's renounced inquiry and Janaka's engaged kingship converge — not on an impersonal Absolute, but on the same Lord whom karma-yoga and sāṅkhya alike are meant to reach.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.5

↗
యత్సాం‍ఖ్యై: ప్రాప్యతే స్థానం తద్యోగైరపి గమ్యతే । ఏకం సాం‍ఖ్యం చ యోగం చ య: పశ్యతి స పశ్యతి ॥ ౫ ॥
yat sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ
[yat saankhyaih praapyate sthaanam]
tad yogair api gamyate
[tad yogair api gamyate]
ekaṁ sāṅkhyaṁ ca yogaṁ ca
[ekam saankhyam cha yogam cha]
yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
[yah pashyati sa pashyati]
Word-for-word
yat — what sāṅkhyaiḥ — by means of Sāṅkhya philosophy prāpyate — is achieved sthānam — place tat — that yogaiḥ — by devotional service api — also gamyate — one can attain ekam — one sāṅkhyam — analytical study ca — and yogam — action in devotion ca — and yaḥ — one who paśyati — sees saḥ — he paśyati — actually sees .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yat sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ
yat
what
sāṅkhyaiḥ
by means of Sāṅkhya philosophy
prāpyate
is achieved
sthānam
place
tad yogair api gamyate
tat
that
yogaiḥ
by devotional service
api
also
gamyate
one can attain
ekaṁ sāṅkhyaṁ ca yogaṁ ca
ekam
one
sāṅkhyam
analytical study
ca
and
yogam
action in devotion
ca
and
yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
yaḥ
one who
paśyati
sees
saḥ
he
paśyati
actually sees .
Important Words
  • sāṅkhyaiḥ — by means of Sāṅkhya philosophy
    Instrumental plural. The plural matters: not just one Sāṅkhya school but the various analytical approaches all reach the same stāna. Kṛṣṇa is generous about method while strict about destination.
  • sthānam — place
    From √sthā — a 'standing,' a settled position. The word evokes a destination one stands in, not merely arrives at. Brahman is not a milestone but a state of standing.
  • yogaiḥ — by devotional service
    Instrumental plural, paralleling sāṅkhyaiḥ. The grammar makes the equivalence formally exact. Both are means; both reach the same standing-place.
  • paśyati — sees
    Repeated twice in the verse — yaḥ paśyati saḥ paśyati. The doubling is the punch line: the one who sees, sees. Genuine vision authenticates itself; it does not need external validation.
  • ekam — one
    Sāṅkhya and yoga are taken as ekam — one thing. This is not bland syncretism; it is the deeper unity visible only from the height of realized practice. The bālāḥ of verse 4 cannot see it; the paṇḍitāḥ do.
One who knows that the position reached by means of analytical study can also be attained by devotional service, and who therefore sees analytical study and devotional service to be on the same level, sees things as they are.
Purport

The real purpose of philosophical research is to find the ultimate goal of life. Since the ultimate goal of life is self-realization, there is no difference between the conclusions reached by the two processes. By Sāṅkhya philosophical research one comes to the conclusion that a living entity is not a part and parcel of the material world but of the supreme spirit whole. Consequently, the spirit soul has nothing to do with the material world; his actions must be in some relation with the Supreme. When he acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is actually in his constitutional position. In the first process, Sāṅkhya, one has to become detached from matter, and in the devotional yoga process one has to attach himself to the work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Factually, both processes are the same, although superficially one process appears to involve detachment and the other process appears to involve attachment. Detachment from matter and attachment to Kṛṣṇa are one and the same. One who can see this sees things as they are.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
5. The goal achieved by jṣāna is the goal achieved by karma-yoga. He who sees jṣāna-yoga and karma-yoga as one actually sees.
Commentary

This verse clarifies the issue. What is achieved by sannyāsa (sāṅkhyaiḥ) is achieved by niṣkāma-karma (yogaiḥ). The plural (singular would be sāṅkhyena and karmaṇā) is used to show respect for the processes. He who sees that these two which appear different are actually one by intelligence actually sees. He is a wise man with vision.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
5. The goal achieved by jṣāna is the goal achieved by karma yoga. He who sees jṣāna yoga and karma yoga as one actually sees.
Commentary

This verse expands the point. The steady position (sthānam) of seeing ātmā, which is attained by the jṣāna yogīs (sāṁkhyaiḥ), is also attained by the karma yogīs (yogaiḥ). He who knows (paśyati) that they are one because of having one result, though the forms are different— one being renunciation of action and the other being engagement in action— is an observant, wise man (sa paśyati). The word sthānam here means “that in which they remain situated: that position in which they do not deviate or fall.” The words sāṁkhya (sāṁkhyaiḥ) and yoga (yogaiḥ) are used in this verse to mean persons having sāṁkhya and yoga skills instead of the normal meaning of sāṁkhya and yoga, according to the rule arśa ādy ac (Pāṇini 5.2.127). [Note: The sūtra is actually arśa ādibhyo’c. Adding the suffix “a” to certain words like yoga indicates possession: “one possessing yoga.”]

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

They are the same, they are not two goals, two paths ‑ there is one path with one goal. The example of how renunciation and work are the same: one is holding a bead‑bag and wants to pick up a book and do some work with it. So he must drop the bead‑bag and then, after he dropped it, he picks up the book and do what he wants. Similarly if one is attached to the material world, he can't pick up the spiritual world until he drops the material world. So one has to practice renunciation or jnana in the 'two‑steps' method and drop those things of the material world, in order to pick up or act in the spiritual platform . But they can also be done at the same time ‑ like dropping and picking up automatically. If the person picks up the book, automatically he drops the bead‑bag. Similarly karma‑yoga with detachment allows one to perform the 'two‑step' process in one ‑ with material detachment and spiritual attachment. In his Purport, Srila Prabhupada says: "The real purpose of philosophical research is to find the ultimate goal of life. Since the ultimate goal of life is self‑realization, there is no difference between the conclusions reached by the two processes. By Sankhya philosophical research one comes to the conclusion that a living entity is not a part and parcel of the material world but of the supreme spirit whole. Consequently, the spirit soul has nothing to do with the material world; his actions must be in some relation with the Supreme. When he acts in Krsna consciousness, he is actually in his constitutional position. In the first process, Sankhya, one has to become detached from matter, and in the devotional yoga process one has to attach himself to the work of Krsna consciousness. Factually, both processes are the same, although superficially one process appears to involve detachment and the other process appears to involve attachment. Detachment from matter and attachment to Krsna are one and the same. One who can see this sees things as they are."

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.5 Sthanam, the State called Liberation; yat prapyate, that is reached; sankhyaih, by the Sankhyas, by the monks steadfast in Knowledge; tat prapyate, that is reached; yogaih, by the yogis; api, as well. The yogis are those who, as a means to the attainment of Knowledge, undertake actions by dedicating them to God without seeking any result for themselves. The purport is that, by them also that Stated is reached through the process of aciring monasticism which is a result of the knowledge of the supreme Reality. Therefore, sah, he; pasyati, sees truly; yah, who; pasyati, sees; Sankhya and yoga as ekam, one, because of the identity of their results. This is the meaning. Objection: If this be so, then monasticism itself excels yoga! Why, then, is it said, 'Among the two, Karma-yoga, however, excels renunciation of actions'? Reply: Hear the reason for this: Having is veiw the mere giving up of actions and Karma-yoga, your estion was as to which one was better of the two. My answer was accordingly given that Karma-yoga excels renunciation of actions (resorted to) without Knowledge is Sankhya. This is what was meant by me. And that is indeed yoga in the highest sense. However, that which is the Vedic Karma-yoga is figuratively spoken of as yoga and renunciation since it leads to it (supreme Knowledge). How does it lead to that? The answer is:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.5 The fruit in the form of the vision of the self which is attained by the Sankhyans (i.e.) Jnana Yogins, the same is attained alone by those who are Karma Yogins. He alone is wise who sees that Sankhya and the Yoga are one and the same because of their having the same result. Sri Krsna points out, if the aforesaid is the case, wherein the difference between them lies.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.4-5 Samkhya-Yogau etc. Yat samkhyaih etc. There is nothing to differentiate as 'This is path of knowledge' [and] 'This is Yoga'. Indeed both these are ever inter-connected. Knowledge is not without Yoga; and Yoga also is not without knowledge. Hence the identity of these two.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.5 That place which is reached by the Sankhyas or the Jnanis is reached by the Yogis (Karma Yogis). He sees, who sees knowledge and the performance of action (Karma Yoga) as one.
Commentary

5.5 यत् which? सांख्यैः by the Sankhyas? प्राप्यते is reached? स्थानम् place? तत् that? योगैः by the Yogis (Karma Yogis)? अपि also? गम्यते is reached? एकम् one? सांख्यम् the Sankhya (knowledge)? च and? योगम् Yoga (performance of action)? च and? यः who? पश्यति sees? सः he? पश्यति sees.Commentary Those who have renounced the world and are treading the path of Jnana Yoga or Vedanta are the Sankhyas. Through Sravana (hearing of the Srutis or Vedantic texts)? Manana (reflection on what is heard) and Nididhyasana (constant and profound meditation) they attain to Moksha or Kaivalya directly. Karma Yogis who do selfless service? who perform their duties without expectation of the fruits and who dedicate their actions as offerings unto the Lord also reach the same state as is attained by Sankhyas indirectly through the purification of their heart and renunciation and the conseent dawn of the knowledge of the Self. That man who sees that Sankhya and Yoga are one? as leading to the same result? sees rightly. (Cf.XIII.24?25V.2)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.5 The State [Sthana (State) is used in the derivative sense of 'the place in which one remains established, and from which one does not become relegated'.] that is reached by the Sankhyas, that is reached by the yogis as well. He sees who sees Sankhya and yoga as one.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.5 The level which is reached by wisdom is attained through right action as well. He who perceives that the two are one, knows the truth.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 5.4 BG 6.2 BG 13.25 SB 3.25.43 SB 11.20.31 SB 1.2.7 CC Madhya 22.21 CC Madhya 24.99 CC Ādi 1.91 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.1Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.11
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The position attained by sāṅkhya-yogis is also reached by karma-yogis — one who sees both as one sees correctly.
Practical Applications
  • Hold knowledge and action as integrated, not opposed.
  • Pursue both in your daily life, not just one.
  • Avoid the temptation to choose 'philosophy' or 'practice' as exclusive.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I tilt too far toward knowledge or action?
  • How could I integrate them more this week?
Analogy

Two lamps lit at different ends of a long hall illuminate the same hall. To argue which lamp better illuminates the room is to misunderstand light itself. Sāṅkhya and yoga reach the same brahman; one who sees them as one lamp seen from two ends sees correctly.

Stories
Kapila to Devahūti

Lord Kapila, the avatāra who codified Sāṅkhya, taught his mother Devahūti the analytical path — the enumeration of tattvas, the discrimination of puruṣa from prakṛti, the dissolution of false identification. The third canto of the Bhāgavatam preserves this teaching.

Yet at the climax of the same teaching, Kapila tells His mother that the supreme fruit of all this analysis is bhakti — pure devotional service to the Personality of Godhead. The two are not two. The sāṅkhya He gave terminates in the bhakti His next breath recommends.

Kapila Himself is the living demonstration of yaḥ paśyati saḥ paśyati: the seer who sees Sāṅkhya and yoga as one truly sees.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.6

↗
సన్న్యాసస్తు మహాబాహో దు:ఖమాప్‍తుమయోగత: । యోగయుక్తో మునిర్బ్రహ్మ న చిరేణాధిగచ్ఛతి ॥ ౬ ॥
sannyāsas tu mahā-bāho
[sannyaasas tu mahaa-baaho]
duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ
[duhkham aaptum ayogatah]
yoga-yukto munir brahma
[yoga-yukto munir brahma]
na cireṇādhigacchati
[na chirenaadhigachchati]
Word-for-word
sannyāsaḥ — the renounced order of life tu — but mahā - bāho — O mighty-armed one duḥkham — distress āptum — afflicts one with ayogataḥ — without devotional service yoga - yuktaḥ — one engaged in devotional service muniḥ — a thinker brahma — the Supreme na cireṇa — without delay adhigacchati — attains .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sannyāsas tu mahā-bāho
sannyāsaḥ
the renounced order of life
tu
but
mahā - bāho
O mighty-armed one
duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ
duḥkham
distress
āptum
afflicts one with
ayogataḥ
without devotional service
yoga-yukto munir brahma
yoga - yuktaḥ
one engaged in devotional service
muniḥ
a thinker
brahma
the Supreme
na cireṇādhigacchati
na cireṇa
without delay
adhigacchati
attains .
Important Words
  • duḥkham — distress
    Renunciation without yoga doesn't just fail — it actively produces duḥkha. The unprepared sannyāsī falls into a worse state than the engaged householder. This is one of the Gītā's most practical warnings.
  • ayogataḥ — without devotional service
    A + yogataḥ — ablative form. 'From the absence of yoga.' The ablative is causal: the distress arises *because of* the absence. Take away the yoga and renunciation collapses into mere unemployment.
  • yoga-yuktaḥ — one engaged in devotional service
    Yukta — 'yoked, joined.' The metaphor is bullocks paired to a cart. The sage is yoked to yoga; the work moves because the harness is on. Compare Prabhupāda's frequent gloss: 'engaged.'
  • muniḥ — a thinker
    From √man, 'to think.' The muni is the contemplative — but the Gītā insists this thinker also acts. Pure mentation without action is not the goal; yukta thinking is.
  • na cireṇa — without delay
    Na + cireṇa — 'not after a long time.' Kṛṣṇa promises speed. Karma-yoga is not the slow path. The implicit contrast is with the long, lonely austerity of formal renunciation unsupported by service.
Merely renouncing all activities yet not engaging in the devotional service of the Lord cannot make one happy. But a thoughtful person engaged in devotional service can achieve the Supreme without delay.
Purport

There are two classes of sannyāsīs, or persons in the renounced order of life. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs are engaged in the study of Sāṅkhya philosophy, whereas the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs are engaged in the study of Bhāgavatam philosophy, which affords the proper commentary on the Vedānta-sūtras. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs also study the Vedānta-sūtras, but use their own commentary, called Śārīraka-bhāṣya, written by Śaṅkarācārya. The students of the Bhāgavata school are engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, according to pāñcarātrikī regulations, and therefore the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs have multiple engagements in the transcendental service of the Lord. The Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs have nothing to do with material activities, and yet they perform various activities in their devotional service to the Lord. But the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, engaged in the studies of Sāṅkhya and Vedānta and speculation, cannot relish the transcendental service of the Lord. Because their studies become very tedious, they sometimes become tired of Brahman speculation, and thus they take shelter of the Bhāgavatam without proper understanding. Consequently their study of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam becomes troublesome. Dry speculations and impersonal interpretations by artificial means are all useless for the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. The Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs, who are engaged in devotional service, are happy in the discharge of their transcendental duties, and they have the guarantee of ultimate entrance into the kingdom of God. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs sometimes fall down from the path of self-realization and again enter into material activities of a philanthropic and altruistic nature, which are nothing but material engagements. Therefore, the conclusion is that those who are engaged in Kṛṣṇa conscious activities are better situated than the sannyāsīs engaged in simple speculation about what is Brahman and what is not Brahman, although they too come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, after many births.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
6. Renunciation is difficult to attain without karma-yoga. The jṣānī engaged in karma-yoga quickly attains Brahman.
Commentary

Sannyāsa gives suffering for the jṣānī who cannot fix complete purity in his heart. Karma-yoga however gives pleasure. The intended meaning of what was spoken earlier is made clear. Because of not performing karma-yoga which can pacify the disturbance of the heart, sannyāsa may give rise to suffering, if it is accepted without proper qualification. Thus it is said by the writers of the Vārtikā: pramādino bahiś cittāḥ piśunāḥ kalahotsukāḥ sannyāsīno ’pi dṛśyante daiva-sandūṣitāśrayāḥ [Note: This is also quoted by Śrīdhara Svāmī. Vārtikā means a commentary.] One sees sannyāsīs who are absorbed in sense gratification, with evil minds, fond of arguing, who are contaminated shelters of spiritual life. The personified Vedas also says: yadi na samuddharanti yatayo hṛdi kāma-jaṭā Members of the renounced order who fail to uproot the last traces of material desire in their hearts remain impure, and thus You do not allow them to understand You. SB 10.87.39 Bhāgavatam also says: yas tv asaṁyata-ṣaḍ-vargaḥ pracaṇḍendriya-sārathiḥ jṣāna-vairāgya-rahitas tri-daṇḍam upajīvati surān ātmānam ātma-sthaṁ nihnute māṁ ca dharma-hā avipakva-kaṣāyo ’smād amuṣmāc ca vihīyate One who has not controlled the six forms of illusion, lust, anger, greed, excitement, false pride and intoxication, whose intelligence, the leader of the senses, is extremely attached to material things, who is bereft of knowledge and detachment, who adopts the sannyāsa order of life to make a living, who denies the worshipable demigods, his own self and the Supreme Lord within himself, thus ruining all religious principles, and who is still infected by material contamination, is deviated and lost both in this life and the next. SB 11.18.40 Therefore, the jṣānī (muniḥ) engaging in niṣkāma-karma-yoga (yoga-yuktaḥ) quickly attains Brahman.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
6. Renunciation is difficult to attain without karma yoga. The jṣānī engaged in karma yoga quickly attains brahman.
Commentary

Because of the difficulty in performing jṣāna yoga, karma yoga is better. Jṣāna yoga, stopping the activities of the senses (saṁnyāsaḥ), brings about sorrow without also practicing karma yoga (ayogataḥ). Because of difficulty in performance and possibility of error, it will be a cause of suffering. He who practices niṣkāma karma yoga (yoga yuktaḥ), who is also contemplating the ātmā (muniḥ), quickly attains Brahman.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Why is Krsna recommending karma‑yoga or devotional service here? It is because if one renounces or gives up activities before his heart is clean, then that unclean heart will force him ‑ 'kama esa, krodha esa', lust and anger ‑ will force him to engage in improper activities. Therefore, because the senses aren't engaged when one is practicing either jnana or sankhya, this is very difficult ‑ to stop improper work. Krsna's recommendation is: "Keep the senses always engaged! Better then to purify your heart by work instead of practicing renunciation." It is also interesting to know that these verses in this section are true whether one is practicing to obtain Brahman realization, or Paramatma realization or Bhagavan realization. But Srila Prabhupada has translated for the devotees because that is Krsna's ultimate purpose ‑ to have the devotees engaged in achieving Him.

SUMMARY: Niskama karma is equal to, but easier than renouncing work. Why? Because one's senses are engaged right from the very beginning. That makes it easier to detach because the senses need engagement. The soul is active by nature so the senses, practically must be engaged. It is easier than renunciati work in sankhya‑yoga or jnana (both known as 'karma sannyasi'= renunciation of work)

[ B . WORKING WITH DETACHMENT ‑ PERFORMANCE OF NISKAMA KARMA (5. 7‑12) 1 . A pure soul doesn't become entangled because, although working, he fixes his consciousness upon Krsna. He knows that while the body acts, he does nothing: the material senses are simply engaged with their sense objects. (7‑ 9)]

This section explains the performance of 'niskama karma'.

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

Dry Renunciation (Jnana-marg) is too difficult and distressful

Karma-yoga is better because
Process is easier
Result quickly gives liberation

PLEASE NOTE: Points from purport of Text 5.6 and some points of purports of Texts 5.2 - 5.5 are mentioned in the

table below

Focus of Learning

Most of the points are covered in the Summarized Theme 5A table below)

(a) How Sankhya and Karma-yoga / Devotional Service are the same – Because the common aim is

“Vishnu” (5.4 purport)

(b) Who sees things as they are – One who sees Sankhya (analytical study) and devotional service on

the same level in terms of aim (5.5)

(c) Aim of analytical study of material world – find the soul of existence

Soul of material world—Vishnu / Devotional service entails service to the Supersoul
Analogy: One is to find the root of tree (Sankhya), other is to water the root (Devotional Service).

(d) Real purpose of philosophical research is to find the ‘Ultimate Goal of Life’, which is ‘self-

realization’. This proves there is no difference between the conclusion of the two processes (5.5)

SUMMARISED THEME 5A

CONCLUSION: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RENUNCIATION AND WORK IN DEVOTION

S.No Verse

Renunciation / Mayavadi sannyasis

Work in devotion/ Vaisnava sannyasis

3.3

Needs prior purification by prescribed

duties

Process itself purifies

5.2

Simply Jnana insufficient for liberation

Action is must – Must act in status of soul

5.2

Risk of fall down

Success guaranteed - Entrance into God’s

Kingdom

5.2

Incomplete renunciation

Complete renunciation / To use everything

for Krishna

5.4

Find the root, Vishnu

Water the root

5.5

Process is to detach from matter

Become attached to Krishna

5.6

No happiness

Brings happiness

5.6

Senses restricted, cannot relish

transcendental devotional service

Senses engaged, perform multiple

devotional activities

5.6

Take many births

Quickly achieves Supreme Personality of

Godhead

5.6

Study Sankhya philosophy

Study Srimad Bhagavatam

5.6

Sariraka bhasya on Vedanta Sutra by

Sankaracarya

Study Srimad Bhagavatam, natural

commentary on Vedanta Sutra

5.6

May fall down to philanthropic and

altruistic activities

Have multiple engagements in devotional

service, according to Pancharatriki

regulations

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.6 Tu, but, O mighty-armed one; sannyasah, renunciation, in the real sense; duhkham aptum, is hard to attain; ayogatah, without (Karma-) yoga. Munih, the meditative man-the word muni being derived in the sense of one who meditates on the real nature of God; yoga-yuktah, eipped with yoga, with Vedic Karma-yoga in the form of dedication to God without thought of results (for oneself); adhigacchati, attains; brahma, Brahman; na cirena, without delay, very ickly. Therefore it was said by Me, 'Karma-yoga excels'. [Karma-yoga leads to enlightenment through the stages of attenuation of attachment, withdrawal of the internal and external organs from their objects, and their inclination towards the indwelling Self. (Also see Commentary on 5.12).] The monasticism under discussion is called Brahman because it leads to knowledge of the supreme Self, as stated in the Upanisad, 'Nyasa (monasticism) is Brahman. Brahman is verily the supreme' (Ma. Na. 21.2) Brahman means monasticism in the real sense, consisting in steadfastness to the knowledge of the supreme Self.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.6 Renunciation, i.e., Jnana Yoga, cannot be attained without Yoga, i.e., Karma Yoga. A person following Yoga, i.e., following Karma Yoga, being himself a Muni, i.e., one engaged in the contemplation of self, after practising Karma Yoga reaches with ease the Brahman i.e., attains the self soon, i.e., in a short time. But one following Jnana Yoga by itself, completes Jnana Yoga with great difficulty only. On account of this great difficulty, he attains the self after a long period only.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.6 Samnyasastu etc. [Here] the word tu is used in the sense of 'affirmation' and it is to be construed in a different order. [Hence the meaning is] : For a person without Yoga, it is certainly hard to attain renunciation. Because, as it has been already shown logically, it is difficult to renounce actions. But, it is certainly easy for men of Yoga to attain this. That has been said earlier.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.6 But renunciation, O mighty-armed Arjuna, is hard to attain without Yoga; the Yoga-harmonised sage ickly goes to Brahman.
Commentary

5.6 संन्यासः renunciation? तु but? महाबाहो O mightyarmed? दुःखम् hard? आप्तुम् to attain? अयोगतः without Yoga? योगयुक्तः Yogaharmonised? मुनिः Muni? ब्रह्म to Brahman? नचिरेण ickly? अधिगच्छति goes.Commentary Muni is one who does Manana (meditation or reflection). Yoga is performance of action without selfish motive as an offering unto the Lord.Brahman here signifies renunciation or Sannyasa because renunciation consists in the knowledge of the Self. A Muni? the sage of meditation? the Yogaharmonised? i.e.? purified by the performance of action? ickly attains Brahman? the true renunciation which is devotion to the knowledge of the Self. Therefore Karma Yoga is better. It is easy for a beginner. It prepares him for the higher Yoga by purifying his mind.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.6 But, O mighty-armed one, renunciation is hard to attain without (Karma-) yoga. The meditative man eipped with yoga attains Brahman without delay.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.6 Without concentration, O Mighty Man, renunciation is difficult. But the sage who is always meditating on the Divine, before long shall attain the Absolute.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
BG 3.4 BG 12.5 BG 18.66 SB 10.2.32 SB 1.5.12 SB 7.9.44 CC Madhya 25.29 CC Madhya 9.261 CC Ādi 7.72 BRS 1.2.256 BRS 1.2.255
Concepts
Dharma
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Renunciation without karma-yoga is hard to attain — the sage united in karma-yoga quickly approaches the Supreme.
Practical Applications
  • Don't attempt formal renunciation without first establishing karma-yoga.
  • Build the foundation of selfless action before climbing higher rungs.
  • Trust that the karma-yoga path quickly delivers.
Reflection Questions
  • Am I trying to skip the karma-yoga foundation?
  • What grounded daily service builds that foundation?
Analogy

A bird trying to fly with one wing — formal renunciation without inner yoga — flutters in the dust and exhausts itself. Add the second wing of devotional service and the same bird rises easily. Kṛṣṇa is telling Arjuna which wing to grow first.

Stories
Choṭa Haridāsa's lesson

In Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Choṭa Haridāsa was a young renunciate in Mahāprabhu's intimate circle, formally living as a sannyāsī. One day he glanced briefly at a woman with subtle attachment. Mahāprabhu, knowing all hearts, refused thereafter to see him.

The outer cloth of renunciation had been there from the start. What was missing was the inner karma-yoga foundation that makes renunciation tenable. Choṭa Haridāsa's tragedy is the exact warning of this verse: sannyāsaḥ tu... duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ — renunciation without yoga brings distress.

Mahāprabhu's strictness here was not cruelty but the verse made flesh: don't take the high step without the low step under your feet.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.7

↗
యోగయుక్తో విశ‍ుద్ధాత్మా విజితాత్మా జితేన్ద్రియ: । సర్వభూతాత్మభూతాత్మా కుర్వన్నపి న లిప్యతే ॥ ౭ ॥
yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā
[yoga-yukto vishuddhaatmaa]
vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ
[vijitaatmaa jitendriyah]
sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā
[sarva-bhootaatma-bhootaatmaa]
kurvann api na lipyate
[kurvann api na lipyate]
Word-for-word
yoga - yuktaḥ — engaged in devotional service viśuddha - ātmā — a purified soul vijita - ātmā — self-controlled jita - indriyaḥ — having conquered the senses sarva - bhūta — to all living entities ātma - bhūta - ātmā — compassionate kurvan api — although engaged in work na — never lipyate — is entangled .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā
yoga - yuktaḥ
engaged in devotional service
viśuddha - ātmā
a purified soul
vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ
vijita - ātmā
self-controlled
jita - indriyaḥ
having conquered the senses
sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā
sarva - bhūta
to all living entities
ātma - bhūta - ātmā
compassionate
kurvann api na lipyate
kurvan api
although engaged in work
na
never
lipyate
is entangled .
Important Words
  • viśuddha-ātmā — a purified soul
    Vi + śuddha — 'thoroughly purified.' The prefix vi here intensifies. This is not the soul that occasionally cleans up; this is the soul whose pollution has been comprehensively burned off through sustained yoga-practice.
  • vijita-ātmā — self-controlled
    Vi + jita-ātmā — the mind (here ātmā in its lower sense) has been thoroughly conquered. The same word ātmā denotes both the lower mind that must be conquered and the higher self that conquers; control of one by the other is the entire battlefield.
  • jita-indriyaḥ — having conquered the senses
    Jita-indriya — a tatpuruṣa compound. The three Vs in a row (viśuddha, vijita, jita) build a triple wall: purified inwardly, controlled mentally, mastered at the gates of the senses. The Gītā piles its qualifications when the stake is high.
  • sarva-bhūta-ātma-bhūta-ātmā — compassionate, the self of all beings made his own self
    A staggering compound. Literally 'one whose self has become the self of all beings.' This is not mere kindness; it is the structural recognition that the same ātmā animates every living entity. Compassion follows automatically from seeing.
  • lipyate — is entangled
    From √lip — 'to smear, to stick.' Negated here: na lipyate. The yogī passes through work without anything sticking to him. The metaphor of stickiness will recur in the lotus leaf of verse 10.
One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never entangled.
Purport

One who is on the path of liberation by Kṛṣṇa consciousness is very dear to every living being, and every living being is dear to him. This is due to his Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Such a person cannot think of any living being as separate from Kṛṣṇa, just as the leaves and branches of a tree are not separate from the tree. He knows very well that by pouring water on the root of the tree, the water will be distributed to all the leaves and branches, or by supplying food to the stomach, the energy is automatically distributed throughout the body. Because one who works in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is servant to all, he is very dear to everyone. And because everyone is satisfied by his work, he is pure in consciousness. Because he is pure in consciousness, his mind is completely controlled. And because his mind is controlled, his senses are also controlled. Because his mind is always fixed on Kṛṣṇa, there is no chance of his being deviated from Kṛṣṇa. Nor is there a chance that he will engage his senses in matters other than the service of the Lord. He does not like to hear anything except topics relating to Kṛṣṇa; he does not like to eat anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa; and he does not wish to go anywhere if Kṛṣṇa is not involved. Therefore, his senses are controlled. A man of controlled senses cannot be offensive to anyone. One may ask, “Why then was Arjuna offensive (in battle) to others? Wasn’t he in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?” Arjuna was only superficially offensive because (as has already been explained in the Second Chapter) all the assembled persons on the battlefield would continue to live individually, as the soul cannot be slain. So, spiritually, no one was killed on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. Only their dresses were changed by the order of Kṛṣṇa, who was personally present. Therefore Arjuna, while fighting on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, was not really fighting at all; he was simply carrying out the orders of Kṛṣṇa in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Such a person is never entangled in the reactions of work.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
7. One engaged in karma-yoga, having controlled his intelligence, mind and senses, though he is engaged in work, is not contaminated, and is the object of love for all living entities. 8-9. The person engaged in karma-yoga, having knowledge, understanding that the senses alone are interacting with the sense objects while he is seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating [Note: These are the actions of the jṣāna indriya.], going, sleeping, breathing, speaking, excreting (through genital or anus), receiving [Note: These are the actions of the karma indriya, except for sleep and breathing, which are activities governed by the prāṇas. Opening and closing eyes are representative of the five secondary prāṇas. This is Rāmānuja’s opinion. Madhusūdana Sarasvatī says sleeping is the function of the mind.], opening and closing the eyes, thinks, “I am doing nothing at all.”
Commentary

The jṣānī by performing karma is not contaminated. That is stated in this verse. The jṣānīs engaged in karma-yoga are of three types: those who have controlled their intelligence (viśuddhātmā), those who have controlled their minds (vijitātmā), and those who have controlled their senses (jitendriyaḥ). The order of superiority is from last to first: having controlled intelligence is the best. All jīvas are attracted to such a gṛhastha. His body (ātmā) becomes the object of love (ātma-bhūta) for all living entities (sarva-bhūta).

The Lord teaches the method by which one is not contaminated by actions. Although the karma-yogī (yukta) is engaged in seeing and other actions, by verifying with his intelligence that the senses alone are engaged in the sense objects, he thinks, “I am doing nothing at all.”

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
7. One engaged in karma yoga, gaining controlled intelligence, mind and senses, the object of love for all living entities, though working, is not contaminated. 8-9. The niṣkāma karma yogī, having knowledge of ātmā, understanding that the senses alone are interacting with the sense objects while he is seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing, speaking, excreting (through genital or anus), receiving [Note: These are the actions of the karma indriya, except for sleep and breathing. Opening and closing eyes are representative of the five secondary prāṇas. This is Rāmānuja’s opinion as well. Madhusūdana Sarasvatī says sleeping is the function of the mind.], opening and closing the eyes, thinks, “I am doing nothing at all.”
Commentary

Such a person aspiring for liberation is the best among all people. The person engaged in niṣkāma karma yoga (yoga yuktaḥ) consequently having uncontaminated intelligence (viśuddhātmā), controlled mind (vijitātmā), and controlled senses – senses devoid of attraction to sense objects such as sound, and consequently whose body (ātmā) becomes the object of love (ātmā bhūta) for all jīvas (sarva bhūta), is not contaminated by work. Here, the meaning intended by the Lord, driver of Arjuna, cannot be “a person who has become one with all ātmās” because His previous statements indicated differences between all ātmās, with such verses as na tv evāham: not you, nor I, nor any of these kings have never not existed, nor in the future shall we never not exist. As well, it is not possible for the speaker, giving instruction to others, to talk if there is non-difference in the two persons’ knoweldge. Even performing actions, in this manner, he is not contaminated by thinking of the self as a material thing, because of his quest for the individual ātmā. Quickly he will attain the ātmā. Therefore karma yoga is better. Bg 5.8, Bg 5.9, Bg 5.8-9 NaEv ik-iĀTk-raeMaqiTa Yau¢-ae MaNYaeTa TatvivTa( ) PaXYaHXa*<vNSPa*XaiṚga]ṁīnNGaC^NSvPaNṅSaNa( )) 8 )) Pa[l/PaiNvSa*JaNGa*õṁuiNMaziṁiMazṁiPa ) wiNd]Yaa<aqiNd]YaaQaeRzu vTaRNTa wiTa DaarYaNa( )) 9 )) naiva kiṣcit karomīti yukto manyeta tattva-vit paśyaṣ śṛṇvan spṛśaṣ jighrann aśnan gacchan svapan śvasan pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann unmiṣan nimiṣann api indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu vartanta iti dhārayan na—never; eva—certainly; kiṣcit—anything; karomi—I do; iti—thus; yuktaḥ—engaged in the divine consciousness; manyeta—thinks; tattva-vit—one who knows the truth; paśyan—seeing; śṛṇvan—hearing; spṛśan—touching; jighran—smelling; aśnan—eating; gacchan—going; svapan—dreaming; śvasan—breathing; pralapan—talking; visṛjan—giving up; gṛhṇan—accepting; unmiṣan—opening; nimiṣan—closing; api—in spite of; indriyāṇi—the senses; indriya-artheṣu—in sense gratification; vartante—let them be so engaged; iti—thus; dhārayan—considering.

In this verse the Lord instructs that the pure ātmā is not the doer of actions, which depend on the five factors, namely the body, senses, prāṇas, ego and fate (karma). The niṣkāma karma yogī (yuktaḥ), even though performing actions such as seeing, from the combination of body, senses, prāṇas, ahaṁkāra and karma arising from pradhāna, realizes the true nature of individual ātmā (tattva vit). Thus he is convinced that the senses such as eye relate to the sense object such as form by the influence of the Lord according to the individual’s previous impressions. He consequently thinks, “I am not doing anything at all.” Seeing by the eye, hearing by the ear, touching by the skin, smelling by the nose, and tasting by the tongue are the actions of the knowledge senses (jṣānendriya). Going by the feet, talking by the voice, excretion by the anus and genital and grasping by the hand are understood to be the action senses (karmendriya). Breathing represents the actions of the five major prāṇas. Opening and closing the eyes indicates the functions of the five secondary prāṇas. Sleeping indicates the actions of the internal organs (antaḥ karaṇa). [Note: Baladeva has used the plural for antaḥkaraṇa, perhaps meaning, mind, intellect and false ego.] I am only engaged in relishing the ātmā. The causes of actions are only the material elements such as body and senses arising from pradhāna, in turn caused by my beginningless material impressions (vāsanā). The cause is not due only to my essential nature. However it is not possible to claim that there is no doership at all for the ātmā in its essential nature, because ātmā itself is defined by its power of ascertainment and contemplation (implying doership). These elements are jṣāna, and that jṣāna is eternally part of the ātmā. The śruti thus says: na hi vijṣātur vijṣāter viparilāpo vidyate Knowing cannot be separated from the knower, because of being imperishable. Brhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.30 Moreover it is said that knowledge also is accomplished by the influence of the Lord as well as the capacity of the ātmā to know: hariṇā dharma-bhūtena jṣānena ca.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Here, after explaining in the last section how one should engage in niskama karma‑yoga. which is actually Krsna's recommendation in the Bhagavad‑gita (one should one's duty in a detached way), Krsna is now going to describe how to act or what the performance looks like. See the translation again.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.7 When again, as a means to attain full enlightenment, this person becomes yoga-yuktah, endowed with yoga; visuddhatma, pure in mind; vijitatma, controlled in body; jitendriyah, a coneror of the organs; and sarva-bhutatma-bhutatma, the Self of the selves of all beings-one whose Self (atma), the inmost consciousness, has become the selves (atma) of all beings (sarva-bhuta) beginning from Brahma to a clump of grass-, i.e., fully illumined; (then,) thus continuing in that state, he na lipyate, does not become tainted; kurvan api, even while performing actions for preventing mankind from going astray. That is to say, he does not become bound by actions. And besides, this person does not act in the real sense. Hence,
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.7 But a Karma Yogin remains engaged in the performance of pure actions prescribed by the Sastras, which are of the nature of propitiation of the Supreme Person. By this, he becomes purified in mind. He thus subdues his self, i.e., subdues his mind easily, because his mind is engaged in the virtuous actions he has been performing before. Therefore his senses are subdued. His self is said to have become the self of all beings. Because of his being devoted to contemplation on the true nature of the self, he finds that his self is similar to the self of all beings like gods etc. One who contemplates on the true nature of the self understands that all selves are of the same form or nature. The distinctions obtaining among gods, men etc., cannot pertain to the form of the self, because those distinctions are founded on particular modifications of Prakrti i.e., the bodies of beings. Sri Krsna will teach: 'For the Brahman (an individual self), when untainted, is the same everywhere' (5.19). The meaning of this is that when dissociated from the Prakriti, i.e., the body, the self is of the same nature everywhere, i.e., in the bodies of gods, men etc. It is of the same form of knowledge. The meaning is that one, who has become enlightened in this way, active though he be, is not tainted on account of erroneously conceiving what is other than the self (the body) as the self. He is not at all associated therewith. Therefore, he attains the self without any delay. As Karma Yoga is superior to Jnana Yoga because it is more easily pursued and is more rapidly efficacious in securing the fruits, listen to its reirement:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5৷৷7 See Comment under 5.11
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.7 He who is devoted to the path of action, whose mind is ite pure, who has conered the self, who has subdued his senses and who realises his Self as the Self in all beings, though acting, is not tainted.
Commentary

5.7 योगयुक्तः devoted to the path of action? विशुद्धात्मा a man of purified mind? विजितात्मा one who has conered the self? जितेन्द्रियः one who has subdued his senses? सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा one who realises his Self as the Self in all beings? कुर्वन् acting? अपि even? न not? लिप्यते is tainted.Commentary He who is harmonised by Yoga? i.e.? he who has purified his mind by devotion to the performance of action? who has conered the body and who has subjugated the senses? whose Self is the Self of all beings? he will not be bound by actions although he performs actions for the wellbeing or protection of the masses in orer to set an example to them. (Cf.XVIII.17)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.7 Endowed with yoga, [i.e. devoted to the performance of the nitya and naimittika duties.] pure in mind, controlled in body, a coneror of the organs, the Self of the selves of all beings-he does not become tainted even while performing actions. [The construction of the sentence is this: When this person resorts to nitya and naimittika rites and duties as a means to the achievement of fully Illumination, and thus becomes fully enlightened, then, even when he acts through the apparent functions of the mind, organs, etc., he does not become afflected.]
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.7 He who is spiritual, who is pure, who has overcome his senses and his personal self, who has realised his highest Self as the Self of all, such a one, even though he acts, is not bound by his acts.
Related values & verses
Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomVinaya (Humility / Modesty)
Related verses
BG 6.29 BG 12.13 BG 3.7 SB 11.2.46 SB 5.18.12 SB 3.25.25 CC Madhya 22.78 CC Madhya 23.105 CC Antya 4.191 Īśa Upaniṣad 6 BRS 1.2.187
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
United in yoga, with mind controlled, senses purified, his soul one with the soul of all — though acting, he is not entangled.
Practical Applications
  • Treat sense purification, mind control, and unity-vision as a unified package.
  • Notice that action becomes non-binding precisely at this convergence.
  • Aim for the package, not just one quality.
Reflection Questions
  • Which element (mind, senses, unity) is least developed in me?
  • What is my next step in the package?
Analogy

A clear pond mirrors every passerby without holding any of them. The yogī of purified self, controlled mind, conquered senses becomes that pond — present to all beings, attached to none, beloved of each because he reflects them without grasping. He works all day and stays clear all night.

Stories
Vidura in Hastināpura

Vidura served at the Kuru court through every storm — Dhṛtarāṣṭra's blindness, Duryodhana's hatred, Bhīṣma's silence, Draupadī's humiliation. He gave counsel, he raised the household, he walked the corridors of power for decades. Yet the Bhāgavatam preserves him as one whose mind was always in Kṛṣṇa.

When Kṛṣṇa came to Hastināpura as peace-messenger, He bypassed the king's palace and stayed at Vidura's humble home. The Lord's choice is the verse's commentary: the man yoga-yuktaḥ, viśuddha-ātmā, sarva-bhūta-ātma-bhūta-ātmā is the one to whom the Lord Himself runs.

Though always working, Vidura was kurvan api na lipyate — never entangled.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.8-9

↗
నైవ కిఞ్చిత్కరోమీతి యుక్తో మన్యేత తత్త్వవిత్ । పశ్యఞ్శ‍ృణ్వన్స్పృశఞ్జిఘ్రన్నశ్న‍న్గచ్ఛన్స్వపన్శ్వసన్ ॥ ౮ ॥ ప్రలపన్విసృజన్గృహ్ణన్నున్మిషన్నిమిషన్నపి । ఇన్ద్రియాణీన్ద్రియార్థేషు వర్తన్త ఇతి ధారయన్ ॥ ౯ ॥
naiva kiñcit karomīti
[naiva kinchit karomeeti]
yukto manyeta tattva-vit
[yukto manyeta tattva-vit]
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann
[pashyan shrinvan sprishan jighrann]
aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan
[ashnan gachchan svapan shvasan]
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann
[pralapan visrijan grihnann]
unmiṣan nimiṣann api
[unmishan nimishann api]
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu
[indriyaaneendriyaartheshu]
vartanta iti dhārayan
[vartanta iti dhaarayan]
Word-for-word
na — never eva — certainly kiñcit — anything karomi — I do iti — thus yuktaḥ — engaged in the divine consciousness manyeta — thinks tattva - vit — one who knows the truth paśyan — seeing śṛṇvan — hearing spṛśan — touching jighran — smelling aśnan — eating gacchan — going svapan — dreaming śvasan — breathing pralapan — talking visṛjan — giving up gṛhṇan — accepting unmiṣan — opening nimiṣan — closing api — in spite of indriyāṇi — the senses indriya - artheṣu — in sense gratification vartante — let them be so engaged iti — thus dhārayan — considering .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
naiva kiñcit karomīti
na
never
eva
certainly
kiñcit
anything
karomi
I do
iti
thus
yukto manyeta tattva-vit
yuktaḥ
engaged in the divine consciousness
manyeta
thinks
tattva - vit
one who knows the truth
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann
paśyan
seeing
śṛṇvan
hearing
spṛśan
touching
jighran
smelling
aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan
aśnan
eating
gacchan
going
svapan
dreaming
śvasan
breathing
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann
pralapan
talking
visṛjan
giving up
gṛhṇan
accepting
unmiṣan nimiṣann api
unmiṣan
opening
nimiṣan
closing
api
in spite of
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu
indriyāṇi
the senses
indriya - artheṣu
in sense gratification
vartanta iti dhārayan
vartante
let them be so engaged
iti
thus
dhārayan
considering .
Important Words
  • na eva kiñcit karomi — I do nothing at all
    The triple negation — na, eva, kiñcit — is forensic. 'Not even, certainly, anything.' Kṛṣṇa is closing every escape route by which the false sense of doership might slip back in. The yogī's interior testimony is absolute.
  • tattva-vit — one who knows the truth
    Tattva — 'thatness, the actual fact.' Vit — knower. Not the believer in a doctrine, but one who has personally verified the soul-body distinction. The 'I do nothing' is testimony, not theory.
  • indriyāṇi indriya-artheṣu vartante — the senses are merely engaged with their objects
    The whole formula of the verse. Senses (indriya) and sense-objects (indriya-artha) carry on their natural commerce; the soul is neither. This phrase echoes 3.28 and becomes the Gītā's standard meditation on non-doership.
  • dhārayan — considering
    Present participle of √dhṛ — 'holding, maintaining.' The yogī actively holds this seeing while acting. It is not a one-time realization but a continuously held cognition. The practice is the holding.
  • yuktaḥ — engaged in the divine consciousness
    The familiar yukta — yoked. Here it specifies the state from which the 'I do nothing' is genuine testimony. Outside that yoke, the same claim becomes either delusion or fatalism.
A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them.
Purport

A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is pure in his existence, and consequently he has nothing to do with any work which depends upon five immediate and remote causes: the doer, the work, the situation, the endeavor and fortune. This is because he is engaged in the loving transcendental service of Kṛṣṇa. Although he appears to be acting with his body and senses, he is always conscious of his actual position, which is spiritual engagement. In material consciousness, the senses are engaged in sense gratification, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness the senses are engaged in the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa’s senses. Therefore, the Kṛṣṇa conscious person is always free, even though he appears to be engaged in affairs of the senses. Activities such as seeing and hearing are actions of the senses meant for receiving knowledge, whereas moving, speaking, evacuating, etc., are actions of the senses meant for work. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is never affected by the actions of the senses. He cannot perform any act except in the service of the Lord because he knows that he is the eternal servitor of the Lord.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

This is what is like being involved in niskama karma‑yoga. And why is he able to do this? He thinks he does nothing at all because he has transcendental knowledge so he is actually understanding and seeing this. It is knowledge which makes the difference here. And what type of knowledge is being described here? Knowledge that we are not this body. This is knowledge that allows one to exist within this material body, but practically has nothing to do with this material body. And, therefore, because he sees that his body is acting but he has nothing to do with it, he is not interested in the fruits of his work ‑ because he is not the body. That realization allows him to be detached from the work. Therefore,

[ 2 . One who does his duty without attachment, steadily acting with body, mind, intelligence, and senses just for the satisfaction of Krsna, attains peace while one greedy for the fruits of his labors become entangled. (10‑12) ]

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.8 Yuktah, remaining absorbed in the Self; tattva-vit, the knower of Reality-knower of the real nature of Truth, of the Self, i.e., the seer of the supreme Reality; manyeta, should think; 'na karomi eva, I certainly do not do; kincit, anything.' Having realized the Truth, when or how should he think? This is being answered; Api, even; pasyan, while seeing; srnvan, hearing; sprsan, touching; jighran, smelling; asnan, eating; gacchan, moving; svapan, sleeping; svasan, breathing; pralapan, speaking; visrjan, releasing; grhnan, holding; unmisan, opening; nimisan, closing the eyes. All these are to be connected with the above manyeta (should think). For the man who has known the Truth thus, who finds nothing but inaction in action-in all the movements of the body and organs-, and who has full realization, there is competence only for giving up all actions because of his realization of the nonexistence of actions. Indeed, one who proceeds to drink water in a mirage thinking that water is there, surely does not go there itself for drinking water even after knowing that no water exists there!
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.8 - 5.9 Thus he who knows the truth concerning the self should reflect in mind that the ear and the other organs of sensation (Jnanendriyas) as also organs of action (Karmendriyas) and the vital currents (the Pranas) are occupied with their own respective objects. Thus he should know, 'I do not do anything at all.' He should reflect, 'My intrinsic nature is one of knowledge. The sense of agency comes because of the association of the self with the senses and the Pranas which are rooted in Karma. It does not spring from my essential nature.'
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.8 See Comment under 5.11
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.8 "I do nothing at all," thus would the harmonised knower of Truth think seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing.
Commentary

5.8 न not? एव even? किञ्चित् anything? करोमि I do? इति thus? युक्तः centred (in the Self)? मन्येत should think? तत्त्ववित् the knower of Truth? पश्यन् seeing? श्रृण्वन् hearing? स्पृशन् touching? जिघ्रन् smelling? अश्नन् eating? गच्छन् going? स्वपन् sleeping? श्वसन् breathing.No Commentary.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.8-5.9 Remaining absorbed in the Self, the knower of Reality should think, 'I certainly do not do anything', even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing, speaking, releasing, holding, opening and closing the eyes-remembering that the organs function in relation to the objects of the organs.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.8 Though the saint sees, hears, touches, smells, eats, moves, sleeps and breathes, yet he knows the Truth, and he knows that it is not he who acts.
Related values & verses
Related values
Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)
Related verses
BG 3.27 BG 3.28 BG 13.30 SB 11.22.49 SB 3.27.1 SB 11.13.27 CC Madhya 20.108 CC Madhya 22.26 CC Madhya 19.159 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.1Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.3
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing, speaking — the wise know they are doing nothing; senses meet sense-objects, that is all.
Practical Applications
  • Notice the simple mechanics: senses meeting objects, the soul a witness.
  • Use this seeing during ordinary activity to dissolve the false 'I am the doer.'
  • Make this meditation portable through your day.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I claiming authorship of activity that is simply senses meeting objects?
  • What does 'doing nothing' feel like inside doing?
Analogy

A window does not see; the eye that looks through it sees, and even the eye is only the instrument of the soul behind it. The wise know that the senses meeting their objects is just window-business — opening, closing, receiving light. The witness in the room is doing nothing at all.

Stories
Ṛṣabhadeva walking through the world

The Bhāgavatam records that the avatāra Ṛṣabhadeva, after instructing His sons, wandered the earth in a state of perfect detachment. He passed through forests and cities, ate what came, slept wherever night found Him. People threw refuse on Him, mocked Him, sometimes worshipped Him.

Throughout, He maintained the consciousness of na eva kiñcit karomi — 'I do nothing at all.' The seeing happened, the walking happened, the eating happened — and the Self stood untouched as witness. His body moved through the senses' transactions while He remained the silent witness behind them.

The verse is Ṛṣabhadeva's stance compressed into a śloka.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.10

↗
బ్రహ్మణ్యాధాయ కర్మాణి సఙ్గం త్యక్త్వా కరోతి య: । లిప్యతే న స పాపేన పద్మపత్రమివామ్భసా ॥ ౧౦ ॥
brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi
[brahmany aadhaaya karmaani]
saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ
[sangam tyaktvaa karoti yah]
lipyate na sa pāpena
[lipyate na sa paapena]
padma-patram ivāmbhasā
[padma-patram ivaambhasaa]
Word-for-word
brahmaṇi — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead ādhāya — resigning karmāṇi — all works saṅgam — attachment tyaktvā — giving up karoti — performs yaḥ — who lipyate — is affected na — never saḥ — he pāpena — by sin padma - patram — a lotus leaf iva — like ambhasā — by the water .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi
brahmaṇi
unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead
ādhāya
resigning
karmāṇi
all works
saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ
saṅgam
attachment
tyaktvā
giving up
karoti
performs
yaḥ
who
lipyate na sa pāpena
lipyate
is affected
na
never
saḥ
he
pāpena
by sin
padma-patram ivāmbhasā
padma - patram
a lotus leaf
iva
like
ambhasā
by the water .
Important Words
  • brahmaṇi — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead
    Locative. The action is offered *into* the Supreme. Prabhupāda's gloss is doctrinally precise — brahman here points beyond impersonal absolute to the Personality, since you cannot meaningfully offer to a featureless absolute.
  • ādhāya — resigning, placing
    Absolutive of ā + √dhā — 'having set down upon.' The act is done after the placing; the offering precedes the doing. This is the inner gesture of every act of bhakti karma-yoga.
  • saṅgam — attachment
    The hinge word from 2.47 returns. Not the act but the saṅga binds. Drop the clinging, keep the action — that is the formula carried forward through the entire chapter.
  • padma-patram — a lotus leaf
    Padma — lotus. Patra — leaf. The metaphor is so foundational to Indic spiritual writing that the Gītā uses it almost as a technical term. Sanskrit poetry has named this exact phenomenon for millennia.
  • ambhasā — by the water
    Instrumental. The water is the would-be agent of staining; the leaf is the patient that refuses to be stained. The grammar makes the leaf's victory linguistically clean: na lipyate — pāpena... ambhasā.
One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
Purport

Here brahmaṇi means in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The material world is a sum total manifestation of the three modes of material nature, technically called the pradhāna . The Vedic hymns sarvaṁ hy etad brahma ( Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 2), tasmād etad brahma nāma rūpam annaṁ ca jāyate ( Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.1.9), and, in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.3), mama yonir mahad brahma indicate that everything in the material world is a manifestation of Brahman; and although the effects are differently manifested, they are nondifferent from the cause. In the Īśopaniṣad it is said that everything is related to the Supreme Brahman, or Kṛṣṇa, and thus everything belongs to Him only. One who knows perfectly well that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, that He is the proprietor of everything and that, therefore, everything is engaged in the service of the Lord, naturally has nothing to do with the results of his activities, whether virtuous or sinful. Even one’s material body, being a gift of the Lord for carrying out a particular type of action, can be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is then beyond contamination by sinful reactions, exactly as the lotus leaf, though remaining in the water, is not wet. The Lord also says in the Gītā (3.30), mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasya: “Resign all works unto Me [Kṛṣṇa].” The conclusion is that a person without Kṛṣṇa consciousness acts according to the concept of the material body and senses, but a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness acts according to the knowledge that the body is the property of Kṛṣṇa and should therefore be engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
10. He who, giving up attachment, offers his actions to the Supreme Lord, is not contaminated by sin in those actions, just as a lotus leaf is not touched by water.
Commentary

Moreover, he who, offering all his actions unto Me, the Supreme Lord (brahmaṇi), giving up attachment to actions, giving up false identification of “I am doing it”, performs actions, is not contaminated at all by any actions, of which some could be sinful. Pāpena here represents all actions, not just sinful ones. [Note: Puṇya is also contaminating.]

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
10. He who, giving up attachment and material identification, consigning his actions to the material energy, is not contaminated by sin in those actions, just as a lotus leaf is not touched by water.
Commentary

This verse elaborates the point. The word brahman here indicates the material pradhāna composed of three guṇas, for it is said tasmād etad brahma-nāma-rūpam annaṁ ca jāyate: this Brahman gives birth to food. (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.10) Also the Lord Himself will say in the Gītā mama yonir mahad brahma: the material energy is my womb. (BG14.3) He attributes activities such as seeing, to the transformations of pradhāna in the form of body, senses, prāṇas, ego and fate, not thinking that these activities are part of his pure ātmā. He renounces desires for results and gives up the thought of being the doer (saṅgam tvaktvā). He, endowed with body and senses, thus performs activities, but is not contaminated with sin, with the thought of the self being the body. He is like a lotus leaf touched by water which is sprinkled on it but rolls off. Brahmaṇi should not be interpreted here as the paramātmā as was stated in a previous verse mayi saṁnyasya karmāṇi (BG 3.30) This is because it has just been stated in the previous verse that the doership belongs to the body and senses of the jīva arising from pradhāna, and not to the individual ātmā.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Being situated in that knowledge, the jnana, then performing niskama karma, or doing one's duty in this detached faction as described in Texts 8‑9, seeing that everything is going on but seeing that one is aloof from everything. The body is acting, he is touching, working, moving about, the body is doing all these things, but oneself has nothing to do with it. Therefore one can perform one's duties without attachment and on a highest level ‑ surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord. There is no sinful reaction that comes to him,"just as the lotus leaf is untouched by water". The flower of the lotus appears to be on the water but actually has nothing to do with it. Also the lotus has a waxy surface, any drop of water which falls on it, immediatly glides right off. Similarly, because of the detachment on the transcendental knowledge, of the one performing niskama karma, all reac glide off of him "as the lotus leaf is untouched by the water".

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.10 On the other hand, again, one who is ignorant of the Truth and is engaged in Karma-yoga, yah, who; karoti, acts; adhaya, by dedicating, by surrendering; all karmani, actions; brahmani, to Brahman, to God; with the idea, 'I am working for Him, as a servant does everything for his master', and tyaktva, by renouncing; sangam, attachment, even with regard to teh resulting Liberation; sah, he; na lipyate, does not get polluted, is not affected; papena, by sin; iva, just as; padma-patram, a lotus leaf; is not ambhasa, by water. The only result that will certainly accrue from such action will be the purification of the heart.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.10 Here the term, Brahman denotes Prakrti. Later on Sri Krsna will say: 'The great Brahman is My womb' (14.3). Since Prakrti abides in the form of senses which are particular off-shoots of Prakrti, he who, as said in the passage beginning with 'Even though he is seeing, hearing ৷৷.' (5.8), understands that all actions proceed from Brahman (Prakrti); renounces all attachment while engaging himself in all actions, reflecting, 'I am doing nothing.' Such a person, though existing in contact with Prakrti, is not contaminated by sin which is the result of the wrong identification of the Atman with Prakrti and is the cause of bondage. Just as a lotus leaf is not wetted by water, actions do not affect or defile a person with sin, if he is free from such identification with the body.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.10 See Comment under 5.11
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.10 He who does actions, offering them to Brahman, and abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin, just as a lotus-leaf is not tainted by water.
Commentary

5.10 ब्रह्मणि in Brahman? आधाय having placed? कर्माणि actions? सङ्गम् attachment? त्यक्त्वा having abandoned? करोति acts? यः who? लिप्यते is tainted? न not? सः he? पापेन by sin? पद्मपत्रम् lotusleaf? इव like? अम्भसा by water.Commentary Chapter IV verses 18? 20? 21? 22? 23? 37? 41 Chapter V verses 10? 11 and 12 all convey the one idea that the Yogi who does actions without egoism and attachment to results or fruits of the actions? which he regards as offerings unto the Lord? is not tainted by the actions (Karma). He has no attachment even for Moksha. He sees inaction in action. All his actions are burnt in the fire of wisdom. He escapes from the wheel of Samsara. He is freed from the round of births and deaths. He gets purity of heart and through purity of heart attains to the knowledge of the Self. Through the knowledge of the Self he is liberated. This is the gist of the above ten verses. (Cf.III.30)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.10 One who acts by dedicating actions to Brahman and by renouncing attachment, he does not become polluted by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not by water.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.10 He who dedicates his actions to the Spirit, without any personal attachment to them, he is no more tainted by sin than the water lily is wetted by water.
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)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 2.47 BG 9.27 BG 3.30 SB 11.2.50 SB 6.1.15 SB 1.5.32 CC Madhya 22.93 CC Madhya 22.100 CC Antya 4.67 Īśa Upaniṣad 1 BRS 1.2.255
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Offering all his work to Brahman, abandoning attachment, he is untouched by sin — as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.
Practical Applications
  • Frame each act as offering before performing it.
  • Cultivate lotus-leaf consciousness — present in the water, untouched by it.
  • Verify daily: am I in the water, or absorbed by it?
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I being soaked rather than untouched?
  • What single act today would I most want to offer?
Analogy

The lotus leaf sits on the pond all day, drenched a thousand times, and rises in the morning dry. Its surface has a microscopic structure that water cannot wet. So the soul that offers every act to the Supreme develops a structure sin cannot wet — present in the world, unstained by it.

Stories
Mahārāja Ambarīṣa

Ambarīṣa ruled the earth with full kingly responsibility — wars, judgments, marriages, treasuries — yet every act was first offered to Kṛṣṇa. The Bhāgavatam describes how he fixed his mind on the Lord's lotus feet, his words on the Lord's qualities, his hands on the Lord's service, his eyes on the Lord's deity-form.

When the angry sage Durvāsā tried to curse him for a minor breach of protocol, the Lord's Sudarśana cakra rose in Ambarīṣa's defense and chased Durvāsā through the three worlds. The king himself stood untouched — neither rejoicing in the protection nor lamenting the sage's flight.

This is brahmaṇi ādhāya karmāṇi made visible: surrender all actions to the Supreme, and even the world's fiercest waters bead off the leaf.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Section 2 (5.7–5.12)
HOW TO PERFORM NISKAMA-KARMA-YOGA
Section overview
One performing Niskama-karma-yoga identifies
Neither with his body
Nor the activities that his body performs
By his detached actions, he is freed from the reactions of his activities

LINK BETWEEN SECTION I & SECTION II: By describing the consciousness of one who works in

transcendental knowledge, now Krishna illustrates how Karma-yoga and Sankhya-yoga are

complimentary but Karma-yoga is preferable.

Texts 5.7 – 5.12 may depict any of the three levels of God realisation, since Bhagavan is the highest realisation

and clearly the goal of Gita, Srila Prabhupada expresses these verses from that angle.

PLEASE NOTE: Translations and Purports of Texts 5.7 – 5.12 has been covered below under Summarized Theme 5B.

Ther Remaining points of the purports are covered together in the ‘Focus of Learning’ section thereafter

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SECTION II

One in knowledge understands his incompatibility with material

nature and thus acts only for purification, unattached to material results

SUMMARISED THEME 5B

PERFORMING NISKAMA-KARMA-YOGA

A) IN TERMS OF REALISATION

1. Sees all living entities as spirit souls, part and parcels of the Supreme / Dear to all (5.7)

Krishna conscious viewpoint: Devotees see’s all living entities as part and parcel, therefore waters the root (feeding stomach satisfies all the limbs). Thus one acts as servant to all living entities and thus dear to all.

2. Knows material activities as interactions of senses with sense objects (5.8 – 5.9)

Krishna conscious viewpoint: Devotee remains aloof and free because of

▪ Pure in existence – aloof from actions which depend on 5 immediate and

remote causes

▪ Always conscious of his actual position as a servitor - Senses kept in Krishna’s

service

3. Knows soul is inactive materially. He is aloof (5.8 – 5.9)

B) IN TERMS OF ACTION

1. Mind and senses completely controlled (5.7)

Krishna conscious viewpoint: Because a devotee is servant to all, therefore he is dear to all and satisfies all and thus he is always pure in consciousness

▪ Pure consciousness leads to mind and sense control

▪ Mind and senses fixed in Krishna’s service –thus no chance of deviating from

Krishna Consciousness

2. Acts without attachment / no desire for results (5.10)

Krishna conscious viewpoint: Devotee surrenders results unto Supreme Lord

▪ Person without Krishna Consciousness acts according to material body and

senses

▪ Person in Krishna Consciousness acts according to knowledge that body is

property of Krishna and engage in service of Krishna

3. Act with body, mind, intelligence and senses only for purification (5.11*)

Krishna conscious viewpoint: Action in Krishna Consciosness causes automatic purification, because done for Krishna’s senses (Ref. Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu: “Iha Yasya...”)

▪ Sadachara – It refers to Purified Activities which are easily done by acting in

Krishna Consciousness

C) RESULTS

1. Not incur sin (5.10) – Analogy: Lotus leaf untouched by water

2. Never entangled because work is not based on desire of mind and senses, but based on

Krishna’s Desire (5.7 and 5.12)

3. Attains unadulterated peace, because no anxiety for fruits (5.12)

Krishna Consciousness – Attachment to Krishna
Bodily Consciousness – Attachment to Results

Bhagavad-gītā 5.11

↗
కాయేన మనసా బుద్ధ్యా కేవలైరిన్ద్రియైరపి । యోగిన: కర్మ కుర్వన్తి సఙ్గం త్యక్త్వాత్మ‍శ‍ుద్ధయే ॥ ౧౧ ॥
kāyena manasā buddhyā
[kaayena manasaa buddhyaa]
kevalair indriyair api
[kevalair indriyair api]
yoginaḥ karma kurvanti
[yoginah karma kurvanti]
saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śuddhaye
[sangam tyaktvaatma-shuddhaye]
Word-for-word
kāyena — with the body manasā — with the mind buddhyā — with the intelligence kevalaiḥ — purified indriyaiḥ — with the senses api — even yoginaḥ — Kṛṣṇa conscious persons karma — actions kurvanti — they perform saṅgam — attachment tyaktvā — giving up ātma — of the self śuddhaye — for the purpose of purification .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kāyena manasā buddhyā
kāyena
with the body
manasā
with the mind
buddhyā
with the intelligence
kevalair indriyair api
kevalaiḥ
purified
indriyaiḥ
with the senses
api
even
yoginaḥ karma kurvanti
yoginaḥ
Kṛṣṇa conscious persons
karma
actions
kurvanti
they perform
saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śuddhaye
saṅgam
attachment
tyaktvā
giving up
ātma
of the self
śuddhaye
for the purpose of purification .
Important Words
  • kevalaiḥ — purified, only
    Often translated 'pure' or 'sole.' The senses are used 'only' — kevala — for purification. The yogī has removed every other motive. Kevala will become a key technical term in later bhakti literature: kevalā bhakti, pure unmixed devotion.
  • saṅgam tyaktvā — giving up attachment
    Absolutive — 'having abandoned attachment.' Again the action is preceded by an inner gesture: attachment is dropped first, then the act is performed. Compare ādhāya in verse 10; the sequencing is the practice.
  • ātma-śuddhaye — for the purpose of purification of the self
    Dative — 'for the sake of.' The single declared motive of the yogī's action. Not livelihood, not duty alone, not even welfare of others — only ātma-śuddhi. Other goods follow naturally, but they are not the named motive.
  • kāyena manasā buddhyā — with body, mind, and intelligence
    Instrumental triplet ascending in subtlety. The verse insists all three layers participate — body alone is not enough, mind alone is not enough. Total engagement, single motive.
  • yoginaḥ — Kṛṣṇa conscious persons
    Plural — yogīs in general. Kṛṣṇa is not describing a rare specialist but the entire class of those engaged in karma-yoga. This is the working definition of a yogī in chapter 5.
The yogīs, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification.
Purport

When one acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the satisfaction of the senses of Kṛṣṇa, any action, whether of the body, mind, intelligence or even the senses, is purified of material contamination. There are no material reactions resulting from the activities of a Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Therefore purified activities, which are generally called sad-ācāra, can be easily performed by acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.187) describes this as follows: īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā girā nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate “A person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness (or, in other words, in the service of Kṛṣṇa) with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.” He has no false ego, for he does not believe that he is this material body, or that he possesses the body. He knows that he is not this body and that this body does not belong to him. He himself belongs to Kṛṣṇa, and the body too belongs to Kṛṣṇa. When he applies everything produced of the body, mind, intelligence, words, life, wealth, etc. – whatever he may have within his possession – to Kṛṣṇa’s service, he is at once dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa. He is one with Kṛṣṇa and is devoid of the false ego that leads one to believe that he is the body, etc. This is the perfect stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
11. The karma-yogīs perform action, giving up attachment to results, for purification of the mind, using voice, mind, intelligence or even the senses alone.
Commentary

The karma-yogīs perform actions using the body, mind, intelligence and even the senses alone, while giving up attachment, for purification of the mind (ātma-śuddhaye). At the time of making offerings of oblations using the senses, the mind may wander. This is the manner in which only the senses are employed (kevalaiḥ indriyair api).

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
11. The karma yogīs perform action, while giving up attachment to results, using body, mind, intelligence and pure senses for extinguishing false identification.
Commentary

He further explains this by testifying that it standard conduct. The yogīs perform activities using the body, mind and intelligence, while being devoid of identification with those instruments. Kevalaiḥ here indicates “very pure.” They perform these acts, having given up the desire for results and the concept of being the doer (saṅgam tvaktvā as in the previous verse), in order to extinguish the beginningless identification with the material body and senses (ātmā śuddhaye).

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

“Kaivalya” comes from the root kevala, which in this verse is defined as “purified.” One becomes

purified by his detached work. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains: “Although one’s mind

may sometimes be distracted while making offerings of oblations such as indrīya svāhā, still, such a

person’s senses are kevala, acting for the purification of the ātmā, or for the sake of purifying the

mind.”

Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa explains this verse as follows: “Citing the behavior of saintly persons as

evidence, Kṛṣṇa elaborates on the previous verse with this verse beginning kāyena. Yogīs carry out

work that has to be executed with the body, mind, senses and so on, without any false identifica-

tion of the self with the body and so on. Kevala means ‘fully purified’ (viśuddha). In the phrase be-

ginning ‘abandoning attachment,’ the words ‘for the purpose of purification of the self’ mean ‘for

the sake of giving up one’s false identification with the body as the self, which one has maintained

since time immemorial.’”

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.11 Since tyaktva, by giving up sangam, attachment with regard to results; yoginah, the yogis, men of action; kurvanti, undertake; karma, work; kevalaih, merely- this word is to be construed with each of the words, body etc., so as to deny the idea of ownership with regard to all actions-; kayena, through the body; manasa, through the mind; buddhya, through the intellect; and api, even; indriyaih, through the organs, which are devoid of the idea of ownership, which are unassociated with ownership thus: 'I act only for God, and not for my gain'; atmasudhaye, for the purification of themselves, i.e., for the purification of the heart, therefore you have competence only for that. So you undertake action alone. And also since,
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.11 Renouncing attachment to heaven etc., the Yogins perform actions accomplishable by the body, the mind and the intellect for the purification of themselves, i.e., for annulling the bonds of his previous Karma which have afected the self and which involve the self in Samsara.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.7-11 Yogayuktah etc. upto atma-siddhaye. He, whose (by whom) Self is [realised to be] the Self of all beings, is not stained, eventhough he performs all [sorts of] actions. For, he has undertaken neither what is enjoined nor what is prohibited. Hence, even while performing actions such as seeing and the like, he bears in mind, -i.e., he resolves with [all] firmness of observation, - that 'If the sense-organs like eyes etc., function on their respective objects, what does it matter for me ? Indeed one is not stained by what another does'. This act is nothing but dedicating one's actions to the Brahman. In this regard the characteristic mark is his detachment. Due to that he is not stained. Because they do not have attachment, the men of Yoga perform actions only with their body etc., that are freed from attachment and do not depend on each other.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.11 Yogis, having abandoned attachment, perform actions only by the body, mind, intellect, and even by the senses, for the purification of the self.
Commentary

5.11 कायेन by the body? मनसा by the mind? बुद्ध्या by the intellect? केवलैः only? इन्द्रियैः by the senses? अपि also? योगिनः Yogis? कर्म action? कुर्वन्ति perform? सङ्गम् attachment? त्यक्त्वा having abandoned? आत्मशुद्धये for the purification of the self. Commentary Yogis here means Karma Yogis who are devoted to the path of action? who are free from egoism and selfishness? who work for the purification of their hearts without the least attachment to the fruits or results of their actions? and who dedicate all actions to the Lord as their offerings.Kevalam only by (free from egoism and selfishness) applies to the body? mind? intellect and the senses.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.11 By giving up attachment, the yogis undertake work merely through the body, mind, intellect and even the organs, for the purification of themselves.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.11 The sage performs his action dispassionately, using his body, mind and intellect, and even his senses, always as a means of purification.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
BG 6.3 BG 3.19 BG 18.5 SB 1.2.19 SB 3.25.25 SB 11.20.9 CC Madhya 19.170 CC Madhya 22.104 CC Antya 4.176 BRS 1.1.11 BRS 1.2.2
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The yogis act with body, mind, intelligence, even with the senses — without attachment, only for self-purification.
Practical Applications
  • Reframe purification, not personal benefit, as the motive of practice.
  • Use the body and mind as instruments of purification, not just acquisition.
  • Notice when purification has slipped and acquisition has crept in.
Reflection Questions
  • Where has acquisition replaced purification as my motive?
  • What single practice this week is purely about purification?
Analogy

A musician tunes his instrument not to display the instrument but so that the music can be true. The yogī tunes body, mind, intelligence, and senses not for personal acquisition but only ātma-śuddhaye — for the purifying of the self. The instrument is the means; purification is the only result claimed.

Stories
Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī

Born to immense wealth, Raghunātha renounced his family's mansions to live at the back door of the Govardhana hill in Vṛndāvana. He ate almost nothing — a little buttermilk, sometimes only chewed and spat out. He slept on bare stone. He chanted hundreds of thousands of names daily.

When visitors asked why he punished his body so, his reply was the verse's reply: not punishment, only purification. The body, mind, intelligence, senses — all were instruments being polished for the single use of Kṛṣṇa's pleasure. Nothing was being acquired; only the obstructions were being filed away.

Kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api — every layer was engaged, and every layer's only purpose was śuddhi.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.12

↗
యుక్త: కర్మఫలం త్యక్త్వా శాన్తిమాప్‍నోతి నైష్ఠికీమ్ । అయుక్త: కామకారేణ ఫలే సక్తో నిబధ్యతే ॥ ౧౨ ॥
yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā
[yuktah karma-phalam tyaktvaa]
śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm
[shaantim aapnoti naishthikeem]
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa
[ayuktah kaama-kaarena]
phale sakto nibadhyate
[phale sakto nibadhyate]
Word-for-word
yuktaḥ — one who is engaged in devotional service karma - phalam — the results of all activities tyaktvā — giving up śāntim — perfect peace āpnoti — achieves naiṣṭhikīm — unflinching ayuktaḥ — one who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness kāma - kāreṇa — for enjoying the result of work phale — in the result saktaḥ — attached nibadhyate — becomes entangled .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā
yuktaḥ
one who is engaged in devotional service
karma - phalam
the results of all activities
tyaktvā
giving up
śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm
śāntim
perfect peace
āpnoti
achieves
naiṣṭhikīm
unflinching
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa
ayuktaḥ
one who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness
kāma - kāreṇa
for enjoying the result of work
phale sakto nibadhyate
phale
in the result
saktaḥ
attached
nibadhyate
becomes entangled .
Important Words
  • yuktaḥ — one who is engaged in devotional service
    Yoked. The verse opens by naming the yoked soul and closes by naming his opposite (ayuktaḥ). The whole verse is structured as a contrast between two postures toward the fruit of work.
  • karma-phalam tyaktvā — giving up the result of work
    Absolutive again — 'having given up.' The peace is consequent on the giving up, not parallel to it. Drop the fruit first; the peace flows in to fill the space the fruit was clutched in.
  • naiṣṭhikīm — unflinching
    From niṣṭhā — 'firm standing.' The peace described is not occasional ease but established stability. Compare nitya-sannyāsī of verse 3: the yogī's qualities are perpetual states, not moods.
  • kāma-kāreṇa — for enjoying the result of work
    Kāma — desire. Kāra — making, doing. 'By the doing-for-desire.' The instrumental case names the cause of entanglement: working *for* the fruit is what binds, not working itself.
  • nibadhyate — becomes entangled
    Ni + √bandh, passive — 'is tied down.' The same root behind bandhana, bondage. The grammar makes bondage something done *to* the grasping soul by his own grasping. The fetter is self-forged.
The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.
Purport

The difference between a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and a person in bodily consciousness is that the former is attached to Kṛṣṇa whereas the latter is attached to the results of his activities. The person who is attached to Kṛṣṇa and works for Him only is certainly a liberated person, and he has no anxiety over the results of his work. In the Bhāgavatam, the cause of anxiety over the result of an activity is explained as being one’s functioning in the conception of duality, that is, without knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no duality. All that exists is a product of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, and Kṛṣṇa is all good. Therefore, activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are on the absolute plane; they are transcendental and have no material effect. One is therefore filled with peace in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But one who is entangled in profit calculation for sense gratification cannot have that peace. This is the secret of Kṛṣṇa consciousness – realization that there is no existence besides Kṛṣṇa is the platform of peace and fearlessness.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
12. He who is engaged in karma-yoga while giving up the results attains liberation. One not engaged in karma-yoga, being attached to the results out of lust, becomes bound up.
Commentary

Performing action with no attachment leads to liberation and performing action with attachment leads to bondage. The performer of karma-yoga (yuktaḥ) attains steady peace (naiṣṭhikīm śāntim). This means he attains liberation. The karmī with desires (ayuktaḥ), who is attached to the results, due to performing actions out of lust (kāma-kāreṇa), becomes bound.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
12. He who engages his mind in ātmā, giving up the results of work, attains vision of ātmā. The person not engaging his mind in ātmā, being attached to the results out of lust, takes repeated birth and death.
Commentary

The person with mind absorbed in ātmā (yuktaḥ), having given up the results of work in his performing activities, attains steady (naiṣṭhikīm) peace (śāntim) in the form of seeing ātmā. One who does not engage his mind in ātmā (ayuktaḥ), who is attached to the results of work (phale saktaḥ), takes repeated birth and death (nibadhyate) by performing actions out of lust (kāma kāreṇa).

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

This is a description of a performance of niskama karma.

[ C . ENLIGHTENMENT THROUGH KNOWING THE THREE DOERS IN PERSPECTIVE: THE SOUL, MATERIAL NATURE, AND THE SUPERSOUL (5. 13‑16) The living being who knows that all bodily activities are automatically carried out by the modes of material nature after those activities are sanctioned by the Supersoul, attains enlightenment through that knowledge. ]

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.12 Tyaktva, giving up; karma-phalam, the result of work; yuktah, by becoming resolute in faith, by having this conviction thus-'Actions are for God, not for my gain'; apnoti, attains; santim, Peace, called Liberation; naisthikim arising from steadfastness. It is to be understood that he attains this through the stages of purification of the heart, acisition of Knowledge, renunciation of all actions, and steadfastness in Knowledge. On the other hand, however, he who is ayuktah, lacking in resolute faith; he, phale saktah, being attached to result; thinking, 'I am doing this work for my gain'; kama-karena, under the impulsion of desire-kara is the same as karana (action); the action of desire (kama-kara; under that impulsion of desire, i.e. being prompted by desire; nibadhyate, gets bound. Therefore you become resolute in faith. This is the idea. But one who has experienced the supreme Reality-
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.12 A Yogin is one who has no hankering for fruits other than the self, and who is exclusively devoted to the self. If a man renounces the fruits of actions and performs actions merely for the purification of himself, he attains lasting peace, i.e., he attains bliss which is of the form of lasting experience of the self. The unsteady person is one who is inclined towards fruits other than the self. He has turned himself away from the vision of the self. Being impelled by desire, he becomes attached to fruits of actions, and remains bound for ever by them. That is, he becomes a perpetual Samsarin or one involved in transmigratory cycle endlessly. What is said is this: Free of attachment for fruits and attributing one's actions to Prakrti which has developed into the form of senses, one should perform actions merely to free the self from bondage. Next, the shifting of agency to Prakrti, from which the body has come into existence, is described:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.12 Yuktah etc. Highest : that from which there is no return.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.12 The united one (the well poised or the harmonised) having abandoned the fruit of action attains to the eternal peace: the non-united only (the unsteady or the unbalanced) impelled by desire, attached to the fruit, is bound.
Commentary

5.12 युक्तः the united one (the well poised)? कर्मफलम् fruit of action? त्यक्त्वा having abandoned? शान्तिम् peace? आप्नोति attains? नैष्ठिकीम् final? अयुक्तः the nonunited one? कामकारेण impelled by desire? फले in the fruit (of action)? सक्तः attached? निबध्यते is bound.Commentary Santim naishthikim is interpreted as peace born of devotion of steadfastness. The harmonious man who does actions for the sake of the Lord without expectation of the fruit and who says? I do actions for my Lord only? not for my personal gain or profit? attains to the peace born of devotion? through the following four stages? viz.? purity of mind? the attainment of knowledge? renunciation of actions? and steadiness in wisdom. But the unbalanced or the unharmonised man who is led by desire and who is attached to the fruits of the actions and who says? I have done such and such an action I will get such and such a fruit? is firmly bound.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.12 Giving up the result of work by becoming resolute in faith, one attains Peace arising from steadfastness. One who is lacking in resolute faith, being attached to the result under the impulsion of desire, becomes bound.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.12 Having abandoned the fruit of action, he wins eternal peace. Others unacquainted with spirituality, led by desire and clinging to the benefit which they think will follow their actions, become entangled in them.
Related values & verses
Primary values
Shanti (Peace / Tranquility)
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)
Related verses
BG 2.47 BG 2.71 BG 9.27 SB 3.29.11 SB 11.14.21 SB 2.3.10 CC Madhya 19.149 CC Madhya 24.127 CC Madhya 22.141 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.20BRS 1.1.11
Concepts
Yoga
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The unattached worker, abandoning the fruits, attains lasting peace; the attached worker, bound by lust, is entangled.
Practical Applications
  • Choose peace as a higher fruit than achievement.
  • Notice that attachment to results literally costs you peace.
  • Trade the fantasy outcome for actual present-moment peace.
Reflection Questions
  • What outcome am I currently chasing at the cost of my peace?
  • Would I genuinely trade peace for it?
Analogy

A worker who keeps his wages in the boss's safe and trusts the boss completely walks home each evening light and free. A worker who clutches the wage in his fist all day, suspicious and anxious, is bound to the wage even after work ends. Kṛṣṇa offers a simple trade: hand the wage to the Boss, walk home as peace.

Stories
Sudāmā returning empty-handed

When the poor brāhmaṇa Sudāmā visited Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā, he carried only a small pouch of flat rice as offering. Kṛṣṇa received it with delight. Sudāmā was so absorbed in the meeting that he forgot to ask for any material help.

Returning home, he expected to find his old hut. Instead, Kṛṣṇa had silently transformed his entire household into a palace — wife in fine garments, granaries full, gardens flourishing. Sudāmā had attached himself to no fruit; the fruit attached itself to him beyond his asking.

The verse's logic in living form: tyaktvā śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm. He gave up grasping and received both peace and abundance. The grasping ones — those who arrive demanding — leave entangled.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Section 3 (5.13–5.16)
PLATFORM OF KNOWLEDGE – KNOWING THE THREE DOERS
Section overview
The living being (Doer No. 1) who knows that all bodily activities are automatically carried out by the modes of material nature (Doer No. 2), after those activities are sanctioned by the Supersoul (Doer No. 3), attains enlightenment thorough that knowledge

LINK BETWEEN SECTION II & SECTION III: Chapter 5 addresses the ‘topic of action’. While discussing

action, one must of course refer to the ‘performer of action’. Krishna explains 3 performers.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SECTION III

Acting in Knowledge of Texts 5.13 – 5.16 (Knowledge of the Supersoul as the ultimate controller of

activities) reaps two substantial fruits:

1. Detachment from material events

One who understands that he is not the material body or senses is not concerned with their satisfaction
He appreciates that he has no direct control over material phenomena, so attachment to them is useless
He is too busy serving the Lord in blissful Krishna consciousness to take to mundane sense-gratification

2. Surrender to Supersoul: Devotionally fixes his consciousness (mind, intelligence, faith and

refuge) on Supersoul

And thus one gets fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge attains liberation (5.17)

FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORTS 5.7 – 5.12

(a) How can Arjuna, a man of controlled senses be offensive to others (5.7)

He was not offensive, soul cannot be killed (Ref. Chapter 2)
Only dress changes
Arjuna was not fighting but only carrying out orders of Krishna in Krishna Consciousness

(b) ‘Brahmani’ means Krishna Consciousness (5.10)

To see everything in relation to Krishna – (Based on Vedic hymns, Bhagavad-gita, Isopanisad)
To what degree – Even one’s own body (a gift of Lord) and oneself belongs to Krishna, The Supreme Proprietor
Use all in His service

(c) The perfect stage of Krishna Consciousness (Last line of Text 5.11)

Dovetailed with Krishna: It means to apply everything in service to Krishna – All that is produced of body and in his possessions should be used for Krishna’s service
To be one with Krishna as part and parcel / Devoid of false ego (Bodily conception)

(d) Cause of anxiety – To function in concept of duality without knowledge of Absolute Truth (5.12)

In Krishna Consciousness there is no duality. All that exists is on Krishna’s Energy and Krishna is all good, Supreme Absolute Truth

(e) Secret of Krishna Consciousness – realization that there is no existence besides Krishna is a

platform of peace and fearlessness (5.12)

Bhagavad-gītā 5.13

↗
సర్వకర్మాణి మనసా సన్న్యస్యాస్తే సుఖం వశీ । నవద్వారే పురే దేహీ నైవ కుర్వన్న కారయన్ ॥ ౧౩ ॥
sarva-karmāṇi manasā
[sarva-karmaani manasaa]
sannyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśī
[sannyasyaaste sukham vashee]
nava-dvāre pure dehī
[nava-dvaare pure dehee]
naiva kurvan na kārayan
[naiva kurvan na kaarayan]
Word-for-word
sarva — all karmāṇi — activities manasā — by the mind sannyasya — giving up āste — remains sukham — in happiness vaśī — one who is controlled nava - dvāre — in the place where there are nine gates pure — in the city dehī — the embodied soul na — never eva — certainly kurvan — doing anything na — not kārayan — causing to be done .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sarva-karmāṇi manasā
sarva
all
karmāṇi
activities
manasā
by the mind
sannyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśī
sannyasya
giving up
āste
remains
sukham
in happiness
vaśī
one who is controlled
nava-dvāre pure dehī
nava - dvāre
in the place where there are nine gates
pure
in the city
dehī
the embodied soul
naiva kurvan na kārayan
na
never
eva
certainly
kurvan
doing anything
na
not
kārayan
causing to be done .
Important Words
  • nava-dvāre pure — in the city of nine gates
    Nava — nine. Dvāra — gate. Pura — city. The body's nine apertures (two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, anus, genitals) are the city's gates. The metaphor casts the body as municipal infrastructure, the soul as a citizen with rented quarters.
  • vaśī — one who is controlled
    From √vaś — 'to bring under one's will.' Vaśī is the master who has brought his own nature into his own hand. The same root produces avaśa (out of control), the opposite condition. Mastery of the city begins with mastery of oneself in it.
  • manasā sannyasya — mentally renouncing
    Manas — mind. Sannyasya — absolutive of sam + ni + as. 'Having renounced with the mind.' This is the Gītā's signature move: renunciation is relocated from the orange cloth to the mind's interior gesture.
  • dehī — the embodied soul
    From deha, body. Dehī — 'the one who possesses a body.' The very word distinguishes the soul from the body; you cannot 'possess' what you are. Sanskrit grammar itself preaches the verse.
  • kārayan — causing to be done
    Causative participle of √kṛ. The verse negates this term: na kārayan — not even causing action through others. The soul is not the indirect causer either. The disclaimer reaches past direct action to the subtler claim of being-the-one-behind-the-scenes.
When the embodied living being controls his nature and mentally renounces all actions, he resides happily in the city of nine gates [the material body], neither working nor causing work to be done.
Purport

The embodied soul lives in the city of nine gates. The activities of the body, or the figurative city of body, are conducted automatically by its particular modes of nature. The soul, although subjecting himself to the conditions of the body, can be beyond those conditions, if he so desires. Owing only to forgetfulness of his superior nature, he identifies with the material body, and therefore suffers. By Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can revive his real position and thus come out of his embodiment. Therefore, when one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one at once becomes completely aloof from bodily activities. In such a controlled life, in which his deliberations are changed, he lives happily within the city of nine gates. The nine gates are mentioned as follows: nava-dvāre pure dehī haṁso lelāyate bahiḥ vaśī sarvasya lokasya sthāvarasya carasya ca “The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is living within the body of a living entity, is the controller of all living entities all over the universe. The body consists of nine gates [two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, the anus and the genitals]. The living entity in his conditioned stage identifies himself with the body, but when he identifies himself with the Lord within himself, he becomes just as free as the Lord, even while in the body.” ( Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.18) Therefore, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is free from both the outer and inner activities of the material body.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
13. Renouncing the activities by the mind while engaging in them, controlling the senses, he remains comfortable in the body which is a city with nine gates, knowing that he does nothing, nor causes anyone to do anything
Commentary

If one performs actions without attachment, as previously stated in verse 3, he is the real sannyāsī. If one performs actions with the external body, but renounces in the mind, one resides happily, controlling the senses (vaśī). Where? One resides in the city of nine gates, in the body devoid of the misconception of “this is me.” The dweller in the body, the jīva (dehī), having attained knowledge, does nothing at all, knowing that he is not the cause of happiness through his actions and that he is not the cause of others doing actions.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
13. Offering all the activities into pradhāna by the mind, while engaging in those activities and controlling the senses, the jīva with knowledge of ātmā remains comfortable in the body which is a city with nine gates. He knows that he does nothing, nor causes anyone else to do anything
Commentary

Though performing activities externally with the body and senses, having offered (saṁnyasya) all activities into that pradhāna with the discriminating mind, being in control of his senses (vaśi), he remains happy. The body is like a city with nine gates. Seven gates consisting of two eyes, two nostrils, two ears and mouth, are in the head. Two gates, the anus and genital are in the lower part of the body. The dehī, the jīva who has attained knowledge, understands that the ātmā, separate from the body (on its own), is not the doer or the cause of anyone else doing anything.

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

Establishes the role of Jivatma

THEME: One in knowledge sees the body, not the self as the performer and cause of work. Activities of body

are conducted automatically by its modes.

Purpose of discussion is to convince the embodied living entity that ‘I am not the only doer’
Embodied living entity resides happily in the city of nine gates, neither working nor causing work to be done, when he
Controls his nature and
Mentally renounces all actions
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.13 Aste, he continues; sukham, happily; sannyasya, having given up; sarva-karmani, all actions-nitya, naimittika, kamya and nisiddha (prohibited actions); [See note on p. 128.-Tr.] manasa, mentally, through discriminating wisdom-i.e. having given up (all actions) by seeing inaction in action, etc. Freed from the activities of speech, mind and body, effortles, placid in mind, and devoid of all external wants which are different from the Self, he continues happily. This is what has been said. Where and how does the vasi, man of self-control, i.e. one who has his organs under control, remain? This is being answered: Nava-dvare pure, in the town with nine gates, of which seven [Two ears, two eyes nostrils, and mouth.] are in the head for one's own experiences, and two are below for urination and defecation. As possessed of those gates, it is called the 'town with nine gates'. Being like a town, the body is called a town with the Self as its only master. And it is inhabited by the organs, mind, intellect and objects, like citizens, as it were, which serve its needs and which are productive of many results and experience. Renouncing all actions, the dehi, embodied one, resides in that town with nine gates. Objection: What is the need of this specification? For all embodied beings, be they monks or not, reside in bodies to be sure! That being so, the specification is needless. The answer is: The embodied one, however, who is unenlightened, who perceives merely the aggregate of the body and organs as the Self, he, in his totality, thinks, 'I am in a house, on the ground, or on the seat.' For one who experiences the body alone as the Self, there can certainly be no such conviction as, 'I am in the body, like one's being in a house.' But, for one who realizes the Self as distinct from the aggregate of body etc. it becomes reasonable to have the conviction, 'I am in the bdoy. It is reasonable that as a result of knowledge in the form of discriminating wisdom, there can be a mental renunciation of the actions of others, which have been ignorantly superimposed on the supreme Self. Even in the case of one in whom has arisen discriminating wisdom and who has renounced all actions, there can be, like staying in a house, the continuance in the body itself-the town with nine gates-as a conseence of the persistence of the remnants of the results of past actions which have started bearing fruit, because the awareness of being distinct (from the body) arises while one is in the body itself. Form the point of veiw of the difference between the convictions of the enlightened and the unenlightened persons, the alifying words, 'He continues in the body itself', do have a purpose to serve. Although it has been stated that one continues (in the body) by relinishing actions of the body and organs ignorantly superimposed on the Self, still there may be the apprehesion that direct or indirect agentship inheres in the Self. Anticipating this, the Lord says: na eva kurvan, without himself doing anything at all; and na karayan, not causing (others) to do, (not) inducing the body and organs to activity. Objection: Is it that the direct or indirect agentship of the embodied one inheres in the Self and ceases to be after renunciation, as the movement of a traveller ceases with the stoppage of his movement? Or, is it that they do not exist owing to the very nature of the Self? As to this, the answer is: The Self by Its nature has neither direct nor indirect agentship. For it was stated, 'It is said that৷৷.This (Self) is unchangeable' (2.25). 'O son of Kunti, although existing in the body, It does not act, nor is It affected' (13.31). And it is also stated in the Upanisad, 'It seems to meditate, as it were; It seems to move, as it were' (Br. 4.3.7).
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.13 The embodied self who is self-controlled, renounces all actions to the city of nine gates, i.e., the body with its sensory and motor functions which are nine in number. He discriminates that all actions are due to conjunction of the self with the body which is rooted in previous Karmas, and is not by Its own nature. [It means that the self merely rests in the body, without any identification with bodily activities.] Sri Krsna now teaches the natural condition of the self as It is:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.13 Sarva - etc. [He would view as] : 'Just as for a person within a house there is no connection with dilapidation etc., that are found in the house, in the same way for me too residing in the body-house beautified with nine windows in the form of openings like the eyes etc., there is no connection with its attributes.' For -
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.13 Mentally renouncing all actions and self-controlled, the embodied one rests happily in the nine-gated city, neither acting nor causing others (body and senses) to act.
Commentary

5.13 सर्वकर्माणि all actions? मनसा by the mind? संन्यस्य having renounced? आस्ते rests? सुखम् happily? वशी the selfcontrolled? नवद्वारे in the ninegated? पुरे in the city? देही the embodied? न not? एव even? कुर्वन् acting? न not? कारयन् causing to act.Commentary All actions -- (1) Nitya Karmas These are obligatory duties. Their performance does not produce any merit but their nonperformance produces demerit. Sandhyavandana? etc.? belong to this category.(2) Naimittika Karmas These Karmas are performed on the occurrence of some special events such as the birth of a son? eclipse? etc.(3) Kamya Karmas These are optional. They are intended for the attainment of some special ends (for getting rain? son? etc.)(4) Nishiddha Karmas These are forbidden actions such as theft? drinking liour? etc.(5) Prayaschitta Karmas Actions performed to neutralise the effects of evil actions or sins.The man who has controlled the senses renounces all actions by discrimination? by seeing inaction in action and rests happily in this body of nine openings (the ninegated city)? because he is free from cares? worries? anxieties and fear and his mind is ite calm and he enjoys the supreme peace of the Eternal. In this ninegated city the Self is the king. The senses? the mind? the subconscious mind? and the intellect are the inhabitants or subjects.The ignorant wordly man says? I am resting in the easychair. The man of wisdom who has realised that the Self is distinct from the body which is a product of the five elements? says? I am resting in this body. (Cf.XVIII.17?50)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.13 The embodied man of self-control, having given up all actions mentally, continues happily in the town of nine gates, without doing or causing (others) to do anything at all.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.13 Mentally renouncing all actions, the self-controlled soul enjoys bliss in this body, the city of the nine gates, neither doing anything himself nor causing anything to be done.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 5.14 BG 3.27 BG 13.32 SB 11.22.49 SB 3.26.8 SB 7.13.9 CC Madhya 20.108 CC Madhya 22.25 CC Madhya 19.138 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.18Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.1
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The embodied soul, mentally renouncing all activities, neither acts nor causes action — simply resides in the city of nine gates.
Practical Applications
  • Practice the meditation: I am the resident of the body, not the body.
  • Visualize the body as a city you live in temporarily.
  • Notice when residency turns into ownership and re-establish the right relation.
Reflection Questions
  • How would my self-care change if I treated the body as a city I rent?
  • Where do I confuse residency with proprietorship?
Analogy

A man who lives in a rented apartment cleans it, decorates it, sleeps in it, but never confuses it with himself. When the lease ends he walks out without grief. The body is such a rental — a city of nine gates — and the soul is its resident, not its owner. Live in it well; do not become it.

Stories
Bharata Mahārāja and the deer

Bharata, the great king after whom Bhārata-varṣa is named, retired to the forest in old age. He performed austerities, fixed his mind on the Lord, lived as a renunciate. One day a pregnant doe leapt across a river and dropped her fawn while dying. Bharata, moved by pity, took the fawn home.

He began caring for it — feeding it, sleeping with it, worrying about it. The Bhāgavatam records that at his death his last thought was of the deer. He had forgotten he was the resident; he had taken himself for the body's neighbor, then its lover, then nearly its captive. He took birth as a deer in his next life as a result.

The negative of this verse: when residency turns into ownership, the city of nine gates becomes a prison. Bharata's life is both warning and, in his later recovery as Jaḍa Bharata, the verse's eventual fulfillment.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.14

↗
న కర్తృత్వం న కర్మాణి లోకస్య సృజతి ప్రభు: । న కర్మఫలసంయోగం స్వభావస్తు ప్రవర్తతే ॥ ౧౪ ॥
na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi
[na kartritvam na karmaani]
lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ
[lokasya srijati prabhuh]
na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ
[na karma-phala-samyogam]
svabhāvas tu pravartate
[svabhaavas tu pravartate]
Word-for-word
na — never kartṛtvam — proprietorship na — nor karmāṇi — activities lokasya — of the people sṛjati — creates prabhuḥ — the master of the city of the body na — nor karma - phala — with the results of activities saṁyogam — connection svabhāvaḥ — the modes of material nature tu — but pravartate — act .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi
na
never
kartṛtvam
proprietorship
na
nor
karmāṇi
activities
lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ
lokasya
of the people
sṛjati
creates
prabhuḥ
the master of the city of the body
na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ
na
nor
karma - phala
with the results of activities
saṁyogam
connection
svabhāvas tu pravartate
svabhāvaḥ
the modes of material nature
tu
but
pravartate
act .
Important Words
  • kartṛtvam — proprietorship
    From kartṛ — doer. The -tva suffix abstracts: 'doer-ness.' Kṛṣṇa does not create this sense of being-a-doer in the living entity. False doership is the soul's own confusion, not God's imposition.
  • prabhuḥ — the master of the city of the body
    From pra + √bhū, 'becoming forth, prevailing.' Prabhupāda glosses this as the master of the city; some commentaries take it as the Supreme Lord. Either reading carries the same teaching: the master, however identified, does not generate the modes' workings.
  • karma-phala-saṁyogam — connection with the results of activities
    The Lord does not even forge the connection between act and result. That linkage is the work of karma itself — the impersonal law operating through the modes. This is a crucial doctrinal point: the Lord is not the celestial accountant doling out fruits.
  • svabhāvaḥ — the modes of material nature
    Sva — own. Bhāva — nature, condition. 'Own-nature.' Each conditioned being's svabhāva, formed by prior karma and current modes, is what enacts the activity. Prabhupāda glosses it as the modes themselves doing the work.
  • pravartate — act
    From pra + √vṛt — 'to roll forward, set in motion.' Material nature pravartates — keeps rolling forward of its own momentum. The Lord set the wheel turning at creation; He does not push it daily.
The embodied spirit, master of the city of his body, does not create activities, nor does he induce people to act, nor does he create the fruits of action. All this is enacted by the modes of material nature.
Purport

The living entity, as will be explained in the Seventh Chapter, is one of the energies or natures of the Supreme Lord but is distinct from matter, which is another nature – called inferior – of the Lord. Somehow the superior nature, the living entity, has been in contact with material nature since time immemorial. The temporary body or material dwelling place which he obtains is the cause of varieties of activities and their resultant reactions. Living in such a conditional atmosphere, one suffers the results of the activities of the body by identifying himself (in ignorance) with the body. It is ignorance acquired from time immemorial that is the cause of bodily suffering and distress. As soon as the living entity becomes aloof from the activities of the body, he becomes free from the reactions as well. As long as he is in the city of the body, he appears to be the master of it, but actually he is neither its proprietor nor controller of its actions and reactions. He is simply in the midst of the material ocean, struggling for existence. The waves of the ocean are tossing him, and he has no control over them. His best solution is to get out of the water by transcendental Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That alone will save him from all turmoil.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
14. The Lord does not create doership of the jīva nor does He force the results of action on the jīva. This takes place by the jīva’s nature.
Commentary

“Well if the jīva is actually not the doer of activities, then, from seeing the jīva doing and enjoying everywhere in the universe created by the Supreme Lord, I think that the Lord has created the jīva’s (illusory) doership and enjoying, forcing it upon the jīva. Therefore, injustice and cruelty must be present in the Lord.” No, that is not true at all. He does not make the jīva do activities nor does He give the jīva the results of his activities. Rather the nature of the jīva in the form of his beginningless ignorance alone produces this. That ignorance makes the jīva assume the false identification as the doer.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
14. The jīva does not create his own capacity as agent, nor does he cause others to act, nor does he bestow the results of action. This takes place by svabhāva.
Commentary

In this verse the Lord explains how the jīva with ātmā jṣāna does not perform action or cause anyone to act. The master of the sense and body, the jīva (prabhuḥ), does not become an agent who makes other people perform action (kartṛtvam), saying “You do that.” Nor does he perform most desirable actions for himself, such as making garlands or cloth. He himself is not the doer. Nor does he create a relationship (saṁyogam) with the results of action, with happiness and distress: he does not become the enjoyer of results, nor does he cause others to enjoy the results. Then who should we conclude acts or makes others act? It takes place by svabhāva. The jīva, in possessing the body and senses arising from previously described pradhāna, by the impressions arising in pradhāna with no beginning(svabhāva), becomes the doer and cause of others acting. The jīva as an isolated entity is not the doer. The slight doership attributed to the jīva even in its pure state, described in the previous verse with the words sukham aste, should be understood as arising in such things as perception or knowledge alone. The word kartṛ is a noun whose root denotes action. In this verse the impressions are said to be the doer, taking the chief import of the word.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

The embodied soul does not create any activity, does not induce others to act, he does not create the fruits of action. All this is enacted by the three modes of material nature. He knows this, he knows that he is not the one working and he is not the one making others work ‑ he is completely aloof from this due to his knowledge. In the Purport, Srila Prabhupada says:"The temporary body or material dwelling place which he obtains is the cause of varieties of activities and their resultant reactions. Living in such a conditional atmosphere, one suffers the results of the activities of the body by identifying himself (in ignorance) with the body. ignorance acquired from time immemorial that is the cau bodily suffering and distress. As soon as the living entity becomes aloof from the activities of the body, he becomes free from the reactions as well. As long as he is in the city of body, he appears to be the master of it, but actually he is neither its proprietor nor controller of its actions and reactions. He is simply in the midst of the material ocean, struggling for existence. The waves of the ocean are tossing him, and he has no control over them. His best solution is to get out of the water by transcendental Krsna consciousness. That alone will save him from all turmoil." He, the living entity, within the body ‑ that is the first doer. He knows that he is not the body but he is in the body. He is usually considered the doer but in this verse he knows that he is not doing anything, he is not inducing people to act, he doesn't create the activities nor is he creating the fruits of action ‑ it is all happening by the modes of material nature. This is pushing the blame of doership of all activities to the modes of material nature. But who is actually in control of the modes of material nature? That is the Supersoul. The natural thought is: "If I am not the doer then who is doing everything? That is the Supersoul. And because He is the One who is doing everything ‑ He is responsible for everything that happens!" This is a natural progression of thought. And therefore Krsna, to relieve Himself of the responsability for what happens, speaks verse 15.

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

Role of modes

THEME: One in Knowledge perceives, therefore the material nature as the cause of worldly actions

Focus of Learning

(a) Living entities as one of the energies – It is a superior energy as compared to matter which is the

inferior energy (Ref. Bg. 7.5)

(b) Ignorance is the cause of suffering

Soul is in contact with the material nature since time immemorial
Temporary body is the cause of varieties of activities and resultant reactions
In ignorance one identifies with the activities of the body and suffers the result

(a) Soul placed in body

Lives in the city of nine gates
Nine gates – Two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, the anus and genitals
The soul has a choice – Although subjecting oneself to the conditions of the body, one can be beyond those conditions if he so desires

(b) Cause of soul’s suffering – Owing to the forgetfulness of his superior nature and identifying with

the material nature

(c) Solution to the soul’s suffering – By Krishna consciousness one revives his real position and comes

out of the embodiment because by Krishna consciousness

One becomes completely aloof from bodily activities
In such a controlled life one deliberations are changed and he lives happily within the city of nine gates

(d) Supporting reference – Svetasvatara Upanisad

When the living entity identifies with the Lord within Himself, he becomes just as free as the Lord, even while in the body
Therefore a Krishna conscious person is free from both the outer and inner activities of the material body
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.14 Prabhuh, the Self; na srjati, does not create; lokasya, for anyone; kartrtvam, agentship, by saying 'Do this'; or even karmani, any objects-such objects as chariot, pot, palace, etc. which are intensely longed for; nor even karma-phala-samyogam, association with the results of actions-association of the creator of a chariot etc. with the result of his work. Objection: If the embodied one does not do anything himself, and does not make others do, then who is it that engages in work by doing and making others do? The answer is: Tu, but; it is svabhavah, Nature- one's own (sva) nature (bhava)-characterized as ignorance, Maya, which will be spoken of in, 'Since this divine Maya' (7.14); pravartate, that acts. But from the highest standpoint-
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.14 When the world of embodied selves exists in conjunction with the Prakrti in the form of gods, animals, men, immobile things etc., the master (Prabhu i.e., the Jiva who is the master of the body), who is not subject to Karma and is established in Its own essential nature, does not bring about: (i) the agency of gods, men etc. (ii) their manifold and particular actions and (iii) their connection with the fruits in the form of embodiment as gods etc., resulting from their actions. Who then brings about agency etc.? It is only the tendencies that act. A tendency (Svabhava) is subtle impressions (Vasanas) originating from Prakrti. The meaning is that agency, etc., do not originate from the natural or pristine condition of the self but are generated by the subtle impressions created by misconceiving those forms of Prakrti etc., as of the self. This is the result of the conjunction of the self with Prakrti in the form of gods, etc., which has been generated by the flow of previous Karmas brought about in beginningless time.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.14 Na kartrtvam etc. This Soul does not do anything for anything. But, Its exertion is only Its inherent nature and it is not due to any desire for results. For, the Bhagavat, the Conscious Energy Itself Whose ultimately true inherent nature is the Illumination-Bliss-Freedom-of-Will, and Which brings out, merely by Its own nature, the continuous series of creation, manitenance and withdrawl of all (the Universe); hence in It, there is never a departure, even to a little extent, from Its own inherent nature. Hence there is no such thing as a particular stage of being a creator i.e., a creatorhood separate [from Itself]. Because that does not exist, what actions can be there ? If actions are not there, the fruit is to be of what or for whom ? Then what connection could be three with the fruit of action ? [Further], 'action' in this context is [only] the kriya-[sakti] or creative energy [which is nothing but His will], and 'result of action' too in only the fruit of this kriya. For example, the activity like rotating the [potter's] wheel by the stick is not [actually] different [from what is to be created i.e., the pot]. Nor the creator of the pot is different from it. For, all exist within the Conscious Energy. Therefore, it is only the Animate Sovereign Supreme Lord that manifests in this and that form. Therefore there exist no activity and its result etc., apart from That. This is demonstrated conclusion [of the scriptures]. So, if there is no activity or its result [as stated above], then even the result, ordained in [the scriptural] injunctions cannot have a status of being produced by the unseen [cause]. After saying this in the other first hemistich [of the following verse], the Lord justifies in the other hemistich the same statement with reference to the men of mundane life :-
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.14 Neither agency nor actions does the Lord create for the world, nor union with the fruits of actions. But it is Nature that acts.
Commentary

5.14 न not? कर्तृत्वम् agency? न not? कर्माणि actions? लोकस्य for this world? सृजति creates? प्रभुः the Lord? न not? कर्मफलसंयोगम् union with the fruits of actions? स्वभावः nature? तु but? प्रवर्तते leads to action.Commentary The Lord does not create agency or doership. He does not press anyone to do actions. He never tells anyone? Do this or do that. He does not bring about the union with the fruit of actions. It is Prakritit or Nature that does everything. (Cf.III.33)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.14 The Self does not create agentship or any objects (of desire) for anyone; nor association with the results of actions. But it is Nature that acts.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.14 The Lord of this universe has not ordained activity, or any incentive thereto, or any relation between an act and its consequences. All this is the work of Nature.
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 5.15 BG 9.9 BG 13.30 SB 3.26.7 SB 3.26.19 SB 11.7.7 CC Ādi 5.41 CC Madhya 20.272 CC Ādi 6.14 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.6
Concepts
Bhava
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The Lord does not create the activities of beings, the doership, or the connection of activity to fruit — nature carries it out.
Practical Applications
  • Stop blaming Kṛṣṇa for outcomes of your action.
  • Take responsibility for your own karma rather than projecting it.
  • See that nature, not God, is the immediate operator.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I blaming Kṛṣṇa for what nature is carrying out?
  • What responsibility have I been deflecting?
Analogy

A river flowing through a town does not decide to power the mill or flood the bank — the river's nature carries it; the town's gradient shapes it. Kṛṣṇa is the source of all but does not micromanage which leaf falls where. Nature, gradient, conditions enact themselves. Stop blaming the river for the wheel turning.

Stories
Yudhiṣṭhira blaming Kṛṣṇa for the war

After the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira sat in grief on the throne. He had killed his cousins, his grand-uncle Bhīṣma, his teacher Droṇa. He blamed himself, blamed his brothers, and at moments blamed Kṛṣṇa for permitting such carnage.

Kṛṣṇa repeatedly redirected him. The war was the ripening of the modes — of generations of Kuru choices, of Dhṛtarāṣṭra's partiality, of Duryodhana's greed, of Yudhiṣṭhira's own gambling. Svabhāvas tu pravartate — material nature, the modes, were carrying out what they were carrying out.

The Lord neither created Yudhiṣṭhira's doership nor designed the war's outcomes; He stood as guide and friend through what nature was already enacting. The verse is Kṛṣṇa's standing answer to every soul tempted to blame Him for the consequences of conditioned action.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.15

↗
నాదత్తే కస్యచిత్పాపం న చైవ సుకృతం విభు: । అజ్ఞానేనావృతం జ్ఞానం తేన ముహ్యన్తి జన్తవ: ॥ ౧౫ ॥
nādatte kasyacit pāpaṁ
[naadatte kasyachit paapam]
na caiva sukṛtaṁ vibhuḥ
[na chaiva sukritam vibhuh]
ajñānenāvṛtaṁ jñānaṁ
[ajnaanenaavritam jnaanam]
tena muhyanti jantavaḥ
[tena muhyanti jantavah]
Word-for-word
na — never ādatte — accepts kasyacit — anyone’s pāpam — sin na — nor ca — also eva — certainly su - kṛtam — pious activities vibhuḥ — the Supreme Lord ajñānena — by ignorance āvṛtam — covered jñānam — knowledge tena — by that muhyanti — are bewildered jantavaḥ — the living entities .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nādatte kasyacit pāpaṁ
na
never
ādatte
accepts
kasyacit
anyone’s
pāpam
sin
na caiva sukṛtaṁ vibhuḥ
na
nor
ca
also
eva
certainly
su - kṛtam
pious activities
vibhuḥ
the Supreme Lord
ajñānenāvṛtaṁ jñānaṁ
ajñānena
by ignorance
āvṛtam
covered
jñānam
knowledge
tena muhyanti jantavaḥ
tena
by that
muhyanti
are bewildered
jantavaḥ
the living entities .
Important Words
  • na ādatte — does not accept
    From ā + √dā — 'to take to oneself.' The Lord does not 'take on' anyone's karma; He is not contaminated by accepting the books of every soul's accounts. The doctrine refutes any image of God as cosmic judge maintaining a ledger.
  • vibhuḥ — the Supreme Lord
    From vi + √bhū — 'pervasive, all-extending.' The Lord is omnipresent yet uncontaminated. The very word vibhuḥ asserts that pervasion does not entail entanglement. He is in everything without taking on anything.
  • ajñānena āvṛtam — covered by ignorance
    Āvṛta — covered, veiled. The jīva's constitutional knowledge of itself as Kṛṣṇa-dāsa is occluded by ajñāna. In the Gauḍīya frame this covering is not mere absence: māyā is Bhagavān's real bahiraṅga-śakti, acting by His sanction. Hence muhyanti — the soul is genuinely bewildered, not merely uninformed — and only the Lord's mercy (or His knowledge, jñānaṁ) lifts the veil.
  • muhyanti — are bewildered
    From √muh — 'to faint, to be confused.' The same root behind moha and mohini. Conditioned beings (jantavaḥ) are in a state of fainting confusion about their own situation — not the Lord's fault, not the world's fault, only the ignorance's fault.
  • jantavaḥ — the living entities
    From √jan — 'to be born.' Jantu names the soul under its conditioned, repeatedly-born aspect. The word itself carries the diagnosis: it is the jantu, the born-and-rebornthing, that is bewildered. The unborn soul, recovered, is not.
Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone’s sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.
Purport

The Sanskrit word vibhu means the Supreme Lord who is full of unlimited knowledge, riches, strength, fame, beauty and renunciation. He is always satisfied in Himself, undisturbed by sinful or pious activities. He does not create a particular situation for any living entity, but the living entity, bewildered by ignorance, desires to be put into certain conditions of life, and thereby his chain of action and reaction begins. A living entity is, by superior nature, full of knowledge. Nevertheless, he is prone to be influenced by ignorance due to his limited power. The Lord is omnipotent, but the living entity is not. The Lord is vibhu, or omniscient, but the living entity is aṇu, or atomic. Because he is a living soul, he has the capacity to desire by his free will. Such desire is fulfilled only by the omnipotent Lord. And so, when the living entity is bewildered in his desires, the Lord allows him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never responsible for the actions and reactions of the particular situation which may be desired. Being in a bewildered condition, therefore, the embodied soul identifies himself with the circumstantial material body and becomes subjected to the temporary misery and happiness of life. The Lord is the constant companion of the living entity as Paramātmā, or the Supersoul, and therefore He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the flavor of a flower by being near it. Desire is a subtle form of conditioning for the living entity. The Lord fulfills his desire as he deserves: Man proposes and God disposes. The individual is not, therefore, omnipotent in fulfilling his desires. The Lord, however, can fulfill all desires, and the Lord, being neutral to everyone, does not interfere with the desires of the minute independent living entities. However, when one desires Kṛṣṇa, the Lord takes special care and encourages one to desire in such a way that one can attain to Him and be eternally happy. The Vedic hymns therefore declare, eṣa u hy eva sādhu karma kārayati taṁ yam ebhyo lokebhya unninīṣate. eṣa u evāsādhu karma kārayati yam adho ninīṣate: “The Lord engages the living entity in pious activities so that he may be elevated. The Lord engages him in impious activities so that he may go to hell.” ( Kauṣītakī Upaniṣad 3.8) ajño jantur anīśo ’yam ātmanaḥ sukha-duḥkhayoḥ īśvara-prerito gacchet svargaṁ vāśv abhram eva ca “The living entity is completely dependent in his distress and happiness. By the will of the Supreme he can go to heaven or hell, as a cloud is driven by the air.” Therefore the embodied soul, by his immemorial desire to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness, causes his own bewilderment. Consequently, although he is constitutionally eternal, blissful and cognizant, due to the littleness of his existence he forgets his constitutional position of service to the Lord and is thus entrapped by nescience. And, under the spell of ignorance, the living entity claims that the Lord is responsible for his conditional existence. The Vedānta-sūtras (2.1.34) also confirm this. Vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na sāpekṣatvāt tathā hi darśayati: “The Lord neither hates nor likes anyone, though He appears to.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
15. Thus, the Lord does not receive the sinful or pious reaction from those actions. The jīva’s knowledge is covered by ignorance. Because of this, living entities are bewildered.
Commentary

Since the Lord does not make the jīva do either good or bad actions, he does not experience the results in the form of suffering or enjoyment. He does not accept (na adatte) them. (He is not responsible for them). However, one of His associates, His śakti called ignorance (ajṣānena) covers the inherent knowledge of the jīva. Because of this (tena), the jīvas are bewildered (and hence act. and suffer or enjoy their karma).

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
15. The Lord is not responsible for the sinful or pious acts of the jīvas. The jīvas knowledge is covered by their hostility to the Lord. Thus the living entities are bewildered by that ignorance and blame the Lord.
Commentary

“But if you say that the pure jīva is not the doer, then one must conclude that the paramātmā, out of some impulse of amusement, forcing pradhāna down the jīvas throat, created him with body and senses which are transformations of pradhāna. This is justified. The śruti confirms: eṣa u hy eva sādhu karma kārayati taṁ yam ebhyo lokebhya unninīṣate eṣa u evāsādhu karma kārayati taṁ yam adho ninīṣate. The Lord engages the living entity in pious activities whom he desires to elevate from these worlds. The Lord engages him in impious activities whom he desires to degrade. Kauṣītakī Upaniṣad 3.8 The smṛti also criticizes the Lord: ajṣo jantur anīśo’yam ātmanaḥ sukha-duḥkhayoḥ īśvara-prerito gacchet svargaṁ vāśv abhram eva ca The ignorant living entity is completely powerless in regards to attaining his distress and happiness. Impelled by the Supreme Lord he will go to heaven, or the sky. Mahābhārata 3.31.273 [Note: The Mahābhārata verse is almost the same as that quoted.] Therefore the Lord leads the jīva into states of sin and piety. In being the instigator, the Lord must therefore have the quality of injustice and must be blamed for the sins of the jīva.” This verse answers that accusation. The Supreme Lord (vibhuḥ), full of immeasurable bliss and knowledge, and full of unlimited energies, enjoying His own bliss, and being indifferent to all else, simply engages the jīva in activity according to the jīva’s impressions—a jīva who desiring to enjoy, bound up by beginningless impressions in the pradhāna, takes a body made of a transformation of pradhāna just by proximity to the Lord. Therefore, the Lord does not receive any sinful or pious reaction for any jīva’s actions. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa says: yathā sannidhi-mātreṇa gandhaḥ kṣobhāya jāyate manaso nopakartṛtvāt tathāsau parameśvaraḥ sannidhānād yathākāśa-kālādyāḥ kāraṇaṁ taroḥ tathaivāpariṇāmena viśvasya bhagavān hariḥ Smell brings about disturbance to the mind by proximity with the mind, not because of doing anything. In the same way the Supreme Lord also acts in relation to the living entities without thoughts of disturbing them. Just as by proximity, ether and time are causes of a tree without their undergoing transformation, so Bhagavān is the cause of the universe without His undergoing contact or transformation. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.2.30-1 The example of fragrance is given to illustrate the neutral position of the Lord, but this does not mean that the Lord does not have desire in creating, for the śruti also says : so’kāmayata The Lord desired. Bṛhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.2.4 But then why do the jīvas accuse the Lord of injustice? This is explained in the next line of the verse. The knowledge of the jīva, though eternal, disappears from view (āvṛtam) due to the jīva’s hostility to the Lord without beginning (ajṣānena). Because of this (tena), the jīvas (jantuh) are bewildered. The Lord is just, but the ignorant people, not the wise, say that the Lord is unjust. The author of the Vedānta Sūtras says : vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na sāpekṣatvāt tathā hi darśayati The Lord has no injustice or hatred. Rather he is favorable to the jīvas. The sciptures declare this. Vedānta Sūtra 2.1.35 na karmāvibhāgād iti cen nānāditvāt You cannot say the Lord is just, because He gives them different karmas to each jīva at the beginning. But that is not so, because karma is without a beginning. Vedānta Sūtra 2.1.36

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

This is knowledge of the Supersoul. Here is the real knowledge that removes ignorance : (1) we are not our body; (2) the modes of material nature are controlled by the Supersoul, and (3) the Supersoul Himself is not responsible ‑ "He does not assume anyone's sinful or pious activities". In his Purport, Srila Prabhupada says: "A living entity is, by superior nature, full of knowledge. Nevertheless, he is prone to be influenced by ignorance due to his limited power. The Lord is omnipotent, but the living entity is not. The Lord is vibhu, or omniscient, but the living entity is anu, or atomic. Because he is a living soul, he has the capacity to desire by his free will. Such desire is fulfilled only by the omnipotent Lord. And so, when the living entity is bewildered in his desires, the Lord allows him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never responsible for the actions and reactions of the parti situation which may be desired. Being in a bewildered condi therefore, the embodied soul identifies himself with the circumstantial material body and becomes subjected to the temporary misery and happiness of life. The Lord is the constant companion of the living entity as Paramatma, or the Supersoul, and therefore He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the flavor of a flower by being near it. Desire is a subtle form of conditioning for the living entity. The Lord fulfills his desire as he deserves: Man proposes and God disposes. The individual is not, therefore, omnipotent in fulfilling his desires. The Lord, however, can fulfill all desires, and the Lord, being neutral to everyone, does not interfere with the desires of the minute independent living entities. However, when one desires Krsna, the Lord takes special care and encourages one to desire in such a way that one can attain to Him and be eternally happy. The living entity, although he is not the doer, because of his desiring, he is responsible. And the Supersoul's service to the living entity is to sanction and fulfill the living entity's desires as he deserves. Even though He is the omnipotent Lord and He is the controller of everything, still the Supreme Lord is not responsible because He is neutral and is just 'sanctioning'. This is knowledge about the Supersoul's position and this was already explained in the 4th Chapter, Section B (Applied transcendental knowledge), after describing the limited freedom of the living entity, not free to obtain his desires. He is free to desire, but is the Lord who allows him, the Lord fulfils his desires.

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

Role of the Lord

THEME: One in Knowledge sees material nature as being under Lord’s control and thus the Lord as the

ultimate performer and the cause of all actions

But this theme raises a question that “Doesn’t that make Him responsible for all good and bad things done in this world?”
Text 5.15 answers this: “He simply sanctions, the soul initiates by desire and therefore living entity is responsible for all good and bad reactions
Focus of Learning

(a) Supreme Lord is vibhu (omniscient) – This means He is full of all six opulences

He is always satisfied in Himself, undisturbed by sinful or pious activities
He does not create a particular situation for any living entity

(b) Living entity is anu (atomic) –

Prone to ignorance – He is prone to ignorance because of limited power, although he is full of knowledge and bliss
Free will to desire – As a part of the Supreme Lord he has the capacity to desire by his free will
Desire is a subtle form of conditioning for the living entity
Misuse of desire – Under ignorance living entity desires to be put into a certain condition of life
Therefore his chain of actions and reactions begin
Under ignorance the living entity claims that the Lord is responsible for his conditional existence

(c) Supreme Lord as the witness and permitter – The desires of the living entities are fulfilled only by

the omnipotent Lord

Analogy of flower: Lord is the constant companion as Supersoul and He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the fragrance of a flower by being near to it
Does Lord fulfill all desires – He fulfills the desires as one deserves; Man proposes, God disposes

(c) Living entity is not the ‘so-called’ master

As long as he is in the city of the body, he appears to be master of it (indicated by the word “prabhuh”)
He is neither the proprietor nor the controller of the actions and reactions of the body
Analogy: Waves of material ocean are simply tossing him in the struggle for existence

(d) Best solution to save living entities from all turmoil: Get out of the water by transcendental

Krishna consciousness

SUMMARIZED THEME 5C

COMPARING THE SOUL AND SUPERSOUL (5.13 – 5.16)

S.NO

SOUL

SUPERSOUL

Eternal

Eternal

Blissful, but suffers when covered by maya

Blissful, above the modes

Cognisant of his body

Cognisant of all bodies

Anu, atomic

Vibhu, omniscient

Has minute independence to desire but is

dependent upon Supersoul to fulfil desires

Complete independence

SUMMARIZED THEME 5D

CONCLUSION: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SOUL,
SUPERSOUL AND THE MATERIAL MODES OF NATURE

1. Soul desires – Lord does not interfere

2. Lord as supersoul sanctions – Those desires that the soul deserves, Lord is the director of the

choreography who causes activities to be done through material nature

3. Modes of material nature carry out actions to fulfil those desires, body and actions are

choreographed by the modes

4. Establishes living entity is not the only doer

5. Who is responsible

Supersoul not to be held responsible for all actions, because all initiated by desires of the living entity (5.13)
Living entity is responsible for his own good and bad actions and is thus responsible for the consequensces
Supersoul is the ultimate controller of the activities, but not the initiator and modes of nature are the agents of the Lord

6. Benefits of understanding the position of the Supreme (5.16) – It leads to “A state of perfect

knowledge”

When one surrenders unto the Lord (7.19)
Happiness and Real Peace

(d) The Lord is neutral to everyone – He does not interfere with the desires of the minute,

independent living entities

When the living entity is bewildered the Lord allows him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never responsible for the particular situation created
When the living entity desires Krishna, the Lord takes special care and encourages one to desire in such a way that one can attain to Him and be eternally happy
References for Lord’s neutrality (study purport)
Ref. Vedic hymns / Kausitaki Upanisad
Ref. Vedanta Sutra 2.1.34 “vaisamya-nairghrnya…”
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.15 Vibhuh, the Omnipresent; na adatte, neither accetps; kasyacit, anybody's-even a adevotee's; papam, sin; na ca eva, nor even; does He accept sukrtam, virtue offered by devotees. Why then are such virtuous acts as worship etc. as also sacrifices, charity, oblation, etc. worship etc. as also sacrifices, charity, oblation, etc. offered by devotees? To this the Lord says: Jnanam, knowledge, discriminating wisdom; remains avrtam, covered; ajnanena, by ignorance. Tena, thery; jantavah, the creatures, the non-discriminating people in the world; muhyanti, become deluded thus-'I do; I make others do; I eat; I make others eat.'
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.15 Because, It, the Atman is 'all-pervading', i.e., is not limited to particular area or space included in the bodies of gods, men etc.; It is not the relative or the enemy of any one. For this reason It does not take away or remove the evil or suffering of anyone such as a son who is related and therefore dear to one; nor does It take away, i.e., remove the happiness of anyone whom It deems with aversion. All this is the effect of Vasanas or subtle impressions of Prakrti. How does do these contrary Vasanas originte in the case of one whose intrinsic nature is a described above? In answer it is said that knowledge is enveloped by the darkness of ignorance. The Atman's knowledge is enveloped, i.e., contracted by preceding Karmas which are opposed to knowledge, so that a person may be alified to experience the fruits of his own Karma. It is by this Karma, which contracts knowledge, and can join the Jiva with the bodies of gods etc., that the misconception that the bodies are the selves is produced. Conseently there will originate the Vasanas or the unconscious subtle impressions born of such misapprehension of the self and the inclination to undertake actions corresponding to them. Sri Krsna now brings into proper seence what has been taught before in the following verses: 'You will completely cross over the sea of all your sins with the boat of knowledge' (4.36), and 'The fire of knowledge reduces all Karmas to ashes in the same way' (4.37), and 'For there is no purifier here eal to knowledge' (4.38).
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.15 Nadatte etc. The sinful acts and the like have been effected not by the Soul; but they have been effected by the Illusion belonging to It, just as a poison is effected in the nectar by a doubt. Therefore-
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.15 The Lord takes neither the demerit nor even the merit of any; knowledge is enveloped by ignorance, thery beings are deluded.
Commentary

5.15 न not? आदत्ते takes? कस्यचित् of anyone? पापम् demerit? न not? च and? एव even? सुकृतम् merit? विभुः the Lord? अज्ञानेन by ignorance? आवृतम् enveloped? ज्ञानम् knowledge? तेन by that? मुह्यन्ति are deluded? जन्तवः beings.Commentary Knowledge is enveloped by ignorance. Conseently man is deluded. He thinks? I act. I enjoy. I have done such and such a meritourious act. I will get such and such a fruit. I will enjoy in heaven. I will get a birth in a rich family.Of anyone even of His devotees.Man is bound when he is identifies himself with Nature and its effects -- body? mind? Prana or the lifeforce? and senses. He attains freedom or Moksha when he identifies himself with the immortal? actionless Self that dwells within his heart.When I does not act how can God accept good or evil deeds (Cf.V.29)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.15 The Omnipresent neither accepts anybody's sin nor even virtue. Knowledge remains covered by ignorance. Thery the creatures become deluded.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.15 The Lord does not accept responsibility for any man's sin or merit. Men are deluded because in them wisdom is submerged in ignorance.
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)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 9.29 BG 7.14 BG 13.28 SB 6.3.12 SB 3.7.9 SB 11.22.10 CC Madhya 20.117 CC Madhya 20.118 CC Ādi 7.119 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.7Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.2
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Nor does the Lord accept anyone's sin or piety — knowledge is veiled by ignorance; that is why beings are bewildered.
Practical Applications
  • Stop expecting Kṛṣṇa to 'judge' moment-by-moment; that's not His role.
  • Recognize that ignorance, not the Lord's verdict, is the issue.
  • Apply yourself to dissolving ignorance.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I expect divine micro-management instead of taking responsibility?
  • What ignorance is most veiling my present clarity?
Analogy

Clouds do not decide which fields they shade; they simply pass, and ignorance of the cloud's nature makes villagers think the cloud has favored or punished them. The Supreme does not accept your sin or your virtue. Ignorance, like the villager's misreading, is what generates the entire drama of cosmic judgment.

Stories
Gajendra and the crocodile

When the elephant king Gajendra was seized by the crocodile and dragged toward the lake's depth, he did not pray for the Lord to punish the crocodile. He had passed through long years of struggle, exhausted his own strength, and finally cried out the Lord's names in pure surrender.

The Lord came — not to accept Gajendra's piety as a reward-earning currency, not to penalize the crocodile's sin. He came because the call was real and the ignorance covering Gajendra's knowledge had at last been ripped. The Lord's intervention is not a verdict on the case; it is the response to recognition.

This verse's logic shines in the episode: na ādatte kasyacit pāpaṁ na ca eva su-kṛtam. The Lord does not score. He liberates the soul that sees through ajñāna.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.16

↗
జ్ఞానేన తు తదజ్ఞానం యేషాం నాశితమాత్మన: । తేషామాదిత్యవజ్జ్ఞానం ప్రకాశయతి తత్పరమ్ ॥ ౧౬ ॥
jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ
[jnaanena tu tad ajnaanam]
yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ
[yeshaam naashitam aatmanah]
teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ
[teshaam aaditya-vaj jnaanam]
prakāśayati tat param
[prakaashayati tat param]
Word-for-word
jñānena — by knowledge tu — but tat — that ajñānam — nescience yeṣām — whose nāśitam — is destroyed ātmanaḥ — of the living entity teṣām — their āditya - vat — like the rising sun jñānam — knowledge prakāśayati — discloses tat param — Kṛṣṇa consciousness .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ
jñānena
by knowledge
tu
but
tat
that
ajñānam
nescience
yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ
yeṣām
whose
nāśitam
is destroyed
ātmanaḥ
of the living entity
teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ
teṣām
their
āditya - vat
like the rising sun
jñānam
knowledge
prakāśayati tat param
prakāśayati
discloses
tat param
Kṛṣṇa consciousness .
Important Words
  • jñānena — by knowledge
    Instrumental. Knowledge is the instrument; ignorance is what it destroys. The Gītā's jñāna here is not informational but transformational — a knowing that abolishes the ignorance it knows about.
  • nāśitam — is destroyed
    From √naś — 'to perish, to be annihilated.' The passive form is significant: ignorance is destroyed (by knowledge), not gradually whittled. The Gītā often pictures realization as a sudden annihilation, not a slow erosion.
  • āditya-vat — like the rising sun
    Āditya — the sun. Vat — like, as. The simile is direct and physical. Sanskrit poetics calls this an upamā, a comparison. The image is canonical; later commentators return to it constantly when describing the dawn of self-knowledge.
  • prakāśayati — discloses
    Pra + √kāś, causative — 'to cause to shine forth.' Knowledge is the cause; the shining-forth of all reality is the effect. The verse's grammar enacts what the simile pictures.
  • tat param — Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that supreme
    Tat — that. Param — supreme. Prabhupāda's gloss specifies Kṛṣṇa consciousness because tat param in the Gītā's idiom always points to the Personality of Godhead, not an impersonal absolute. The sunrise reveals not light-in-general but a specific brightness — Kṛṣṇa Himself.
When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.
Purport

Those who have forgotten Kṛṣṇa must certainly be bewildered, but those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are not bewildered at all. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarvaṁ jñāna-plavena, jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi and na hi jñānena sadṛśam. Knowledge is always highly esteemed. And what is that knowledge? Perfect knowledge is achieved when one surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa, as is said in the Seventh Chapter, nineteenth verse: bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate. After passing through many, many births, when one perfect in knowledge surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa, or when one attains Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then everything is revealed to him, as everything is revealed by the sun in the daytime. The living entity is bewildered in so many ways. For instance, when he unceremoniously thinks himself God, he actually falls into the last snare of nescience. If a living entity is God, then how can he become bewildered by nescience? Does God become bewildered by nescience? If so, then nescience, or Satan, is greater than God. Real knowledge can be obtained from a person who is in perfect Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, one has to seek out such a bona fide spiritual master and, under him, learn what Kṛṣṇa consciousness is, for Kṛṣṇa consciousness will certainly drive away all nescience, as the sun drives away darkness. Even though a person may be in full knowledge that he is not this body but is transcendental to the body, he still may not be able to discriminate between the soul and the Supersoul. However, he can know everything well if he cares to take shelter of the perfect, bona fide Kṛṣṇa conscious spiritual master. One can know God and one’s relationship with God only when one actually meets a representative of God. A representative of God never claims that he is God, although he is paid all the respect ordinarily paid to God because he has knowledge of God. One has to learn the distinction between God and the living entity. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa therefore stated in the Second Chapter (2.12) that every living being is individual and that the Lord also is individual. They were all individuals in the past, they are individuals at present, and they will continue to be individuals in the future, even after liberation. At night we see everything as one in the darkness, but in day, when the sun is up, we see everything in its real identity. Identity with individuality in spiritual life is real knowledge.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
16. When the jīva’s vidyā destroys avidyā, that vidyā, like the sun, reveals the spiritual knowledge within the jīva.
Commentary

As ignorance or avidyā covers the knowledge of the jīva, the Lord’s other energy called vidyā destroys ignorance and reveals knowledge. By the vidyā-sakti (jṣānena), avidyā (ajṣānam) is destroyed, and knowledge of the jīva is produced. Just as the glow of the sun destroys darkness and reveals objects like pots and cloth, so vidyā destroys avidyā and reveals the spiritual (param) knowledge in which the jīva is convinced of his spiritual nature. Thus, the Lord does not bind anyone nor does He liberate anyone, but vidyā and avidyā which are qualities of prakṛti liberate and bind the jīva. [Note: Jīva Gosvāmī in Paramātma Sandarbha explains that vidyā and avidyā are two aspects of māyā.] The qualities of prakṛti are the causes of bondage in the form of instigating the jīva to become the doer and the enjoyer, and they are the causes of liberation in the form of such qualities as detachment and peace. The respective qualities of prakṛti are awakened by the Supreme Lord, functioning in the capacity of Supersoul. He is only the initiator of prakṛti’s functions through this aṁśa or expansion. Thus, He does not show any injustice or cruelty towards the jīva.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
16. When the jīva’s knowledge destroys ignorance, that knowledge, like the sun, reveals the Supreme Lord and the jīva.
Commentary

But those with realization do not become bewildered. The greatness of knowledge of ātmā and paramātmā, attained by the mercy of an authorized guru, has been stated in verses such as sarvaṁ jṣāna-plavenaiva (BG 4.36), jṣānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi (BG 4.37), and na hi jṣānena sadṛśaṁ (BG 4.38). Those who associate with saintly persons have their ignorance, which is opposed to knowledge, destroyed by that knowledge of ātmā and paramātmā. Their knowledge then reveals what is param. Param indicates the Supreme Lord because he is above (param) unequal treatment of the jīvas. It can refer to the jīva because he is above (param) the material body and senses. Just as the sun on rising destroys darkness and reveals objects, knowledge of ātmā attained through instructions of the authorized guru reveals the real object known as ātmā. The plural case (yeṣām.. teṣām) is used here by the Lord to indicate that even in the liberated state the jīvas remain in abundance. The present statement and the Lord’s instruction in the beginning: neme janādhipāḥ confirm each other.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

The previous verse described how the living entity is covered and thinks himself the doer ‑ this is his covering. His false ego, thinking that "I am the One". This is what maya does ‑ She makes one think: "I am the doer, I am Isvara, I am the supreme enjoyer!" This is ignorance. And then when one gets this knowledge one is enlightened, "by which nescience is destroyed", to know that "I am not the doer! ‑ Krsna as the Supersoul, is the One who is satisfying all my desires, because I am not independent". This is the definition of the mode of goodness. When one is in this mode, no longer has ignorance, he has knowledge, he is not attached, he is detached, he knows that he is not this body, he is aloof from the body. This is the mode of goodness. But is he liberated? No, because he is in the mode of goodness. This Text describes knowledge. Puts in perspective what knowledge is. And if one has this knowledge, and then focuses his consciousness on the Supersoul ‑ knowing that the Supersoul is the Lord and Master and the bestower of all material desires, and one surrenders to Him ‑ then one gets liberation. Knowledge leads to liberation but knowledge is different from liberation. Knowledge comes from goodness. Liberation is transcendental to the modes of material nature. This is a very subtle and fine point. This section describes knowledge, specifically this 16th verse. SUMMARY: The three doers: The living entity (doer 1) who knows that all bodily activities are automatically carried out by the modes of material nature (doer 2) after those activities are sanctioned by the Supersoul (doer 3), attains enlightenment through knowledge. This is knowledge: Knowing these 3 doers in perspective. The interrelation between: the living entity, the modes of material nature and the Supersoul.

[ D . LIBERATION THROUGH FOCUSING ONE'S CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE SUPERSOUL (5. 17‑26) 1 . Fixing his consciousness on the Lord, the learned sage equally views the brahmana and the elephant, happiness and distress. He enjoys unlimitedly because his consciousness is fixed on the Supreme. Knowing material pleasures as temporary he doen't delight in them. (18‑23) ]

Knowledge is not enough, one has to take shelter of the Supersoul to get liberation.

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

Knowing the relations between the three (Supersoul, Soul, material nature as explained above)

allows one to be detached from all fruits

“A state of perfect knowledge” is achieved when one surrenders unto the Lord (Ref. Bg. 7.19)
One attains full enlightenment, peace and happiness
Finally attains real liberation
Analogy: Sun lights up and reveals everything in daytime (rising of sun: knowledge), similarly knowledge destroys the nescience and reveals everything
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.16 Tu, but; yesam, in the case of those creatures; of whom tat ajnanam, that ignorance; atmanah, of theirs-being covered by which ignorance creatures get deluded-; nasitam, becomes destroyed; jnanena, by knowledge, by discriminating knowledge concerning the Self; tesam, their; jnanam, knowledge; adityavat, like the sun; prakasayati, reveals, in the same way as the sun reveals all forms whatever; tat-param, that supreme Reality, the Reality which is the highest Goal, the totality of whatever is to be known.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.16 While all these selves are thus deluded, in the case of enlightened souls, their delusive ignorance - which envelops knowledge and which is of the form of accumulated, beginningless and endless Karma - is destroyed by knowledge. As already described this knowledge is produced by the teachings of the scriptures about the real nature of the self, which are enriched by daily practice. The purity of this knowledge is unexcelled. And in the case of those selves who regain the knowledge that is natural to Them, it is found that it is unlimited and uncontracted and illumining everything like the sun. Plurality of the selves in Their essence is expressly mentioned in the case of those whose ignorance is overcome, in the expression 'for those' in the text. What was stated at the commencement, 'There never was a time when I did not exist' (2.12) is expressed here with greater clarity. Moreover, this plurality is not due to limiting adjuncts imposed on a single universal self. For, as stated here, there cannot be any trace of such adjuncts for those whose ignorance is destroyed, and still They are described as a plurality. Hence knowledge is taught as an attribute inseparable from the essential nature of the self, because a difference between the self and its knowledge is made out in the statement, 'Knowledge, in their case illuminates like the sun'. By the illustration of the sun, the relation of the knower to his knowledge is brought out to be similar to the luminous object and its luminosity. Therefore, it is appropriate to understand that knowledge contracts by Karma in the stage of Samsara and expands in the stage of Moksa (release). [In this system the Atman has two forms of Jnana or Knowledge - Dharmi-Jnana (self-awareness) and Dharma-bhuta-Jnana (awareness of objects other than itself). It is the latter that is contracted by ignorance and expands by knowledge. See Intrdocution.]
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.16 Jnanena etc. When however the Illusion is destroyed by knowledge, then the natural capacity of knowledge, in illuminating itself and other things starts to work automatically just as the sun does when the darkness is lost. Indeed when the doubt [of poison] is completely rooted out, the nectar does the work of the nectar just automatically. But this is possible for those who have their intellect and mind gone to This [Self] and have abandoned [all] other activities. To make this idea clear [the Lord] says -
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.16 But to those whose ignorance is destroyed by the knowledge of the Self, like the sun, knowledge reveals the Supreme (Brahman).
Commentary

5.16 ज्ञानेन by wisdom? तु but? तत् that? अज्ञानम् ignorance? येषाम् whose? नाशितम् is destroyed? आत्मनः of the Self? तेषाम् their? आदित्यवत् like the sun? ज्ञानम् knowledge? प्रकाशयति reveals? तत्परम् that Highest.Commentary When ignorance? the root cause of human sufferings? is annihilated by the knowledge of the Self? this knowledge illuminates the Supreme Brahman or that highest immortal Being? just as the sun illumines all the objects of this gross? physical universe.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.16 But in the case of those of whom that ignorance of theirs becomes destroyed by the knowledge (of the Self), their Knowledge, like the sun, reveals that supreme Reality.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.16 Surely wisdom is like the sun, revealing the supreme truth to those whose ignorance is dispelled by the wisdom of the Self.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
BG 4.38 BG 10.11 BG 4.37 SB 11.20.30 SB 3.25.25 SB 1.7.22 CC Madhya 22.32 CC Madhya 20.122 CC Ādi 1.86 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 2.2.10Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.15
Concepts
Maya
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
When ignorance is destroyed by knowledge, knowledge reveals everything as the sun reveals everything by daylight.
Practical Applications
  • Trust the analogy — knowledge is daylight; once it dawns, everything is visible.
  • Don't expect partial knowledge to fully reveal.
  • Cultivate the daybreak by steady study and association.
Reflection Questions
  • What in my life is still in pre-dawn dimness?
  • What is my discipline for waiting through the night until dawn?
Analogy

The sun does not gradually announce itself in argument. It rises; the village is lit. Knowledge of the Supreme works the same way — not by inch-by-inch logical conquest but by sudden total revelation. Cultivate the conditions; wait for the dawn; everything will become visible at once.

Stories
Dhruva's vision

The boy Dhruva, having been insulted by his stepmother, went to the forest and sat in austerity. He had been instructed by Nārada: meditate on the form of the Lord, chant His names. The boy did so with such intensity that the cosmic order itself stirred.

When the Lord finally appeared before him, the Bhāgavatam records that Dhruva's prior questions vanished. He no longer wanted the kingdom; he no longer wanted to settle scores with his stepmother. The light of the Lord's appearance had revealed everything at once — like sunrise revealing a landscape that had always been there in the dark.

Āditya-vat jñānaṁ prakāśayati tat param. The boy's long night of austerity ended in a sunrise that made the rest of his life self-luminous.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Section 4 (5.17–5.26)
LIBERATION BY FOCUSSING ON THE SUPERSOUL
Section overview
One who, in knowledge, devotionally fixes his consciousness on the Supersoul and remains materially equipoised, attains liberation in the near future

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 5.16 & 5.17: We become enlightened by accurately understanding the

interrelations between the living entity, the three modes of nature and the Supersoul. This knowledge

removes ignorance. When ignorance is removed, the living entity takes shelter of the Supersoul and

attains liberation.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SECTION IV

One who takes shelter of the Supersoul in full knowledge becomes

impartial in material transactions and finds quick path to liberation

FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORT 5.16

(a) Transcendental knowledge in Krishna consciousness removes all bewilderment

Ref. Bg. 4.36-4.38 – Glorifies transcendental knowledge
What is that knowledge – Perfect knowledge is achieved when one surrenders unto Krishna (Ref. Bg. 7.19) and surrender in Krishna consciousness reveals everything as sun lights up everything in daytime
Two parts of perfect knowledge
To know oneself different from the body
To know that one can never become God and thus the soul is eternally different from Supersoul – “identity with individuality in spiritual life is real knowledge” (Ref. Bg. 2.12)

(b) Two categories of bewilderment

To identify oneself with the matter
To think oneself as God – When the living entity unceremoniously thinks himself God, he actually falls into the last snare of nescience
Our refutation: If a living entity is God then how can be become bewildered by nescience? If so, then nescience, or Satan is greater than God

(c) How to get real knowledge – Seek out a bona-fide spiritual master and learn Krishna

consciousness under Him

(d) Who is a perfect representative of God – One who never claims that he is God, although he is paid

all respect ordinarily paid to God because he has knowledge of God

PLEASE NOTE: Texts 5.17 – 5.26 are now individually covered based on the standard Theme followed by the Focus of

Learning section

Bhagavad-gītā 5.17

↗
తద్బుద్ధయస్తదాత్మానస్తన్నిష్ఠాస్తత్పరాయణా: । గచ్ఛన్త్యపునరావృత్తిం జ్ఞాననిర్ధూతకల్మషా: ॥ ౧౭ ॥
tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas
[tad-buddhayas tad-aatmaanas]
tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ
[tan-nishthaas tat-paraayanaah]
gacchanty apunar-āvṛttiṁ
[gachchanty apunar-aavrittim]
jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ
[jnaana-nirdhoota-kalmashaah]
Word-for-word
tat - buddhayaḥ — those whose intelligence is always in the Supreme tat - ātmānaḥ — those whose minds are always in the Supreme tat - niṣṭhāḥ — those whose faith is only meant for the Supreme tat - parāyaṇāḥ — who have completely taken shelter of Him gacchanti — go apunaḥ - āvṛttim — to liberation jñāna — by knowledge nirdhūta — cleansed kalmaṣāḥ — misgivings .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas
tat - buddhayaḥ
those whose intelligence is always in the Supreme
tat - ātmānaḥ
those whose minds are always in the Supreme
tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ
tat - niṣṭhāḥ
those whose faith is only meant for the Supreme
tat - parāyaṇāḥ
who have completely taken shelter of Him
gacchanty apunar-āvṛttiṁ
gacchanti
go
apunaḥ - āvṛttim
to liberation
jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ
jñāna
by knowledge
nirdhūta
cleansed
kalmaṣāḥ
misgivings .
Important Words
  • tat-buddhayaḥ — those whose intelligence is always in the Supreme
    Bahuvrīhi compound. 'Those whose intelligence is *that*.' Buddhi here is the discriminating faculty; when it is fixed on tat (the Supreme), discrimination itself becomes liberating rather than entangling.
  • tat-ātmānaḥ — those whose minds are always in the Supreme
    Ātman in its mid-range meaning — mind as the identifying faculty. The soul identifies (ātmā-bhāva) with what it focuses on; fix the focus on Kṛṣṇa and the identification follows.
  • tat-niṣṭhāḥ — those whose faith is only meant for the Supreme
    Niṣṭhā — firm standing, conviction. The third anchor is firmness of conviction, distinct from intelligence (which discriminates) and mind (which identifies). One can know and identify yet still waver; niṣṭhā is the absence of wavering.
  • tat-parāyaṇāḥ — who have completely taken shelter of Him
    Para — supreme. Ayana — going, refuge. 'Those whose final going is to that supreme.' The fourth anchor is the practical taking of shelter — śaraṇāgati, surrender. Without this, the other three remain intellectual postures.
  • kalmaṣāḥ — misgivings
    From the root meaning 'rust, stain, defilement.' The four anchors together cleanse this rust. Note the verse promises not just bypassing the misgivings but their actual dissolution — nirdhūta, washed away.
When one’s intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation.
Purport

The Supreme Transcendental Truth is Lord Kṛṣṇa. The whole Bhagavad-gītā centers around the declaration that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the version of all Vedic literature. Para-tattva means the Supreme Reality, who is understood by the knowers of the Supreme as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Bhagavān, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the last word in the Absolute. There is nothing more than that. The Lord says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañ-jaya. Impersonal Brahman is also supported by Kṛṣṇa: brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham. Therefore in all ways Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Reality. One whose mind, intelligence, faith and refuge are always in Kṛṣṇa, or, in other words, one who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is undoubtedly washed clean of all misgivings and is in perfect knowledge in everything concerning transcendence. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person can thoroughly understand that there is duality (simultaneous identity and individuality) in Kṛṣṇa, and, equipped with such transcendental knowledge, one can make steady progress on the path of liberation.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
17. Those whose intellect, mind and faith are fixed on Me, Paramātmā, who are absorbed in glorifying and serving Me, being washed of all ignorance by knowledge, never take birth again.
Commentary

But this vidyā reveals knowledge about the jīvātmā, not knowledge of the Paramātmā. The Lord says, bhaktyāham ekayā grahyaḥ: I am attainable only by bhakti. Therefore the jṣānīs must additionally practice bhakti in order to obtain knowledge of Paramātmā. [Note: From this it is understood that ātma jṣāna is not enough to give liberation. Bhakti, producing Paramātmā realization, is also necessary for liberation.] That is stated in this verse. The word tat refers to the Supreme Lord previously mentioned as vibhu in verse 15. Those who place their intelligence in the Supreme Lord, who are dedicated to contemplation on the Lord using intellect (tad-buddhayaḥ), who are meditating on the Lord using the mind (tad-ātmānaḥ), who fix their knowledge in the Lord, giving up sattvic knowledge of the soul apart from the body, and becoming fixed only in the Lord (tan-niṣṭhāḥ) (since the Lord says one should surrender that knowledge to Him: jṣānam ca mayi sannyaset. (SB 11.19.1); who become absorbed in the processes of hearing and chanting about the Lord (tat-parānayaṇāḥ)—these persons do not attain birth again. It will be said later: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jṣātvā viśate tad-anantaram I am to be known in truth only by bhakti. Knowing Me in truth, one attains Me. BG 18.55 Those persons’ ignorance has been previously completely destroyed by vidyā (jṣāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ).

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
17. Those whose intellects are convinced of My qualities, whose minds are absorbed in My qualities, who have made paramātmā their goal, who are surrendered to Me, being washed of all ignorance by that knowledge of My qualities, attain liberation.
Commentary

This verse describes the results for those who meditate on the paramātmā’ṣ qualities, such as His sense of justice. Those whose intellects are convinced of such qualities of paramātmā (tad buddhayaḥ), whose minds are absorbed in paramātmā’s qualities (tad ātmānaḥ), who have made paramātmā their goal (tan niṣṭhāḥ), who have completely surrendered to paramātmā (tat parāyaṇāḥ), cleansed of all misconceptions by knowledge of the Lord’s good qualities like justice (jṣāna nirdhūta kalmaṣā), [Note: There seems to be a misprint in all editions. Vaiṣamyādi-guṇa-jṣānena should probably be avaiṣamyādi- guṇa jṣānena] having destroyed their repugnance to the Lord, attain liberation (apunar āvṛttim).

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

What happens then, due to his knowledge of the Supersoul and His impartiality? He sees that the Supersoul is the sanctioner, he sees that if he fixes his consciousness on the Supersoul ‑ he will also become impartial. And therefore, because he becomes impartial,

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

Becoming fixed in the Supreme – As described in this verse, after one achieves knowledge that he is

different from his body i.e knowledge born of the mode of goodness (Ref. Bg. 14.17 “sattvat sanjayate

jnanam…”) – he must become “fixed in the Supreme” to achieve liberation

By fixing one’s intelligence, mind, faith and refuge in the Supreme, one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge
Thus one proceeds straight on the path of liberation

SUMMARIZED THEME 5E

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ENLIGHTENED LIBERATED KARMA-YOGI (5.17 – 5.26)

A) Vision of a self-realized soul (5.18 – 5.22)

Equal vision to all living entities – Irrespective of species and caste (5.18)
No attraction/aversion to matter (5.19), thus he is flawless and impartial like the Lord
No rejoicing/lamenting for material events (5.20)
Intelligence fixed in self, and one knows the science of God (5.20)
Knows perfectly about three levels of Absolute Truth and constitutional position of living entity
This is Brahman realization or self-realization
Never attracted to sense gratification, because
He understands that (5.22)

▪ Contact of senses with sense objects is the source of misery and continual

material existence

▪ Sense pleasure is temporary and limited

He experiences great happiness within – Higher taste (5.24)

B) Internal and external behavior/activities of a self realized soul (5.23 – 5.26)

Tolerates the forces of Desires and Anger; and urges of senses Till Death (5.23)
How he tolerates
By focussing his happiness, activities and goals inward (higher taste) (5.24)
Purifying his external activities by working for the benefit of others (5.25)
Fixed meditation on Supersoul (5.26) – Soon attains liberation in near future

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 5.17 & 5.18: And what of the impartiality of those who transcend the material

world in this way?

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.17 Tat-buddhayah, those who have their intellect absorbed in That, [Here Ast. reads 'tasmin brahmani, in that Brahman'.-Tr.] in the supreme Knowledge which has been revealed; tat-atmanah, whose Self is That, who have That (tat) supreme Brahman Itself as their Self (atma); tat-nisthah, who are steadfast in That-nistha is intentness, exclusive devotion; they are called tat-nisthah who become steadfast only in Brahman by renouncing all actions; and tat-parayanah, who have That as their supreme (para) Goal (ayana), who have That alone as their supreme Resort, i.e. who are devoted only to the Self; those who have got their ignorance destroyed by Knowledge-those who are of this kind-, they gacchanti, attain; apunaravrttim, the state of non-returning, non-association again with a body; jnana-nirdhuta-kalmasah, their dirt having been removed, destroyed, by Knowledge. Those whose dirt (kalmasa), the defect in the form of sin etc., which are the cause of transmigration, have been removed, destryed (nirdhuta), by the aforesaid Knowledge (jnana) are jnana-nirdhuta-kalmasah, i.e. the monks. How do those learned ones, whose ignorance regarding the Self has been destroyed by Knowledge, look upon Reality? That is being stated:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.17 'Those whose intellects pursue It,' i.e., those who have determined to have the vision of the self in this way; 'those whose minds think about It,' i.e., those whose minds have the self for their aim, those who undergo discipline for It, i.e., those who are devoted to the practices for Its attainment; 'those who hold It as their highest object,' i.e., those who consider It as their highest goal - such persons, having their previous impurities cleansed by the knowledge which is practised in this way, attain the self as taught. 'From that state there is no return' - the state from which there is no return means the state of the self. The meaning is that they attain the self which rests in Its own nature.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.17 Because it is only the inherent nature that exerts thus, therefore [the Lord] says that the men, who have destroyed their illusion would remain as follows -
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.17 Their intellect absorbed in That, their self being That, established in That, with That for their supreme goal, they go whence there is no return, their sins dispelled by knowledge.
Commentary

5.17 तद्बुद्धयः intellect absorbed in That? तदात्मानः their self being That? तन्निष्ठाः established in That? तत्परायणाः with That for their supreme goal? गच्छन्ति go? अपुनरावृत्तिम् not again returning? ज्ञाननिर्धूतकल्मषाः,those whose sins have been dispelled by knowledge.Commentary They fix their intellects on Brahman or the Supreme Self. They feel and realise that Brahman is their self. By constant and protracted meditation? they get established in Brahman. The whole world of names and forms vanishes for them. They live in Brahman alone. They have Brahman alone as their supreme goal or sole refuge. They rejoice in the Self alone. They are satisfied in the Self alone. They are contented in the Self alone. Such men never come back to this Samsara? as their sins are dispelled by knowledge (BrahmaJnana). (Cf.IX.34)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.17 Those who have their intellect absorbed in That, whose Self is That, who are steadfast in That, who have That as their supreme Goal-they attain the state of non-returning, their dirt having been removed by Knowledge.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.17 Meditating on the Divine, having faith in the Divine, concentrating on the Divine and losing themselves in the Divine, their sins dissolved in wisdom, they go whence there is no return.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)
Related verses
BG 12.8 BG 18.66 BG 9.22 SB 11.2.37 SB 2.1.5 SB 7.5.23 CC Madhya 22.93 CC Madhya 22.100 CC Antya 4.67 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23BRS 1.2.92
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Those whose intelligence, mind, faith, and refuge are fixed in the Self attain the state of being fully cleansed of misgivings — they go to liberation.
Practical Applications
  • Audit four anchors — intelligence, mind, faith, refuge.
  • Strengthen the weakest anchor.
  • Aim for misgivings to dissolve, not just be endured.
Reflection Questions
  • Which of the four anchors is least firmly placed in the Self?
  • What discipline would shore it up?
Analogy

Four ropes tether a boat to the pier: cut one and the boat still drifts; cut all four and it floats free or stays moored according to the captain's will. Intelligence, mind, faith, and refuge — when all four are tethered to the Supreme, the soul reaches liberation without drift. One rope short is one rope's worth of bondage.

Stories
Rūpa Gosvāmī's quadruple fixation

Rūpa Gosvāmī, by tradition, structured his entire life around exactly the four anchors of this verse. His intelligence (buddhi) was fixed in śāstra — he composed and codified the literature of rasa. His mind (ātmā) was fixed on Kṛṣṇa's pastimes — he meditated continually on Vraja. His faith (niṣṭhā) was fixed in his guru Mahāprabhu's teaching. His refuge (parāyaṇa) was Govindajī himself, the deity he installed in Vṛndāvana.

Four anchors, all fastened to the same Supreme. The Caitanya-caritāmṛta describes him as one for whom misgivings had dissolved — jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣa. He moved on the path of liberation without wobble.

The verse describes the structural condition that Rūpa lived out: tat-buddhayaḥ, tat-ātmānaḥ, tat-niṣṭhāḥ, tat-parāyaṇāḥ.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.18

↗
విద్యావినయసమ్పన్నే బ్రాహ్మణే గవి హస్తిని । శ‍ుని చైవ శ్వపాకే చ పణ్డితా: సమదర్శిన: ॥ ౧౮ ॥
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
[vidyaa-vinaya-sampanne]
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
[braahmane gavi hastini]
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
[shuni chaiva shva-paake cha]
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
[panditaah sama-darshinah]
Word-for-word
vidyā — with education vinaya — and gentleness sampanne — fully equipped brāhmaṇe — in the brāhmaṇa gavi — in the cow hastini — in the elephant śuni — in the dog ca — and eva — certainly śva - pāke — in the dog-eater (the outcaste) ca — respectively paṇḍitāḥ — those who are wise sama - darśinaḥ — who see with equal vision .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
vidyā
with education
vinaya
and gentleness
sampanne
fully equipped
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
brāhmaṇe
in the brāhmaṇa
gavi
in the cow
hastini
in the elephant
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
śuni
in the dog
ca
and
eva
certainly
śva - pāke
in the dog-eater (the outcaste)
ca
respectively
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
paṇḍitāḥ
those who are wise
sama - darśinaḥ
who see with equal vision .
Important Words
  • vidyā-vinaya-sampanne — fully equipped with education and gentleness
    A telling triplet. Vidyā — learning. Vinaya — humility. Sampanna — endowed. Even the most refined member of society, fully decorated with learning and gentleness, is one of the five examples — no privileged place above the others.
  • śva-pāke — in the dog-eater (the outcaste)
    Śva — dog. Pāka — cooker. 'Dog-cooker' — the most degraded social position recognized in classical India. Kṛṣṇa places this figure on the same line of sight as the learned brāhmaṇa. The grammatical equality is deliberate and shocking.
  • paṇḍitāḥ — those who are wise
    Returns from verse 4. The Gītā's paṇḍita is now further specified: not just the one who sees sāṅkhya and yoga as one, but the one whose seeing extends across all life-forms equally. The chapter steadily expands what paṇḍita means.
  • sama-darśinaḥ — who see with equal vision
    Sama — equal. Darśin — seer. The compound names a kind of seeing, not a kind of believing. Equal-seeing is the spontaneous output of having seen the one ātman everywhere; you cannot fake it by trying to be egalitarian on principle.
  • gavi hastini śuni — in the cow, in the elephant, in the dog
    Three locatives in a row. The grammatical parallelism enforces the spiritual parallelism. Cow, elephant, dog — vastly different bodies, vastly different cultural valuations — share the same locative case because they share the same ātmā.
The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].
Purport

A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The brāhmaṇa and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow and an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramātmā, is present in everyone’s heart. Such an understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge. As far as the bodies are concerned in different castes or different species of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramātmā regardless of the circumstances of the living entities. The Lord as Paramātmā is present both in the outcaste and in the brāhmaṇa, although the body of a brāhmaṇa and that of an outcaste are not the same. The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality. The similarity in the quality of the soul and the Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in quantity, for the individual soul is present only in that particular body whereas the Paramātmā is present in each and every body. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has full knowledge of this, and therefore he is truly learned and has equal vision. The similar characteristics of the soul and Supersoul are that they are both conscious, eternal and blissful. But the difference is that the individual soul is conscious within the limited jurisdiction of the body whereas the Supersoul is conscious of all bodies. The Supersoul is present in all bodies without distinction.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
18. The wise man sees equally the brāhmaṇa endowed with knowledge and good conduct, the cow, the elephant, the dog and dog-eater.
Commentary

Those who are beyond the guṇas have no desire to see any object made of the guṇas in comparative terms of better or worse. They have equal vision. They do not see those in the mode of sattva, such as brāhmaṇas and cows, those in the mode of passion such as the elephant, and those in the mode of ignorance, such as dogs and dog-eaters, as superior or inferior. Being learned, they see equally. Equally (sama) means that they are beyond the guṇas, so that they do not see the particular distinctions due to the guṇas. They have the ability to see Brahman which is beyond the guṇas.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
18. The wise man sees paramātmā as equal in creating the brāhmaṇa endowed with knowledge and good conduct, the cow, the elephant, the dog and dog eater.
Commentary

This verse praises those persons. Those who see paramātmā as being equal (sama) in creating unequal bodies for the learned brāhmaṇa and dog eater, differing by actions or duties; and for the cow, elephant and dog, differing in form by species,—they are truly wise. Paramātmā is equal (sama) everywhere, like rainfall, [Note: As the rain falls everywhere and different seeds sprout up, so the Lord equally inspires all jīvas, who develop different bodies according to their karmas.] since the respective species receive their forms according to their respective karmas, not through the Lord’s like or dislike of certain jīvas.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Here, knowledge refers not only knowledge that one is not this body, but also knowledge of the Supersoul. The brahmana and the cow ‑ are in the mode of goodness. The elephant ‑ is in the mode of passion. The dog and the dog‑eater ‑ in the mode of ignorance. Viswanatha C. Thakura says in this verse: "Such a 'pandit' is 'sama‑darsinah' ‑ one who sees with equal vision." But being a bhakta 'per excellence', Srila Viswanatha brings it up to the platform of 'Bhagavan' realization by saying: " SA‑ MA. Such a person has a vision to see MA (Laksmidevi) and SA (with). Who is with Laksmi? Narayana. So he sees Laksmi‑Narayana or ultimately Radha‑Krsna." On different levels, on the Paramatma level is true and also in the highest Krsna consciousness level.

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

Equality of vision – Liberated self-realized soul can see everything and everyone equally

He, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle Brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog eater

Focus of Learning

(a) “Species” and “Caste” – two basis of mundane differentiation

(b) What is the basis of “equal vision”

Spiritual equality of living entities as spirit soul
Lord neutrally present in the heart of all as Paramatma and thus treats everyone as a friend regardless of the circumstances of the living entities
Bodies are the material productions of different modes of material nature

(c) Similarity in the quality of the soul and Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in

quantity

Individual soul is only present in that particular body
Paramatma is present in each and every body

(a) Meaning of the word “Supreme” used in translation – Krishna is the “Supreme Reality”

The whole Bhagavad-gita centers around the declaration that “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead”
‘Para-tattva’ means the Supreme reality, who is understood by the knowers of the Supreme as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan
Bhagavan is the last word in the Absolute. Two references for this
Ref. Bg. 7.7 –“mattah parataram…”
Ref. Bg. 14.27 – “brahmano hi…”

(b) How a Krishna conscious person proceeds steadily on the path of liberation

By fixing one’s mind, intelligence, faith and refuge in Krishna one is washed of all misgivings
One achieves perfect knowledge in everything concerning transcendence – Thus achieves thorough understanding that there is duality in Krishna (Simultaneous identity and individuality)
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.18 Panditah, the learned ones; sama-darsinah, look with equanimity; brahmane, on a Brahmana; vidya-vinayasampanne, endowed with learning and humility-vidya means knowledge of the Self, and vinaya means pridelessness-, on a Brahmana who has Self-knowledge and modesty; gavi, on a cow; hastini, on an elephant; ca eva, and even; suni, on a dog; ca, as well as; svapake, on an eater of dog's meat.Those learned ones who are habituated to see (equally) the unchanging, same and one Brahman, absolutely untouched by the qualities of sattva etc. and the tendencies created by it, as also by the tendencies born of rajas and tamas, in a Brahmana, who is endowed with Knowledge and tranquillity, who is possessed of good tendencies and the quality of sattva; in a cow, which is possessed of the middling quality of rajas and is not spiritually refined; and in an elephant etc., which are wholly and absolutely imbued with the quality of tamas-they are seers of equality.Objection: On the strength of the text, 'A sacrificer incurs sin by not adoring equally one who is an equal, and by adoring equally one who is an equal, to himself' (Gau. Sm. 17.20), are not they sinful, whose food should not be eaten?Reply: They are not open to the charge.Objection: How?
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.18 The sages are those who know the real nature of the self in all beings. They see the selves to be of the same nature, though they are perceived in extremely dissimlar embodiments such as those of one endowed with learning and humility, a mere Brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog, a dog-eater etc., because they all have the same form of knowledge in their nature as the Atman. The dissimilarity of the forms observed is due to Prakrti (body) and not to any dissimilarity in the self; conseently they, the wise, perceive the self as the same everywhere, because all selves, though distinct, have the same form of knowledge.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.18 Vidya-etc. So, regarding a Brahmana these men of Yoga entertain no such veiw as 'I shall become a man of merit by serving him' and so on; regarding a cow, no [idea] like 'It is purifying and sacred' and so on; regarding an elephant, no thought of wealth and so on; regarding a dog, no conviction that it is impure, mischievous and so on; and with regard to a dog-cooker no opinion that he is a sinner, is impure and so on. That is why it is said that 'they look eally [upon these]' and not that 'they act eally [with them]. This has been said as - The Self, which is of the nature of pure Consciousness, [shines] in he bodies of all; no discriminating factor exists anywhere. Hence, the person who has conered the cycle of birth-and-death, remains consdering all as fully absorbed in That (Consciousness) (VB, verse 100). Here too nothing but this stream of thought has been mentioned by 'remains considering'. The proper mental disposition of a man of wisdom, says [the Lord], would be like this :
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.18 Sages look with an eal eye on a Brahmana endowed with learning and humility, on a cow, on an elephant, and even on a dog and an outcaste.
Commentary

5.18 विद्याविनयसंपन्ने upon one endowed with learning and humility? ब्राह्मणे on a Brahmana? गवि on a cow? हस्तिनि on an elephant? शुनि on a dog? च and? एव even? श्वपाके on an outcaste? च and? पण्डिताः sages? समदर्शिनः eal seeing.Commentary The liberated sage or Jivanmukta or a Brahmana has eal vision as he beholds the Self only everywhere. This magnificent vision of a Jnani is beyond description. Atman or Brahman is not at all affected by the Upadhis or limiting adjuncts as He is extremely subtle? pure? formless and attributeless. The suns reflection falls on the river Ganga? on the ocean or on a dirty stream. The sun is not at all affected in any way. This makes no difference to the sun. So is the case with the Supreme Self. The Upadhis (limiting adjuncts) cannot affect Him. Just as the ether is not affected by the limiting adjuncts? viz.? a pot? the walls of a room? cloud? etc.? so also the Self is not affected by the Upadhis.The Brahmana is Sattvic. The cow is Rajasic. The elephant? the dog and the outcaste are Tamasic. The sge sees in all of them the one homogeneous immortal Self Who is not affected by the three Gunas and their tendencies. (Cf.VI.8?32XIV.24)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.18 The learned ones look with eanimity on a Brahmana endowed with learning and humality, a cow, an elephant and even a dog as well as an eater of dog's meat.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.18 Sages look equally upon all, whether he be a minister of learning and humility, or an infidel, or whether it be a cow, an elephant or a dog.
Related values & verses
Related values
Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)
Related verses
BG 6.29 BG 6.32 BG 18.54 SB 7.5.13 SB 1.18.22 SB 3.29.15 CC Madhya 22.78 CC Ādi 4.72 CC Antya 4.176 Īśa Upaniṣad 6 Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.8.7
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Sciences essays referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The truly learned see equally a learned brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater.
Practical Applications
  • Cultivate equality of vision in actual encounters, not just abstract belief.
  • Treat the lowest in society with the same dignity as the highest.
  • Use this verse to check your reactions to people of different stations.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom in my circle have I been mentally ranking?
  • What would equal vision change about that relationship?
Analogy

The same gold thread runs through every garment in the king's wardrobe — the silk of the brāhmaṇa's shawl, the cotton of the field-worker's wrap, the fur of the dog's blanket. The tailor who sees only the cloth ranks them; the king who knows the thread sees one substance in all. The paṇḍita's vision is the king's vision.

Stories
Lord Caitanya embracing all classes

Mahāprabhu embraced Rāmānanda Rāya the high śūdra, Haridāsa Ṭhākura born in a Muslim family, learned brāhmaṇas like Sārvabhauma, and untouchable washermen alike. He sat in the homes of those whose food no orthodox sannyāsī would have accepted. When Sanātana Gosvāmī, suffering from a skin disease, embraced Mahāprabhu against the latter's wishes, the Lord embraced him anyway.

The Caitanya-caritāmṛta is emphatic: He saw the ātman in each, and the rest was external classification belonging to the body, not to the seer.

Vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ — Mahāprabhu's daily life is the verse made flesh. The mature paṇḍita sees evenly because there is one substance to see.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.19

↗
ఇహైవ తైర్జిత: సర్గో యేషాం సామ్యే స్థితం మన: । నిర్దోషం హి సమం బ్రహ్మ తస్మాద్‍బ్రహ్మణి తే స్థితా: ॥ ౧౯ ॥
ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo
[ihaiva tair jitah sargo]
yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ
[yeshaam saamye sthitam manah]
nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma
[nirdosham hi samam brahma]
tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ
[tasmaad brahmani te sthitaah]
Word-for-word
iha — in this life eva — certainly taiḥ — by them jitaḥ — conquered sargaḥ — birth and death yeṣām — whose sāmye — in equanimity sthitam — situated manaḥ — mind nirdoṣam — flawless hi — certainly samam — in equanimity brahma — like the Supreme tasmāt — therefore brahmaṇi — in the Supreme te — they sthitāḥ — are situated .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo
iha
in this life
eva
certainly
taiḥ
by them
jitaḥ
conquered
sargaḥ
birth and death
yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ
yeṣām
whose
sāmye
in equanimity
sthitam
situated
manaḥ
mind
nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma
nirdoṣam
flawless
hi
certainly
samam
in equanimity
brahma
like the Supreme
tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ
tasmāt
therefore
brahmaṇi
in the Supreme
te
they
sthitāḥ
are situated .
Important Words
  • iha eva — in this very life
    Iha — here. Eva — emphatically. 'Here itself.' The Gītā insists liberation is not deferred to some afterlife or future birth. The conquest of saṁsāra is available in this body, now.
  • sargaḥ — birth and death
    Literally 'creation, projection.' Here referring to the entire cycle of birth and re-creation in which the soul is repeatedly projected. To conquer sarga is to step off the loom of repeated embodiment.
  • sāmye sthitam manaḥ — the mind situated in equanimity
    Sāmya — sameness. The mind 'standing' (sthita) in sameness. The yogī is situated *in* brahman, not collapsed into it: jīva-ātmā remains distinct from paramātmā even as it rests in the brahman effulgence. Equanimity is the settled standing-place, not a merger.
  • nirdoṣam — flawless
    Nir + doṣa — 'without fault.' The verse predicates brahma of the equanimous mind, but the construction is comparative (samaṁ brahma) — flawless *like* brahman, not collapsed into it. The jīva does not become brahman; resting in sameness, it shares brahman's freedom from fault while remaining the eternal servant (acintya-bhedābheda).
  • brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ — they are situated in the Supreme
    Locative — situated *in* brahman. Not approaching, not striving toward — already situated. The verse declares present perfection, not future achievement, for those who have reached this stance.
Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in Brahman.
Purport

Equanimity of mind, as mentioned above, is the sign of self-realization. Those who have actually attained to such a stage should be considered to have conquered material conditions, specifically birth and death. As long as one identifies with this body, he is considered a conditioned soul, but as soon as he is elevated to the stage of equanimity through realization of self, he is liberated from conditional life. In other words, he is no longer subject to take birth in the material world but can enter into the spiritual sky after his death. The Lord is flawless because He is without attraction or hatred. Similarly, when a living entity is without attraction or hatred, he also becomes flawless and eligible to enter into the spiritual sky. Such persons are to be considered already liberated, and their symptoms are described below.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
19. Those whose minds are situated in equality conquer over the world of birth and death. They are without fault, seeing equally everything as Brahman. Therefore they are situated in Brahman.
Commentary

This verse praises the ability to see equally. In this world (iha eva), they have defeated saṁsāra, that which has been created (sargaḥ jitaḥ).

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
19. Those whose minds are absorbed in the quality of impartiality in the faultless paramātmā have conquered over the world of birth and death. Convinced of this, they easily attain liberation.
Commentary

Saṁsāra (sargaḥ) is conquered, even at the stage of sādhana (iha) by those persons whose minds are absorbed in the quality of impartiality displayed by the Brahman (the Lord). Why do we say Brahman is equal to all? It is because (hi) Brahman is devoid of attachment and repulsion (nirdoṣam). Because those persons are convinced of the equality (samam) in the Brahman due to Brahman’s absence of desire and hatred (nirdoṣam), they are situated in Brahman (brahmaṇi sthitāḥ), they easily attain liberation, even while they are situated in the material world.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Such a person whose mind is fixed on the Supersoul, nothing can disturb him. We have heard of one who is in the Brahman platform ‑ the 'sthita‑prajna'. But if one is fixed on the Krsna consciousness platform, he is also in this equal and same platform ‑ he is not disturbed, because he sees everything that happens to him, as Krsna. Or if he is in the Paramatma platform he sees everything as the Supersoul who is just awarding on thing to one person and another thing to another person. By fixing one's consciousness on the Supersoul or Krsna, one becomes fully calm in amidst the ocean of material turbulence. Because one sees everything as Krsna acting, Krsna's mercy, Krsna's award. One who sees like that, how Krsna is reciprocating in this way ‑ becomes eligible for liberation. So here it was explained 'the equal platform' on the Brahman platform through Supersoul realization. And the next verse is true for both, the 'sadhaka'(the practicioner) and the 'sidha" (perfect). They should act like this,

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

Such a self-realized soul has no attraction or hatred to matter, thus he is flawless and impartial like

the Lord

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 5.19 & 5.20:

Symptoms of such a liberated soul are described further

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.19 Iha eva, here itself, even while they are living; is sargah, rirth; jitah, conered, overcome; taih, by them, by the learned ones who see with eanimity; yesam, whose; manah, minds, the internal organs; are sthitam, established, made steadfast; samye, on sameness, in Brahman that exists as the same in all beings. It is nirdosam, free from defects. Because of Its existence in such mean objects as an eater of dog's meat, etc., though It is supposed by fools to be affected by the defects of those (objects), still It remains untouched by those blemishes, hi, because It is free from defects. Nor even is It differentiated by Its alities, since Consciousness is free from alifications. And the Lord will speak of desires etc. (cf. 13.6 etc.) as the attributes of the aggregate of body and organs, and will also say, 'Being without beginning and without alities' (13.31). Nor even are there the ultimate distinctions which can create differentiation in the Self, [According to the Vaisesikas, everything is possessed of not only alities but also of antya-visesa (ultimate distinction), which is a category like substance, ality, action, etc. This distinction makes every entity different from other entities. Thus, individual souls have their own ultimate distinctions by the very fact that they are individuals. Vedanta denies such a category. Besides, the Self is one and omnipresent. Therefore there is nothing else from which It can be distinguished.-Tr.] because there is nothing to prove that these ultimate distinctions exist in every body. Hence, samam brahma, Brahman is the same and one. Tasmat, therefore; te, they; sthitah, are established; brahmani, in Brahman Itself. As a result, not even a shade of defect touches them. For they have no self-identification in the form of perceiving the aggregate of body etc. as the Self. On the other hand, that statement (Gau. Sm. 17.20) refers to the man who has self-identification in the form of perceiving the aggregate of body, (organs) etc. as the Self, for that statement-'A sacrificer incurs sin by not adoring eally one who is an eal, and by adoring eally one who is not eal to himself, pointedly refers to persons who are the objects of adoration. It is indeed seen that in worship, charity, etc. the determining factors are the possession of such special alities as being 'a knower of Brahman', 'versed in the six auxiliary branches of Vedic learning', and 'versed in the four Vedas'. But Brahman is bereft of association with all alities and defects. This being so, it is logical that they are established in Brahman. And 'adoring an eal, ৷৷.an uneal,' etc. has reference to men of action. [Those engaged in actions with a sense of agentship, etc.-Tr.] But this subject under consideration, beginning from 'The embodied man৷৷.having given up all actions mentally' (13) to the end of the chapter, is concerning one who has given up all actions. Since the Self is Brahman which is without blemish and is the same (in all), therefore-
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.19 By those whose minds rest in ealness with regard to all selves in the aforesaid manner, even here, i.e., even at the stage of executing the means, Samsara is overcome. For the Brahman is of the same nature everywhere when uncontaminated. The meaning is that the substance of self, when free from the contaminations resulting from contact with the Prakrti (body), is the same everywhere i.e., as the Brahman (the Atman). If they are fixed in the eality of all selves, they verily abide in Brahman. The abidance in the Brahman is verily the conest of Samsara. Those who contemplate on the sameness of all selves, because of their having the form of knowledge, they are liberated. Sri Krsna now teaches that mode of life by following which the maturity of knowledge in the form of sameness of vision comes to a Karma Yogin.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.19 This sloka does not exit in Gitartha sangraha of Abhinavagupta.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.19 Even here (in this world) birth (everything) is overcome by those whose minds rest in eality; Brahman is spotless indeed and eal; therefore they are established in Brahman.
Commentary

5.19 इह here? एव even? तैः by them? जितः is conered? सर्गः rirth or creation? येषाम् of whom? साम्ये in eality? स्थितम् established? मनः mind? निर्दोषम् spotless? हि indeed? समम् eal? ब्रह्म Brahman? तस्मात् therefore? ब्रह्मणि in Brahman? ते they? स्थिताः are established.Commentary When the mind gets rooted in eanimity or evenness or eality? when it is always in a balanced state? one coners birth and death. Bondage is annihilated and freedom is attained by him. When the mind is in a perfectly balanced state he overcomes Brahman Himself? i.e.? realises Brahman.Brahman is ever pure and attributeless and so He is not affected even though He dwells in an outcaste? dog? etc. So He is spotless. He is homogeneous and one? as He dwells eally in all beings.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.19 Here [i.e. even while living in the body.] itself is rirth conered by them whose minds are established on sameness. Since Brahman is the same (in all) and free from defects, therefore they are established in Brahman.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.19 Even in this world they conquer their earth-life whose minds, fixed on the Supreme, remain always balanced; for the Supreme has neither blemish nor bias.
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)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 18.54 BG 14.26 BG 2.72 SB 11.19.45 SB 2.2.15 SB 1.2.21 CC Madhya 6.269 CC Madhya 22.21 CC Madhya 24.150 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.9Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.23
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Those whose minds rest in equality conquer birth and death even here — Brahman is faultless and equal; they are situated in Brahman.
Practical Applications
  • Recognize that equality of mind is itself liberation, here and now.
  • Cultivate equanimity as the day's spiritual aim.
  • Treat any disturbance of equanimity as data, not failure.
Reflection Questions
  • When did I last feel genuine equanimity, and what supported it?
  • What is most likely to disturb it today?
Analogy

A still lake reflects the moon perfectly; a wind-whipped lake fragments the same moon into a thousand restless pieces. Equanimity is the lake's stillness, brahman is the moon. Where the mind rests in sameness, the Supreme is already reflected entire. No second journey is required.

Stories
Bhīṣma on the bed of arrows

After being felled in battle by Arjuna's arrows, Bhīṣma lay on his arrow-bed for fifty-eight days, waiting for the auspicious moment of departure. Friends and enemies came; the Pāṇḍavas wept; the war's survivors stood around him. He neither rejoiced in their devotion nor lamented the wounds.

From that bed he gave the long teaching that became the Śānti-parva of the Mahābhārata. His mind rested in equanimity even as his body bled. The Bhāgavatam describes that at the moment of death he fixed his mind on Kṛṣṇa and entered the Supreme directly.

Iha eva taiḥ jitaḥ sargaḥ — in this very life, with this very body, the cycle of birth and death was conquered by him. The verse names a possibility Bhīṣma demonstrated.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.20

↗
న ప్రహృష్యేత్ప్రియం ప్రాప్య నోద్విజేత్ప్రాప్య చాప్రియమ్ । స్థిరబుద్ధిరసమ్మూఢో బ్రహ్మవిద్‍బ్రహ్మణి స్థిత: ॥ ౨౦ ॥
na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya
[na prahrishyet priyam praapya]
nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam
[nodvijet praapya chaapriyam]
sthira-buddhir asammūḍho
[sthira-buddhir asammoodho]
brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ
[brahma-vid brahmani sthitah]
Word-for-word
na — never prahṛṣyet — rejoices priyam — the pleasant prāpya — achieving na — does not udvijet — become agitated prāpya — obtaining ca — also apriyam — the unpleasant sthira - buddhiḥ — self-intelligent asammūḍhaḥ — unbewildered brahma - vit — one who knows the Supreme perfectly brahmaṇi — in the transcendence sthitaḥ — situated .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya
na
never
prahṛṣyet
rejoices
priyam
the pleasant
prāpya
achieving
na
does not
nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam
sthira-buddhir asammūḍho
udvijet
become agitated
prāpya
obtaining
ca
also
apriyam
the unpleasant
brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ
sthira - buddhiḥ
self-intelligent
asammūḍhaḥ
unbewildered
brahma - vit
one who knows the Supreme perfectly
brahmaṇi
in the transcendence
sthitaḥ
situated .
Important Words
  • prahṛṣyet — rejoices
    Optative of pra + √hṛṣ. Pra intensifies — 'overly rejoices, becomes elated.' The Gītā negates not all joy but the over-elation that signals attachment to outcome. Paired with udvijet later in the verse, it covers both swings of the emotional pendulum.
  • sthira-buddhiḥ — self-intelligent
    Sthira — steady, firm. Buddhi — intelligence. The compound names not abundant intelligence but stable intelligence. The Gītā repeatedly prefers sthira-buddhi over mere brilliance; brilliance under emotional swing is worth nothing.
  • asammūḍhaḥ — unbewildered
    A + sam + mūḍha. 'Not thoroughly confused.' The triple-negative form intensifies. The brahma-vit is not just clear in this moment; he is structurally not-confused — moha cannot reassemble itself around him.
  • brahma-vit — one who knows the Supreme perfectly
    Brahma — the Supreme. Vit — knower (from √vid). Compare tattva-vit in verse 8-9. The chapter steadily uses these -vit compounds to mark the soul who has personally verified, not merely studied.
  • brahmaṇi sthitaḥ — situated in the transcendence
    Again the locative of standing. The verse closes by placing the brahma-vit *inside* brahman, not next to it. Knowledge of the Supreme is not external survey; it is interior residence.
A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.
Purport

The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly well that he is not this body but is the fragmental portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to his body. This steadiness of mind is called sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence. He is therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the soul. This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing the complete science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all respects. This is called Brahman realization, or self-realization. Such steady consciousness is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
20. He whose intelligence is fixed, who is free of bewilderment, who has knowledge of Brahman, and who is situated in Brahman, does not rejoice on attaining what is dear, and does not become agitated on attaining what is not favorable.
Commentary

Such a person is equal in the face of objects both dear and not dear in this world. Attaining dear objects he does not rejoice and attaining unwelcome objects he does not become disturbed. The potential mood of prahṛṣyet and udvijet stands for the indicative present in this verse, or can mean that the person should practice that mood during the stage of sādhana. (Attaining dear objects, he should not rejoice and attaining unwelcome objects he should not become disturbed.) He is not bewildered (asaṁmūḍhaḥ), since bewilderment arises only from identification with joy, lamentation and other emotions.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
20. He whose intelligence is fixed in ātmā, who is free of bewilderment due to connection with his body, and who realizes Brahman, and thus does not rejoice on attaining what is enjoyable and does not become agitated on attaining what is disagreeable, is situated in Brahman.
Commentary

This verse speaks of the characteristics of the person situated in Brahman. Situated in his present body, he does not rejoice or lament on attaining favorable or unfavorable conditions attained by prārabdha karmas. Why? His intellect is fixed in his ātmā (sthira buddhiḥ) (rather than the body). He is not bewildered by identifying the eternal ātmā and the temporary body (asaṁmūḍhaḥ). He realizes the Brahman with its quality of equality (brahma vit). The person of these qualities is situated in Brahman.

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

Symptoms of self-realized soul

Being without desire or hatred, one’s intelligence does not rejoice or lament
One remains sharp in intelligence and
‘Unbewildered’ – Fixed in the self

Focus of Learning

(a) Text 5.20 – 5.21 describes the symptoms of a self realized soul (5.20 – 5.21)

(b) Foremost symptom – no illusion of false bodily identification

This symptom is the basis of not rejoicing or lamenting for material dualities

(c) “Sthira-Buddhih” – Steadiness of mind – Not rejoice/lament for bodily relations or achievements:

Based on knowledge that he is not this body but fragmental portion of Supreme Personality of Godhead

(d) Unbewildered – Not misidentify Body as soul/nor take body as permanent.

(a) “Equanimity of mind” – Sign of Self realization

Importance of equanimity – at such a stage one is considered to have conquered material conditions specifically birth and death
Thus there is no rebirth but one can enter into the spiritual sky

(b) Lord and living entity are “flawless” – How? Because

On spiritual platform they are free from all attraction and hatred – this makes living entity eligible for spiritual sky

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF TEXT 5.19

A devotee of Krishna recognizes everything that happens to him as Krishna’s kindness,

and everything therefore increases his devotion. Ref SB 10.14.8 “tat te ’nukampa…”

“My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless

mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past

misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and

body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.”

Such a devotee is mukti-pade, already liberated

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.20 Brahmavit, a knower of Brahman, as described; sthitah, who is established; brahmani in Brahman- who is not a performer of actions, i.e. one who has renounced all actions; sthira-buddhih, should have his intellect steady-the man of steady intellect is one who has the unwavering, firm conviction of the existence of the one and the same taintless Self in all beings; and further, asammudhah, he should not be deluded, he should be free from delusion. Na prahrsyet, he should not get delighted; prapya, by getting; priyam, what is desirable; na ca udvijet, and surely, neither should he become dejected; prapya, by getting; apriyam, what is undesirable-because the acisition of the desirable and the undesirable are causes of [Ast.'s reading is 'horsa-visadau kurvate, cause happiness and sorrow' in place of 'harsa-visada-sthane, sources of happiness and sorrow', which (latter) reading occurs in G1. Pr. and A.A.-Tr.] happiness and sorrow for one who considers the body as the Self; not for the one who has realized the absolute Self, since in his case there can be no acisition of desirable and undesirable objects. Further, the one who is established in Brahman-
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.20 Whatever is experienced as pleasant by one staying in a body and remaining in a particular condition because of the subtle impressions of his old Karmas, and whatever is experienced as unpleasant - on attaining those two types of experiences, one should not feel joy or grief. How? By having the mind on that 'Which is steadfast' i.e., the self, 'Undeluded,' i.e., one must be free from the delusion of identity of the steadfast self with the transient body. And how can this be? He who knows Brahman and abides in Brahman, i.e., by becoming a knower of Brahman by instruction by the teachers - such a person abides steadily, engaged in the practices towards winning Brahman. What is said is this: From the instructions received from the sages who know the truth, one should learn what has to be learnt about the self. Endeavouring to actualise the same, one does not consider the body as the sefl and remains fixed in the joyous experience of the vision of the steadfast self. Let him not rejoice and grieve when he experiences pleasant and unpleasant things, as such experiences result from the Prakrti and are transient.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.20 Na prahrsyet etc. In the case of this person, who habitually looks [upon all] alike, the classification of foes and friends is at the level of mundane business alone, and not internally, as he is firmly established in the Brahman.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.20 Resting in Brahman, with steady intellect and undeluded, the knower of Brahman neither rejoiceth on obtaining what is pleasant nor grieveth on obtaining what is unpleasant.
Commentary

5.20 न not? प्रहृष्येत् should rejoice? प्रियम् the pleasant? प्राप्य having obtained? न not? उद्विजेत् should be troubled? प्राप्य having obtained? च and? अप्रियम् the unpleasant? स्थिरबुद्धिः one with steady intellect? असम्मूढः undeluded? ब्रह्मवित् knower of Brahman? ब्रह्मणि in Brahman? स्थितः established.Commentary This is the state of a Jivanmukta or a liberated sage or a Brahmana who identifies himself with the Self or Atman. He always has a balanced mind. He is never deluded. He has abandoned all actions as he rests in Brahman. He who has an unbalanced mind? who identifies himself with the body and mind feels pleasure and pain? exhilaration of spirits when he gets a pleasant object and grief when he obtains an unpleasant object. (Cf.VI.21?27?28XIII.12XIV.20)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.20 A knower of Brahman, who is established in Brahman, should have his intellect steady and should not be deluded. He should not get delighted by getting what is desirable, nor become dejected by getting what is undesirable.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.20 He who knows and lives in the Absolute remains unmoved and unperturbed; he is not elated by pleasure or depressed by pain.
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)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 2.56 BG 12.17 BG 14.24 SB 11.13.36 SB 1.9.11 SB 7.9.19 CC Madhya 22.145 CC Antya 20.21 CC Madhya 19.149 Īśa Upaniṣad 7 BRS 1.1.11
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
He who neither rejoices in pleasant nor laments in unpleasant — steady, undeluded, knowing Brahman — is situated in Brahman.
Practical Applications
  • Practice not rejoicing too much in good news; not lamenting too much in bad.
  • Cultivate the steady center.
  • Recognize wild swings as illusion's symptom.
Reflection Questions
  • What recent news did I over-rejoice or over-lament about?
  • What does the steady center feel like by contrast?
Analogy

A skilled physician receives both the patient's recovery and the patient's relapse with the same steady hand — neither inflated by success nor crushed by failure, because his identity is not pinned to either outcome. The brahma-vit moves through pleasant and unpleasant news the same way. The hand stays steady because the identity is elsewhere.

Stories
Kuntī's prayer for misfortune

After the war, when Kṛṣṇa was preparing to leave Hastināpura for Dvārakā, Queen Kuntī offered her famous prayer. She asked the Lord to grant her continued misfortunes, because misfortunes were what had kept her mind fixed on Him.

She had received unpleasant — exile, the burning of the lac-house, Draupadī's humiliation, the war's losses. She received pleasant — her sons enthroned, the kingdom restored, Kṛṣṇa Himself her relative. She did not rejoice over the pleasant nor lament the unpleasant; she only valued whichever condition kept her mind fixed on the Lord.

Na prahṛṣyet... na udvijet. Kuntī's prayer is the verse's autobiography. Sthira-buddhiḥ asammūḍhaḥ — steady intelligence, undeluded — describes her exactly.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.21

↗
బాహ్యస్పర్శేష్వసక్తాత్మా విన్దత్యాత్మని యత్సుఖమ్ । స బ్రహ్మయోగయుక్తాత్మా సుఖమక్షయమశ్న‍ుతే ॥ ౨౧ ॥
bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā
[baahya-sparsheshv asaktaatmaa]
vindaty ātmani yat sukham
[vindaty aatmani yat sukham]
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā
[sa brahma-yoga-yuktaatmaa]
sukham akṣayam aśnute
[sukham akshayam ashnute]
Word-for-word
bāhya - sparśeṣu — in external sense pleasure asakta - ātmā — one who is not attached vindati — enjoys ātmani — in the self yat — that which sukham — happiness saḥ — he brahma - yoga — by concentration in Brahman yukta - ātmā — self-connected sukham — happiness akṣayam — unlimited aśnute — enjoys .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā
bāhya - sparśeṣu
in external sense pleasure
asakta - ātmā
one who is not attached
vindaty ātmani yat sukham
vindati
enjoys
ātmani
in the self
yat
that which
sukham
happiness
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā
saḥ
he
brahma - yoga
by concentration in Brahman
yukta - ātmā
self-connected
sukham akṣayam aśnute
sukham
happiness
akṣayam
unlimited
aśnute
enjoys .
Important Words
  • bāhya-sparśeṣu — in external sense pleasure
    Bāhya — external. Sparśa — contact, touch. The locative plural names the entire domain of sensory contact-pleasures. The Gītā's word sparśa already implies brevity; what touches passes.
  • asakta-ātmā — one who is not attached
    A + sakta — 'not stuck.' From √sañj, same root as saṅga of 2.47. The unattached self can taste external pleasure without becoming smeared by it. Asaṅga is the running ideal of the entire chapter.
  • ātmani — in the self
    Locative. The happiness is found *in* the self, not from outside it. The grammar establishes the architecture of the bhakti-experience: the source is interior, not delivered.
  • brahma-yoga-yukta-ātmā — self-connected by concentration in Brahman
    A heavy compound. Yoked to brahma-yoga, the self enters brahma-yoga, the self becomes brahma-yoga-yukta — Sanskrit's compounds allow this layered fusion. The technique and the practitioner blend.
  • akṣayam — unlimited
    A + kṣaya — 'without decay.' External pleasures have a kṣaya, an end-point; inner happiness is akṣaya, undecaying. The contrast lands on the last word of the verse for emphasis.
Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.
Purport

Śrī Yāmunācārya, a great devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, said: yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt tad-avadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca “Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.” A person in brahma-yoga, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is so absorbed in the loving service of the Lord that he loses his taste for material sense pleasure altogether. The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this motivation. But a person engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can work with greater vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids. That is the test in spiritual realization. Spiritual realization and sex pleasure go ill together. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is not attracted to any kind of sense pleasure, due to his being a liberated soul.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
21. He who has attained the happiness of Paramātmā within the soul and is not attached to the happiness from sense objects, being totally absorbed in Paramātmā, attains permanent happiness.
Commentary

His mind is not attached (asaktātmā) to the happiness of sense objects (bāhya sparśeṣu), since he experiences in the soul (ātmani) happiness from having attained Paramātmā. He then attains that happiness permanently (akṣayam), since, in constantly relishing the sweetness, he does not relish lower things.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
21. He who, not attached to the happiness from sense object, attains the happiness of ātmā, then becomes fixed in realization of paramātmā and attains indestructible happiness.
Commentary

This verse describes that a person realizes his own ātmā and then paramātmā. When a person, not attached to experiencing the objects of the senses, realizes his own nature and experiences bliss, he then attains samādhi in paramātmā (brahma yoga yuktātmā) and attains indestructible happiness which is an experience of great bliss (akṣayam sukham).

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

When the devotee becomes connected (yukta) with the Supreme, he experiences unlimited happi-

ness and loses all attraction to matter. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments that just as a

person eating sweetmeats has no inclination to eat mud, so a liberated person is not attracted to

material sense pleasure.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.21 Asakta-atma, with his heart, internal organ, unattached, bahya-sparsesu, to external objects-sparsah means objects that are contacted, viz sound etc.; bahya-sparsah means those things which are external (bahya) and are objects of contact; that person who thus has his heart unattached, who derives no happiness from objects; he vindati, gets that sukham, bliss; yat, which is; atmani, in the Self. Brahma-yoga-yukta-atma, with his heart absorbed in meditation on Brahman-meditation (yoga) on Brahman is brahma-yoga; one whose internal organ (atma) is absorbed in (yukta), engaged in, that meditation on Brahman is brahma-yoga-yukta-atma; he asnute, acires; aksayam, undecaying; sukham, Bliss. So, he who cherishes undecaying happiness in the Self should withdraw the organs from the momentary happiness in external objects. This is the meaning. For this reason also one should withdraw:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.21 He who finds happiness in the self within himself, his mind detached from external contact in the manner already mentioned, i.e., from experience of objects other than the self - such a person abandoning the contemplation on Prakrti or bodily experiences, has his mind engaged in the contemplation on Brahman i.e., the Atman. Thus he attains everlasting bliss which consists in the experience of Brahman (the self). Sri Krsna speaks of the abandonment of material pleasure as easy:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.21 He, in whom there is no desire for the external touch viz., the object-he thinks says as follows the Bhagawat -
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.21 With the self unattached to external contacts he finds happiness in the Self; with the self engaged in the meditation of Brahman he attains to the endless happiness.
Commentary

5.21 बाह्यस्पर्शेषु in external contacts? असक्तात्मा one whose mind is unattached? विन्दति finds? आत्मनि in,the Self? यत् (that) which? सुखम् happiness? सः he? ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा with the self engaged in the meditation of Brahman? सुखम् happiness? अक्षयम् endless? अश्नुते enjoys.Commentary When the mind is not attached to external objects of the senses? when one is deeply engaged in the contemplation of Brahman? he finds undecaying bliss in the Self within. If you want to enjoy the imperishable happiness of the Self within? you will have to withdraw the senses from their respective objects and plunge yourself in deep meditation on the Self within. This is the gist of this verse.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.21 With his heart unattached to external objects, he gets the bliss that is in the Self. With his heart absorbed in meditation on Brahman, he acires undecaying Bliss.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.21 He finds happiness in his own Self, and enjoys eternal bliss, whose heart does not yearn for the contacts of earth and whose Self is one with the Everlasting.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 6.20 BG 6.21 BG 2.55 SB 1.2.6 SB 7.9.25 SB 10.14.58 CC Madhya 8.70 CC Madhya 19.149 CC Antya 15.19 Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7.1Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.32
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Unattached to external pleasures, finding happiness within — united with Brahman through yoga — he enjoys unending happiness.
Practical Applications
  • Cultivate inner happiness through sādhana so external pleasure becomes optional.
  • Notice that real happiness has a different quality from sense-pleasure.
  • Trade up — outer pleasures for inner, when offered the choice.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I still seeking outside what is available inside?
  • What inner pleasure of mine is most real?
Analogy

A man who has tasted spring water from the mountain no longer queues at the village's brackish well. Once inner happiness is found, external sense pleasures lose their pull — not by force of will but because something better has been tasted. The Gītā's renunciation is not deprivation but graduation.

Stories
Mīrābāī and the cup of poison

When Mīrā's in-laws sent her a cup of poison, hoping to be rid of the troublesome princess who would not stop singing to Kṛṣṇa, she drank it without flinching. The tradition records that she sang as she drank, and the poison did not harm her.

What the in-laws missed was that they had nothing she wanted. The palace's pleasures, the queenly station, even physical safety — all bāhya-sparśas, external contacts — had become irrelevant. She had found ātmani yat sukham, the happiness within, and external pleasures and threats touched her with equal weakness.

Bāhya-sparśeṣu asakta-ātmā vindati ātmani yat sukham. Mīrā's life is the verse made song.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.22

↗
యే హి సంస్పర్శజా భోగా దు:ఖయోనయ ఏవ తే । ఆద్యన్తవన్త: కౌన్తేయ న తేషు రమతే బుధ: ॥ ౨౨ ॥
ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā
[ye hi samsparsha-jaa bhogaa]
duḥkha-yonaya eva te
[duhkha-yonaya eva te]
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya
[aady-antavantah kaunteya]
na teṣu ramate budhaḥ
[na teshu ramate budhah]
Word-for-word
ye — those hi — certainly saṁsparśa - jāḥ — by contact with the material senses bhogāḥ — enjoyments duḥkha — distress yonayaḥ — sources of eva — certainly te — they are ādi — beginning anta — end vantaḥ — subject to kaunteya — O son of Kuntī na — never teṣu — in those ramate — takes delight budhaḥ — the intelligent person .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā
ye
those
hi
certainly
saṁsparśa - jāḥ
by contact with the material senses
bhogāḥ
enjoyments
duḥkha-yonaya eva te
duḥkha
distress
yonayaḥ
sources of
eva
certainly
te
they are
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya
ādi
beginning
anta
end
vantaḥ
subject to
kaunteya
O son of Kuntī
na teṣu ramate budhaḥ
na
never
teṣu
in those
ramate
takes delight
budhaḥ
the intelligent person .
Important Words
  • saṁsparśa-jāḥ — born of contact with the material senses
    Saṁ + sparśa — 'mutual contact.' Jā — born. Pleasures born of sense-object contact. The word emphasizes mutuality: the sense and the object together generate the pleasure, and either's removal ends it.
  • duḥkha-yonayaḥ — sources of distress
    Yoni — womb, source. The pleasures are themselves the wombs of misery. The metaphor is biological: each pleasure gestates its corresponding pain. The Gītā's diagnosis is structural, not moralistic.
  • ādi-anta-vantaḥ — subject to beginning and end
    Triple compound. Beginning-end-having. The Sanskrit places all three terms in one breath, enacting how briefly the pleasure spans. Compare akṣayam in the prior verse — the explicit contrast.
  • ramate — takes delight
    From √ram — 'to take pleasure, to rest in.' The negated form: na ramate budhaḥ. The intelligent does not rest in such pleasures. He may pass through them; he does not pitch his tent in them.
  • budhaḥ — the intelligent person
    From √budh — 'to wake, to be aware.' The budha is the one awakened to the soul's true position as Kṛṣṇa's servant; his intelligence is buddhi-yoga (BG 2.39, 10.10). Such a devotee sees through the promise wrapped around sense-pleasure and refuses to pitch his tent in what begins and ends. He passes through; he does not rest there.
An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.
Purport

Material sense pleasures are due to the contact of the material senses, which are all temporary because the body itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in anything which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure? In the Padma Purāṇa it is said: ramante yogino ’nante satyānande cid-ātmani iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate “The mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasures from the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Rāma.” In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also (5.5.1) it is said: nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam “My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and as a result you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss.” Therefore, those who are true yogīs or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
22. The enjoyments arising from sense objects are causes of suffering, and have a beginning and end. An intelligent person does not enjoy them.
Commentary

An intelligent person (budhaḥ) does not attach himself to material pleasure.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
22. The pleasures arising from sense objects are causes of suffering, and have a beginning and end. O son of Kuntī, the intelligent person does not enjoy them.
Commentary

This verse explains that, determining the temporary nature of the sense objects, which manifest according to karma, that person is not attached. The experiences of happiness generated by sense objects (saṁsārśajā bhogā) are sources of misery. The rest of the verse is clear.

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

An intelligent person does not take part in sensual pleasures because

Contact of senses with the sense objects is a source of misery
Such pleasures have a beginning and an end – They are temporary LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 5.22 & 5.23: The result of tolerating sense desires and not succumbing to their pushings is explained below
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.22 Hi, since; bhogah, enjoyments; ye samsparsajah, that result from contact with objects, that arise from contact between the objects and the organs; are eva, verily; duhkha-yonayah, sources of sorrow, because they are creations of ignorance. It is certainly a matter of experience that physical and other sorrows are created by that itself. By the use of the word eva (verily), it is understood that, as it happens here in this world, so does it even in the other world. Realizing that there is not the least trace of happiness in the world, one should withdraw the organs from the objects which are comparable to a mirage. Not only are they sources of sorrow, they also adi-antavantah, have a beginning and an end. Adi (beginning) of enjoyments consists in the contact between objects and senses, and their end (anta), indeed, is the loss of that contact. Hence, they have a beginning and an end, they are impermanent, being present in the intervening moment. This is the meaning. (Therefore) O son of Kunti, budhah, the wise one, the discriminating person who has realized the Reality which is the supreme Goal; na ramate, does not delight; tesu, in them, in enjoyments. For delight in objects is seen only in very foolish beings, as for instance in animals etc. This extremely painful evil, which is opposed to the path of Bliss and is the source of getting all miseries, is difficult to resist. Therefore one must make the utmost effort to avoid it. Hence the Lord says:;
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.22 Those pleasures which result from the contact of sense objects with the senses, are the wombs of pain, i.e., have pain as their ultimate fruit 'They have a beginning and an end,' i.e., they are seen to remain only for a brief period and the reaction that follows their cessation is painful. He who knows what they themselves are, i.e., know themselves as Atman, will not find pleasure in them.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.22 Ye hi etc. He considers indeed as follows : 'All enjoyments born of the external objects are in the form of causes of misery; and even otherwise , they are impermanent'.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.22 The enjoyments that are born of contacts are only generators of pain, for they have a beginning and an end, O Arjuna; the wise man does not rejoice in them.
Commentary

5.22 ये which? हि verily? संस्पर्शजाः contactborn? भोगाः enjoyments? दुःखयोनयः generators of pain? एव only? ते they? आद्यन्तवन्तः having beginning and end? कौन्तेय O Kaunteya? न not? तेषु in those? रमते rejoices? बुधः the wise.Commentary Man goes in est of joy and searches in the external perishable objects for his happiness. He fails to get it but instead he carries a load of sorrow on his head.You should withdraw the senses from the senseobjects as there is no trace of happiness in them and fix the min on the immortal? blissful Self within. The senseobjects have a beginning and an end. Separation from the senseobjects gives you a lot of pain. During the interval between the origin and the end you experience a hollow? momentary? illusory pleasure. This fleeting pleasure is due to Avidya or ignorance. Even in the other world you will have the same experience. He who is endowed with discrimination or the knowledge of the Self will never rejoice in these sensual objects. Only ignorant persons who are passionate will rejoice in the senseobjects. (Cf.II.14?XVIII.38)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.22 Since enjoyments that result from contact (with objects) are verily the sources of sorrow and have a beginning and an end, (therefore) O son of Kunti, the wise one does not delight in them.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.22 The joys that spring from external associations bring pain; they have their beginning and their endings. The wise man does not rejoice in them.
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)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 18.38 BG 2.14 BG 5.23 SB 7.9.45 SB 11.8.1 SB 5.5.4 CC Madhya 22.122 CC Antya 6.220 CC Madhya 19.159 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.2Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.6
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Pleasures from contact with sense-objects are the source of misery — they have a beginning and an end; the wise do not enjoy them.
Practical Applications
  • Treat sense-pleasure honestly — it has a tail, and the tail bites.
  • Notice the cycle: anticipation, brief pleasure, loss, longing again.
  • Choose pleasures that don't carry their opposite.
Reflection Questions
  • What pleasure of mine has the most painful tail?
  • What pleasure is genuinely without that tail?
Analogy

A piece of fruit that comes wrapped with the seed of its own rotting — you eat it knowing the rot is on its way. Every sense-pleasure is such a fruit. Wise consumers count the rot; foolish ones notice only the sweetness and are surprised again each time by the tail. Kṛṣṇa is teaching honest accounting.

Stories
Yayāti's youth-trade

King Yayāti, cursed with old age by his father-in-law, persuaded his son Puru to exchange ages with him. He took back his youth and returned to a thousand years of sense-enjoyment with his queens — palaces, foods, gardens, every pleasure available to a king.

At the end of the thousand years he confessed in the Mahābhārata what he had learned: pleasures never diminish desire; like ghee poured on fire, they only feed the flame. Each pleasure had a beginning and an end, and the cycle of longing started fresh. He returned the youth to his son and walked to the forest.

Ādi-anta-vantaḥ. Yayāti's thousand years were the verse's empirical proof. The intelligent man does not repeat his experiment for a thousand years to learn what Kṛṣṇa states in a single line.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.23

↗
శక్న‍ోతీహైవ య: సోఢుం ప్రాక్శరీరవిమోక్షణాత్ । కామక్రోధోద్భ‍వం వేగం స యుక్త: స సుఖీ నర: ॥ ౨౩ ॥
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ
[shaknoteehaiva yah sodhum]
prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt
[praak shareera-vimokshanaat]
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ
[kaama-krodhodbhavam vegam]
sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ
[sa yuktah sa sukhee narah]
Word-for-word
śaknoti — is able iha eva — in the present body yaḥ — one who soḍhum — to tolerate prāk — before śarīra — the body vimokṣaṇāt — giving up kāma — desire krodha — and anger udbhavam — generated from vegam — urges saḥ — he yuktaḥ — in trance saḥ — he sukhī — happy naraḥ — human being .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ
śaknoti
is able
iha eva
in the present body
yaḥ
one who
soḍhum
to tolerate
prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt
prāk
before
śarīra
the body
vimokṣaṇāt
giving up
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ
kāma
desire
krodha
and anger
udbhavam
generated from
vegam
urges
sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ
saḥ
he
yuktaḥ
in trance
saḥ
he
sukhī
happy
naraḥ
human being .
Important Words
  • soḍhum — to tolerate
    Infinitive of √sah — 'to bear, to endure.' The verse names tolerance as the active capacity. Not suppression, not avoidance — the capacity to bear the urge while it crests. The same root behind sahana and titikṣā in classical yoga vocabulary.
  • kāma-krodha-udbhavam — generated from desire and anger
    Udbhava — arising, rising up. The compound names the urge as something that *arises*, not as something the yogī is. The grammatical separation between yogī and urge is itself the practice.
  • vegam — urges
    From √vij, related to speed and rush. The Gītā's word for the urge is the word for velocity — the thing has momentum, force, surge. Toleration is meeting the velocity without being carried.
  • vimokṣaṇāt — giving up
    Vi + √muc — 'to release thoroughly.' Ablative form: 'from the giving up.' Coupled with prāk earlier in the line, it specifies the time-window: before the body's release. The Gītā's emphasis on this-life perfection sharpens here.
  • sukhī naraḥ — happy human being
    Naraḥ — human. The Gītā specifies the species. Of all bodies, the human form alone has the structural capacity to tolerate the kāma-krodha vega and be happy because of that toleration. Other species lack the discriminative power.
Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world.
Purport

If one wants to make steady progress on the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals, and forces of the tongue. One who is able to control the forces of all these different senses, and the mind, is called gosvāmī, or svāmī. Such gosvāmīs live strictly controlled lives and forgo altogether the forces of the senses. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Therefore, one must practice to control them before one gives up this material body. One who can do this is understood to be self-realized and is thus happy in the state of self-realization. It is the duty of the transcendentalist to try strenuously to control desire and anger.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
23. He who can tolerate in this world the agitation arising from lust and anger before being liberated from the body is a yogī and is happy.
Commentary

Though fallen in the ocean of saṁsāra, this person alone is the yogī (yuktaḥ), and he alone is happy.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
23. He who can tolerate the agitation arising from lust and anger when they arise till the time of giving up the body has attained realization of ātmā and is blissful in that realization.
Commentary

The disturbance of lust and anger is unfavorable for steadiness in jṣāna. Therefore one who is endeavoring for steadiness in jṣāna should tolerate them. He who can tolerate the agitation (vegam) in the form of disturbances and problems to mind, eye or other organs, arising from lust and anger, he who can control them (soḍhum) at the time they arise (iha), by the joy of realization of ātmā, until the time he gives up the body, has attained samādhi in realization of ātmā (yuktaḥ), and he is blissful with realization of ātmā (sukhī). Therefore, with intense effort one must tolerate these disturbances.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

One has to question himself: "Here I am, and how long do I have to tolerate this?" Sometimes we review Krsna consciousness like "one day we will wake up and suddenly will become liberated, maya will be gone, we will not have to strugle with our mind with its attractions and repulsions". This is a dream practically speaking. This verse answers this question: "How long I must tolerate this situation?" Until this body is dead. Until then we have to tolerate all this. We must learn to tolerate it now and not just surrender to any stupid, foolish and whimsical desire that our mind comes up with. We might as well realize that we will go on practicing the tolerance of the mind until the body drops down dead. And how is it possible to be so tolerant? By fixing one's consciousness on the Supersoul or Krsna. One can not do it without that. One cannot tolerate the pushings and pullings of the mind unless one's consciousness is fixed on the Supreme Lord. Then one can be happy in this world, if one learns how to do that. Whether one is practicing to do that or whether one has already achieved it, one should not take pleasure in the sources of misery. One should not rejoice when achieving something pleasurable nor lament upon obtaining something unpleasant has to be self‑intelligent. " A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self‑intelligent, w unbewildered, and who knows the science of God, is already situated in transcendence."(Text 20) One has to know the science of God ‑ that is called "to be fixed up".

[ 2 . Tolerating and checking bodily and mental urges, his happiness, activities, and goals are within. He works for the welfare of all, is free from sin, is absorbed in endeavoring for perfection, and is soon liberated in the Supreme. (24‑26) ]

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

Tolerate the urges till the end of life – One should patiently tolerate the “urges of material senses”

and the “forces of desire and anger” before giving up this present body

Focus of Learning

(a) Liberated soul is not interested in material pleasures – enjoys unlimited transcendental bliss

Ref. Padma Purana – “Ramante yogino...”
Meaning of ‘Rama’ – Mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasure from the Absolute Truth, therefore Supreme Absolute Truth is known as Rama
SB. 5.5.1 (Teachings of Lord Rsbhadeva)
Human life should not be used to labor very hard for sense pleasure like stool-eaters (hogs)
Human Life should be used for performing penances and purifying the existence
As a result of proper penances, you will enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss

(a) Example of higher taste – Yamunacarya

(b) Brahma-yoga stage – One who is absorbed in Krishna consciousness, looses taste for sense

pleasure

(c) Test in spiritual realization – One can work with great vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids

Highest material pleasure – sex pleasure:
Spiritual realisation and sex pleasure go ill together

(d) Krishna conscious person is not attracted to any kind of sense pleasure, due to his being liberated

soul

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 5.23 & 5.24:

The pleasure of spiritual realization is the topic of the next verse

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.23 Yah saknoti, one who can, is able to; sodhum, withstand; iha eva, here itself, while alive; prak, before; sarira-vimoksanat, departing from the body, till death-. Death is put as a limit because the impulse of desire and anger is certanily inevitable for a living person. For this impulse has got infinite sources. One should not relax until his death. That is the idea. Kama, desire, is the hankering, thirst, with regard to a coveted object-of an earlier experience, and which is a source of pleasure-when it comes within the range of the senses, or is heard of or remembered. And krodha, anger, is that repulsion one has against what are adverse to oneself and are sources of sorrow, when they are seen, heard of or remembered. That impulse (veda) which has those desire and anger as its source (udbhava) is kama-krodha-udbhava-vegah. The impulse arising from desire is a kind of mental agitation, and has the signs of horripilation, joyful eyes, face, etc. The impulse of anger has the signs of trembling of body, perspiration, bitting of lips, red eyes, etc. He who is able to withstand that impulse arising from desire and anger, sah narah, that man; is yuktah, a yogi; and sukhi, is happy, in this world. What kind of a person, being established in Brahman, attains Brahman? The Lord says:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.23 When a man is able to withstand, i.e., to control the impulses of emotions like desire and anger by his longing for the experience of self, he is released 'here itself from the body,' i.e., even during the state when he is practising the means for release, he gains the capacity for experiencing the self. But he becomes blessed by the experience and gets immersed in the bliss of the self only after the fall of the body (at the end of his Prarabdha or operative Karma). [The implication is that in this system there is no Jivan-Mukti or complete liberation even when the body is alive. Only the state of Sthita-prajna or of 'one of steady wisdom' can be attained by an embodied Jiva.]
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.23 Saknoti etc. It is not easy to accomplish this; [for], if this force of wrath and desire, hard to bear is endured till the last moment of the body, not for a moment alone-then is the total Bliss achievement.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.23 He who is able, while still here (in this world) to withstand, before the liberation from the body, the impulse born out of desire and anger he is a Yogi, he is a happy man.
Commentary

5.23 शक्नोति is able? इह here (in this world)? एव even? यः who? सोढुम् to withstand? प्राक् before? शरीरविमोक्षणात् liberation from the body? कामक्रोधोद्भवम् born out of desire and anger? वेगम् the impulse? सः he? युक्तः united? सः he? सुखी happy? नरः man.Commentary Yukta means harmonised or steadfast in Yoga or selfabiding.Desire and anger are powerful enemies of peace. It is very difficult to annihilate them. You will have to make very strong efforts to destroy these enemies.When the word Kama (desire) is used in a general sense it includes all sorts of desires. It means lust in a special sense.While still here means while yet living. The impulse of desire is the agitation of the mind which is indicated by hairs standing on end and cheerful face. The impulse of anger is agitation of the mind which is indicated by fiery eyes? perspiration? biting of the lips and trembling of the body. In this verse you will clearly understand that he who has controlled desire and anger is the most happy man in this world? nor he who has immense wealth? a beautiful wife and beautiful children. Therefore you must try your level best to eradicate desire and anger? the dreadful enemies of eternal bliss.Kama (desire) is longing for a pleasant and agreeable object which gives pleasure and which is seen? heard of? or remembered. Anger is aversion towards an unpleasant and disagreeable object which gives pain and which is seen? heard or? or remembered.A Yogi controls the impulse born of desire and anger? destroyes the currents of likes and dislikes,and attains to eanimity of the mind? by resting in the innermost Self? and so he is very happy.(Cf.VI.18)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.23 One who can withstand here itself-before departing from the body-the impulse arising from desire and anger, that man is a yogi; he is happy.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.23 He who, before he leaves his body, learns to surmount the promptings of desire and anger is a saint and is happy.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Arjava (Simplicity / Straightforwardness)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
BG 2.62 BG 2.63 BG 16.21 SB 7.15.22 SB 11.14.29 SB 5.5.1 CC Madhya 19.160 CC Antya 6.220 CC Madhya 22.32 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.24BRS 1.2.256
Concepts
Maya
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
He who tolerates the urges of desire and anger before leaving the body is a yogi, happy in this world.
Practical Applications
  • Treat tolerance of desire and anger as the trial-ground.
  • Don't react instantly; let the urge crest and pass.
  • Build a few-second pause as a rule before action under those urges.
Reflection Questions
  • Which urge has had the most grip on me lately?
  • What is my reliable practice for letting it pass?
Analogy

A wave rises in the sea — a desire, an angry surge — and either crashes over the boat or passes under it. The skilled boatman waits out the wave; he does not paddle into it or away from it. He simply tolerates the crest. The yogī's discipline is the boatman's: let the wave crest and pass; do not act inside its arc.

Stories
Haridāsa Ṭhākura and the prostitute

The atheist landlord Rāmacandra Khāñ sent a beautiful prostitute to seduce Haridāsa Ṭhākura. She came three nights in a row, sitting before him as he chanted his three lakhs of names. He simply continued chanting and asked her to wait until his quota was finished.

Desire and anger had every opportunity to crest in him — desire at her presence, anger at the landlord's scheme. He did neither. He tolerated the urges. By the third night the prostitute herself was transformed; she fell at his feet, begged initiation, and became a great devotee.

Śaknoti soḍhum prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt kāma-krodha-udbhavaṁ vegam. Haridāsa is the verse's living definition of yuktaḥ and sukhī — the man happy in this world because the urges crest in him and pass through him.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.24

↗
యోఽన్త:సుఖోఽన్తరారామస్తథాన్తర్జ్యోతిరేవ య: । స యోగీ బ్రహ్మనిర్వాణం బ్రహ్మభూతోఽధిగచ్ఛతి ॥ ౨౪ ॥
yo ’ntaḥ-sukho ’ntar-ārāmas
[yo ’ntah-sukho ’ntar-aaraamas]
tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ
[tathaantar-jyotir eva yah]
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ
[sa yogee brahma-nirvaanam]
brahma-bhūto ’dhigacchati
[brahma-bhooto ’dhigachchati]
Word-for-word
yaḥ — one who antaḥ - sukhaḥ — happy from within antaḥ - ārāmaḥ — actively enjoying within tathā — as well as antaḥ - jyotiḥ — aiming within eva — certainly yaḥ — anyone saḥ — he yogī — a mystic brahma - nirvāṇam — liberation in the Supreme brahma - bhūtaḥ — being self-realized adhigacchati — attains .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yo ’ntaḥ-sukho ’ntar-ārāmas
tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ
yaḥ
one who
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ
antaḥ - sukhaḥ
happy from within
antaḥ - ārāmaḥ
actively enjoying within
tathā
as well as
antaḥ - jyotiḥ
aiming within
eva
certainly
yaḥ
anyone
saḥ
he
yogī
a mystic
brahma-bhūto ’dhigacchati
brahma - nirvāṇam
liberation in the Supreme
brahma - bhūtaḥ
being self-realized
adhigacchati
attains .
Important Words
  • antaḥ-sukhaḥ — happy from within
    Antaḥ — within. Sukha — happiness. The location of the happiness is interior; the yogī carries his happiness inside the body the way a deity carries a sanctum inside a temple.
  • antaḥ-ārāmaḥ — actively enjoying within
    Ārāma — garden, place of pleasure. The same word from which Rāma's name is derived in some etymologies. The yogī's pleasure-garden is interior. The metaphor is gentle: it is a garden, not a fortress.
  • antaḥ-jyotiḥ — aiming within
    Jyotiḥ — light. The yogī's light is interior. Compare the lamp metaphor in 6.19 — yathā dīpo nivāta-stho. The Gītā's image-vocabulary for inner spiritual life centers on lamps and lights.
  • brahma-nirvāṇam — liberation in the Supreme
    Nirvāṇa — extinction, blowing out. Paired with brahma it names the extinguishing of false ego and material identification, not the annihilation of the jīva. Acintya-bhedābheda: the soul rests in the brahman effulgence as a ray rests in the sun — one in quality, distinct in person, free to render eternal service.
  • brahma-bhūtaḥ — being self-realized
    Brahma + bhūta — 'become brahman.' The yogī has not merely approached or studied; he has structurally become. The same word is celebrated in 18.54 (brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā). It is the technical state of having transitioned to spiritual identity.
One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.
Purport

Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires external material happiness. This state is called brahma-bhūta, attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
24. He whose happiness is within, whose enjoyment is within, and whose sight is within, is a yogī, and, having attained the stage of Brahman, attains liberation.
Commentary

This verse states that one who transcends saṁsāra attains realization of the state of Brahman, which is happiness. He who has happiness in the soul (antara), because he enjoys in the soul (not by external objects), and therefore directs his vision to the soul (antar jyotiḥ), attains the happiness of Brahman. [Note: Later Viśvanātha comments that this phrase means liberation.]

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
24. This niṣkāma karma yogī, whose happiness is within, whose enjoyment is within, and whose sight is within, having realized ātmā and then paramātmā, attains liberation.
Commentary

This verse explains that, by this joy, he conquers the disturbance. He who has happiness through realizing the ātmā within, whose has amusement through that realization (ārāmaḥ), whose vision is concentrated upon the ātmā alone (antar jyotiḥ)—such a niṣkāma karma yogī (sa yogī), having attained his svarūpa as the pure jīva (brahma bhūtaḥ), attains paramātmā (brahma), who is the very form of liberation. By attaining the Lord he attains liberation (nirvāṇam).

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

This Section (17‑26), describes liberation which comes through fixing one's consciousness on the Supersoul. That knowledge that one is not the body, that is not enough. Bhakti, knowledge of the Supreme Lord is needed for all kinds of liberation ‑ even Brahman realization, even Paramatma realization and of course, Bhagavan realization. Srila Prabhupada says in his Purport: "Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience.[This is his secret, he is factually experienced in Krsna and therefore it is for him to tolerate from "eating mud" because he is drinking "nectar" and "eating sweetmeats". So where is this taste for mud? This is the secret of Krsna consciousness and getting out of maya ‑ one has to get the higher taste of Krsna consciousness urgently. One has to chant, hear, to get association, otherwise one will not be able to tolerate these urges after a long period of time]." He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires external material happiness. This state is called brahma‑bhuta, attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home."

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

Higher taste – One gets the strength to tolerate the sensual urges by focussing his happiness,

activities and goals inward

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 5.24 AND 5.25:

Krishna gives more symptoms of one seeking satisfaction in spirit, not matter

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.24 Yah antah-sukhah, one who is happy within, in the indwelling Self; and so also antar-aramah, has pleasure within-he disports only in the Self within; similarly, antar-jyotih eva, has his light only within, has the indwelling Self alone as his light; [He has not to depend on the organs like ear etc. for aciring knowledge.] sah yogi, that yogi; yah, who is of this kind; brahma-bhutah, having become Brahman, even while he is still living; adhigacchati, attains; brahma-nirvanam, absorption in Brahman-gets Liberation. Besides,
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.24 He who, renouncing all the experiences of outside objects, 'finds joy within,' i.e., finds his sole joy in experiencing the self; 'who has his pleasure within,' i.e., whose pleasure-garden is the self; and with regard to whom the self increases his happiness by Its own alities like bliss, knowledge, sinlessness, etc.; 'whose light is within,' i.e., who lives, directing his knowledge solely on the self - a person of such a description is the Yogin, who 'having become the Brahman (the self), attains the bliss of the Brahman' i.e., the bliss of experiencing the self.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.24 Yo'ntah etc : Within : For him there is happiness nowhere but within and it does not depend on any external object ; there alone he rejoices; his lustre is there only. But, there is an apparent ignorance [of him] in his worldly dealings. That has been said as - '[A man of realisation] would wander, like a fool, with no inclination for discussion.' (PS, 71)
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.24 He who is happy within, who rejoices within, and who is illuminated within, that Yogi attains absolute freedom or Moksha, himself becoming Brahman.
Commentary

5.24 यः who? अन्तःसुखः one whose happiness is within? अन्तरारामः one who rejoices within? तथा also? अन्तर्ज्योतिः one who is illuminated within? एव even? यः who? सः that? योगी Yogi? ब्रह्मनिर्वाणम् absolute freedom or Moksha? ब्रह्मभूतः becoming Brahman? अधिगच्छति attains.Commentary Within meansin the Self. He attains Brahmanirvanam or liberation while living. He becomes a Jivanmukta.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.24 One who is happy within, whose pleasure is within, and who has his light only within, that yogi, having become Brahman, attains absorption in Brahman.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.24 He who is happy within his Self and has found Its peace, and in whom the inner light shines, that sage attains Eternal Bliss and becomes the Spirit Itself.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 6.27 BG 6.28 BG 18.54 SB 1.2.6 SB 7.9.43 SB 11.14.12 CC Madhya 8.70 CC Madhya 19.149 CC Antya 15.19 Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7.1Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.21
Concepts
NirvanaMaya
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
He who finds happiness within, joy within, illumination within — that yogi attains liberation in Brahman.
Practical Applications
  • Practice locating the source of joy as inner.
  • Reduce the externals you depend on for illumination.
  • Trust the inner light when outer circumstances dim.
Reflection Questions
  • When was I last lit from within?
  • What practice rekindles that light?
Analogy

A lamp lit in the interior of a sealed chamber needs no external fuel and no external air — it burns by its own fuel within. The yogī becomes such a lamp: happiness within, joy within, illumination within. Once the inner combustion is established, the outside weather of the world ceases to threaten the flame.

Stories
Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Vṛndāvana forests

After renouncing his ministership under the Bengal sultan, Sanātana Gosvāmī spent his last decades in the Vṛndāvana forests. He had no possessions, lived under different trees on different nights, ate what alms came, suffered an intense skin disease in old age.

Visitors who came expecting to find a sad ascetic found instead a man overflowing with joy. He spent his days writing the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta and the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, both works saturated with the sweetness of Vraja. He had nothing without, and he was full within.

Yaḥ antaḥ-sukhaḥ antaḥ-ārāmaḥ tathā antaḥ-jyotiḥ — the threefold inner location of his life. He had reached the state where outer circumstances had become indifferent because the inner light was burning at full brightness.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.25

↗
లభన్తే బ్రహ్మనిర్వాణమృషయ: క్షీణకల్మషా: । ఛిన్నద్వైధా యతాత్మాన: సర్వభూతహితే రతా: ॥ ౨౫ ॥
labhante brahma-nirvāṇam
[labhante brahma-nirvaanam]
ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ
[rishayah ksheena-kalmashaah]
chinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ
[chinna-dvaidhaa yataatmaanah]
sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ
[sarva-bhoota-hite rataah]
Word-for-word
labhante — achieve brahma - nirvāṇam — liberation in the Supreme ṛṣayaḥ — those who are active within kṣīṇa - kalmaṣāḥ — who are devoid of all sins chinna — having torn off dvaidhāḥ — duality yata - ātmānaḥ — engaged in self-realization sarva - bhūta — for all living entities hite — in welfare work ratāḥ — engaged .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
labhante brahma-nirvāṇam
labhante
achieve
brahma - nirvāṇam
liberation in the Supreme
ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ
ṛṣayaḥ
those who are active within
kṣīṇa - kalmaṣāḥ
who are devoid of all sins
chinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ
chinna
having torn off
dvaidhāḥ
duality
yata - ātmānaḥ
engaged in self-realization
sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ
sarva - bhūta
for all living entities
hite
in welfare work
ratāḥ
engaged .
Important Words
  • ṛṣayaḥ — those who are active within
    From √ṛṣ — 'to flow, to move.' Or alternatively from a root meaning 'to see.' The ṛṣi is one in whom inner movement and inner vision are joined. Prabhupāda glosses the word here in its activity-aspect.
  • kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ — who are devoid of all sins
    Kṣīṇa — exhausted, worn away. Kalmaṣa — stain, as in 5.17. The compound names the completion of the cleansing process. Liberation does not require sinlessness from the start; it requires the kṣaya of accumulated stain.
  • chinna-dvaidhāḥ — having torn off duality
    Chinna — cut, torn. Dvaidha — twoness, doubt. The duality-fabric is not unpicked stitch by stitch but ripped through. Compare nirdvandvaḥ in verse 3 — the chapter returns to the dvandva-question with stronger language.
  • ratāḥ — engaged
    From √ram — 'to take delight, to rest in.' The same root as ramate in verse 22, here negated of sense-pleasures. The liberated soul's delight has not vanished; it has migrated from personal fruits to sarva-bhūta-hita, the welfare of all beings.
  • yata-ātmānaḥ — engaged in self-realization
    Yata — controlled, restrained. The same root behind yati, a renunciate. The ṛṣi has brought his own ātmā into his hand. Self-control is the foundation on which the outward turn to sarva-bhūta-hita stands; without it, welfare work degenerates into self-promotion.
Those who are beyond the dualities that arise from doubts, whose minds are engaged within, who are always busy working for the welfare of all living beings and who are free from all sins achieve liberation in the Supreme.
Purport

Only a person who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities. When a person is actually in the knowledge that Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are due to forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor and the supreme friend. Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work. One cannot be engaged in such first-class welfare work without being liberated in the Supreme. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has no doubt about the supremacy of Kṛṣṇa. He has no doubt because he is completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love. A person engaged only in ministering to the physical welfare of human society cannot factually help anyone. Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not satisfactory. The real cause of one’s difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one’s forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord. When a man is fully conscious of his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he is actually a liberated soul, although he may be in the material tabernacle.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
25. The sages, devoid of ignorance, devoid of dualities, with controlled mind, engaged in the welfare of all beings, attain liberation.
Commentary

This verse shows how many persons attain perfection through this practice.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
25. The sages, devoid of ignorance, devoid of dualities, with controlled mind, engaged in the welfare of all beings, attain liberation.
Commentary

This verse explains that many people attain perfection through this sādhana. Those who have vision of the truth (ṛṣayaḥ), who have all their doubts destroyed (china dvaidhā), (who have destroyed all ignorance, controlled their minds and are engage in the welfare of all beings) attain paramātmā and liberation.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

This looks very difficult. One may think is possible but it will take him long time. So, Krsna speaks the text 26.

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

He engages in purifying his external activities by working for the benefit of others

He is beyond the dualities that arise from doubts
Minds are engaged within
Thus one is free from all sins and achieves Brahma-nirvana stage or liberation in the Supreme

Focus of Learning

(a) Brahma-bhuta stage (Liberated platform)

To enjoy happiness by factual experience within
No longer interested in material external happiness

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF TEXT 5.24

We must get a higher taste. It is urgent. We have to hear, chant and have good

association; otherwise, we will be unable to tolerate the urges of the senses over time.

(a) Forces of senses – Six urges i.e. speech, anger, mind, tongue, stomach, genitals

(b) Duty of transcendentalists – To strenuously try to control desire and anger

Material desires if un-satiated creates anger : Mind, eyes and chest becomes agitated
Why to tolerate – One must practice to control them before one gives up this material body to make steady progress on spiritual path and achieve transcendental bliss

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF TEXT 5.23

How long will we have to tolerate the pushings of the mind and senses? Does maya give up? One day, do we wake up liberated, freed from the impediments caused by the mind and senses? This verse answers that sense attraction must be tolerated until death.
We can remain tolerant by fixing our consciousness on Krishna. The pleasure of Krishna consciousness, combined with the conviction that nothing in this world can bring lasting happiness, will help us tolerate the pushings of the body and mind.

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 5.24 & 5.25: After reading Text 5.24 and 5.25, we may think that achieving

liberation is too difficult, and we may become discouraged. In Text 5.24, Srila Prabhupada’s translation

uses the word “ultimately,” as if to caution us that the result won’t be quickly achieved. Similarly, the

qualities mentioned in these two verses are rarely found.

In the next verse, however, Krishna speaks reassuringly.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.25 Rsayah, the seers, those who have full realization, the monks; ksina-kalmasah, whose sins, defects like sin etc., have been attenuated; chinna-dvaidhah, who are freed from doubt; yata-atmanah, whose organs are under control; ratah, who are engaged; sarvabhutahite, in doing good to all beings-favourably disposed towards all, i.e. harmless; labhante, attain; brahma-nirvanam, absorption in Brahman, Liberation. Further,
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.25 The sages are seers who are devoted to the vision of the self. For them the pairs of opposites are annulled; i.e., they are freed from pairs of opposites like cold and heat, etc. 'They have their minds well subdued,' i.e., their minds are directed to the self. 'They are devoted to the welfare of all beings,' i.e., they are interested in the welfare of all beings like their own selves. Those persons who are like this have all their impurities, which are incompatible with the attainment of the self, annulled, and they attain to the bliss of the Brahman. For those possessing the characteristics mentioned above, Sri Krsna now teaches that the Brahman is easy to attain.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.25 Labhante etc. This [goal] is however possible to attain for those in whom the double knots in the form of dualism and doubt have been cut off.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.25 The sages (Rishis) obtain absolute freedom or Moksha they whose sins have been destroyed, whose dualities (perception of dualities or experience of the pairs of opposites) are torn asunder, who are self-controlled, and intent on the welfare of all beings.
Commentary

5.25 लभन्ते obtain? ब्रह्मनिर्वाणम् absolute freedom? ऋषयः the Rishis? क्षीणकल्मषाः those whose sins are destroyed? छिन्नद्वैधाः whose dualities are torn asunder? यतात्मानः those who are selfcontrolled? सर्वभूतहिते in the welfare of all beings? रताः rejoicing.Commentary Sins are destroyed by the performance of Agnihotra (a daily obligatoyr ritual) and other Yajnas (vide notes on verse III. 13) without expectation of their fruits and by other selfless services. The duties vanish by constant meditation on the nondual Brahman. He never hurts others in thought? word and deed? and he is devoted to the welfare of all beings as he feels that all beings are but his own Self. (Cf.XII.4)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.25 The seers whose sins have been attenuated, who are freed from doubt, whose organs are under control, who are engaged in doing good to all beings, attain absorption in Brahman.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.25 Sages whose sins have been washed away, whose sense of separateness has vanished, who have subdued themselves, and seek only the welfare of all, come to the Eternal Spirit.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 12.4 BG 12.13 BG 5.26 SB 7.9.43 SB 11.2.46 SB 1.4.12 CC Madhya 7.128 CC Ādi 9.41 CC Antya 3.258 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.9BRS 1.2.187
Concepts
Nirvana
Sciences essays referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Sages whose sins are destroyed, whose dualities are torn, who are self-controlled and engaged in welfare of all beings — attain liberation.
Practical Applications
  • Aim for both — purification and active welfare of others.
  • Recognize that liberation is connected to caring for all beings, not just for oneself.
  • Engage in some welfare-oriented work this season.
Reflection Questions
  • Where is my path becoming too inward and skipping welfare?
  • What welfare work fits my capacity?
Analogy

A skilled gardener clears the weeds in his own plot and then tends the neighbor's garden too — because the work of clearing has revealed that all gardens drink from the same water. The ṛṣis whose sins are cleared turn naturally to sarva-bhūta-hite, the welfare of all beings. The two movements are inseparable.

Stories
Vālmīki's transformation

Vālmīki, who had been a highway robber, was transformed by chanting the name of Rāma (in inverted form, mara-mara, as tradition tells it). His past sins were cleared away over years of austerity. Yet his liberation did not turn him inward and silent.

When Nārada came and told him the story of Rāma, Vālmīki gave the rest of his life to composing the Rāmāyaṇa — a poem of twenty-four thousand verses meant for the welfare of every soul who would ever read or hear it. He sheltered the exiled Sītā and her sons in his āśrama; he taught Lava and Kuśa to sing the Rāmāyaṇa back to its protagonist.

Kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ... sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ. The cleared one became the great well-wisher. The verse is Vālmīki's biography compressed.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.26

↗
కామక్రోధవిముక్తానాం యతీనాం యతచేతసామ్ । అభితో బ్రహ్మనిర్వాణం వర్తతే విదితాత్మనామ్ ॥ ౨౬ ॥
kāma-krodha-vimuktānāṁ
[kaama-krodha-vimuktaanaam]
yatīnāṁ yata-cetasām
[yateenaam yata-chetasaam]
abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ
[abhito brahma-nirvaanam]
vartate viditātmanām
[vartate viditaatmanaam]
Word-for-word
kāma — from desires krodha — and anger vimuktānām — of those who are liberated yatīnām — of the saintly persons yata - cetasām — who have full control over the mind abhitaḥ — assured in the near future brahma - nirvāṇam — liberation in the Supreme vartate — is there vidita - ātmanām — of those who are self-realized .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kāma-krodha-vimuktānāṁ
kāma
from desires
krodha
and anger
vimuktānām
of those who are liberated
yatīnāṁ yata-cetasām
yatīnām
of the saintly persons
yata - cetasām
who have full control over the mind
abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ
abhitaḥ
assured in the near future
brahma - nirvāṇam
liberation in the Supreme
vartate
is there
vartate viditātmanām
vidita - ātmanām
of those who are self-realized .
Important Words
  • kāma-krodha-vimuktānām — of those liberated from desire and anger
    Vi + mukta — 'thoroughly released.' The two great enemies named together. The chapter has been circling these two from verse 23; here, freedom from them is the named qualification for near-liberation.
  • yatīnām — of the saintly persons
    From √yam — 'to restrain.' The yati is one who restrains. The same root behind yoga, yama. The yati's restraint is what makes the next word — yata-cetas, restrained mind — possible. Discipline of the senses precedes discipline of the mind.
  • yata-cetasām — who have full control over the mind
    Yata-cetas — 'restrained-minded.' The compound names a structural condition. Cetas is the inner instrument including thought, feeling, and intention. Bringing it under restraint is the harder of the two restraints.
  • abhitaḥ — assured in the near future
    From abhi + tas — 'all around, on every side, near.' Liberation surrounds them on every side, available from every direction. Prabhupāda's gloss 'in the near future' captures the temporal sense; the spatial sense is equally present — they are encircled by nirvāṇa.
  • vidita-ātmanām — of those who are self-realized
    Vidita — known. From √vid, same root as veda. The self is the known. The compound is past-passive: the self has been known. This is not a process anymore but an accomplished fact.
Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.
Purport

Of the saintly persons who are constantly engaged in striving toward salvation, one who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the best of all. The Bhāgavatam (4.22.39) confirms this fact as follows: yat-pāda-paṅkaja-palāśa-vilāsa-bhaktyā karmāśayaṁ grathitam udgrathayanti santaḥ tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo ’pi ruddha- sroto-gaṇās tam araṇaṁ bhaja vāsudevam “Just try to worship, in devotional service, Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even great sages are not able to control the forces of the senses as effectively as those who are engaged in transcendental bliss by serving the lotus feet of the Lord, uprooting the deep-grown desire for fruitive activities.” In the conditioned soul the desire to enjoy the fruitive results of work is so deep-rooted that it is very difficult even for the great sages to control such desires, despite great endeavors. A devotee of the Lord, constantly engaged in devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, perfect in self-realization, very quickly attains liberation in the Supreme. Owing to his complete knowledge in self-realization, he always remains in trance. To cite an analogous example of this: darśana-dhyāna-saṁsparśair matsya-kūrma-vihaṅgamāḥ svāny apatyāni puṣṇanti tathāham api padma-ja “By vision, by meditation and by touch only do the fish, the tortoise and the birds maintain their offspring. Similarly do I also, O Padmaja!” The fish brings up its offspring simply by looking at them. The tortoise brings up its offspring simply by meditation. The eggs of the tortoise are laid on land, and the tortoise meditates on the eggs while in the water. Similarly, the devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, although far away from the Lord’s abode, can elevate himself to that abode simply by thinking of Him constantly – by engagement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He does not feel the pangs of material miseries; this state of life is called brahma-nirvāṇa, or the absence of material miseries due to being constantly immersed in the Supreme.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
26. Those who have become free of lust and anger, who sincerely endeavor, and who, having weakened the subtle body, have realized Paramātmā, soon attain brahma-nirvāṇa liberation. 27-28. That person, keeping the sense objects outside, focusing the eyes between the brows, equalizing the prāṇa and apāna moving in the nostrils, and thus controlling the senses, mind and intelligence, completely dedicated to liberation, thus freed from desire, fear and anger, is ever liberated.
Commentary

When will those who have realized the soul and then Paramātmā (viditāmanām) attain the happiness of brahma nirvāṇa? This verse explains. Yat-cetasām means those who have reduced the functions of the mind, weakened the subtle body. Being freed from lust and anger, and having weakened the functions of the mind, they attain brahma-nirvāṇa completely, in all ways (abhitaḥ). This means without much delay, they attain brahma-nirvāṇa.

The heart becomes purified by performance of niṣkāma-karma-yoga offered to the Lord. Then arises jṣāna, whose subject is the soul (tvam). Then arises bhakti, for gaining knowledge of the Lord, Paramātmā (tat). By the appearance of that knowledge of the Lord which is beyond the modes, one gains realization of Brahman. This has been stated in this chapter. Now in three verses (27-29), the Lord speaks in abbreviated form what He will explain in the sixth chapter: that the process of aṣṭāṅga-yoga, practiced after having purified the heart by niṣkāma-karma-yoga, is shown to be superior to the process of jṣāna-yoga for producing realization of Brahman. The word sparśān (touches) stands for all the sense objects—sound, touch, form, taste and smell. Externalizing these from the mind when they enter, that is, withdrawing the mind from the sense objects (pratyāhāra), placing the eyes between the eye brows, with half closed eyes, the yogī should fix his glance between the brows in order to prevent both sleep and wandering eyes. By extinguishing the upward and downward motions of the prāṇa and apāna which move in the nostrils through inhaling and exhaling, one makes them equal. By that means, the senses, mind and intelligence are brought under control.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
26. Paramātmā and liberation attends in all respects upon those who have become free of lust and anger, who make endeavor, control the mind, and have realized the ātmā. 27-28. That person, keeping the sense objects outside, focusing the eyes between the brows, equalizing the prāṇa and apāna moving in the nostrils, and thus controlling the senses, mind and intelligence, completely dedicated to liberation, thus freed from desire, fear and anger, is ever liberated.
Commentary

The paramātmā indeed serves such persons. Paramātmā in all respects (abhitaḥ) attends upon (vartate) those persons who endeavor in this way (yatīnām). It is said: darśana-dhyāna-saṁsparśair matsya-kūrma-vihaṅgamāḥ svāny apatyāni puṣṇanti tathāham api padmaja The fish nourishes its offspring by seeing, the turtle by meditation, and the birds by touch. I nourish My devotees with similar affection, O Brahmā. Padma Purāṇa Bg 5.27, Bg 5.28, Bg 5.27-28 SPaXaaRNk*-Tva bihbaRḥa&ê+auêEvaNTare >a]uvae" ) Pa[a<aaPaaNaaE SaMaaE k*-Tva NaaSaa>YaNTarcair<aaE )) 27 )) YaTaeiNd]YaMaNaaebuiṬMauRiNaMaaeR+aParaYa<a" ) ivGaTaeC^a>aYa§-aeDaae Ya" Sada Mau¢- Wv Sa" )) 28 )) sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṁś cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau yatendriya-mano-buddhir munir mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ sparśān—sense objects, such as sound; kṛtvā—keeping; bahiḥ—external; bāhyān—unnecessary; cakṣuḥ—eyes; ca—also; eva—certainly; antare—between; bhruvoḥ—the eyebrows; prāṇa-apānau—up-and down-moving air; samau—in suspension; kṛtvā—keeping; nāsa—abhyantara—within the nostrils; cāriṇau—blowing; yata—controlled; indriya—senses; manaḥ—mind; buddhiḥ—intelligence; muniḥ—the transcendentalist; mokṣa—for liberation; parāyaṇaḥ—being so destined; vigata—having discarded; icchā—wishes; bhaya—fear; krodhaḥ—anger; yaḥ—one who; sadā—always; muktaḥ—liberated; eva—certainly; saḥ—he is.

By performance of niṣkāma karma yoga the mind becomes purified. Then, when knowledge of ātmā arises, one should proceed to concentrate the mind upon seeing ātmā. This process of yoga with its aṅgas is described in two verses. The sense objects, though external (sparśān bāhyān), by being subjects of remembrance, enter into the mind. By giving up memories of those sensations, the mind withdraws from the sense objects (bahis kṛtya). The eyes should be focused between the brows. By completely closing the eyes, the mind will become inactive with sleep. If one keeps the eyes completely opened, they will wander externally. In order to prevent both sleep and wandering senses, one keeps the eyes half-closed, focused between the brows. By stopping up and down movements of the prāṇa and apāna moving in the nostrils, one makes them equal, performing kumbhaka. By this means, ones senses, mind and intelligence become fixed on seeing the ātmā (yatā). Such a person who is engaged in contemplating ātmā (muniḥ), whose only goal is liberation (mokṣa parāyaṇaḥ), being devoid of desire, fear and anger, is liberated at all times (sadā), at the time of perfection and even at the stage of sādhana.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Why in a near future if it is so difficult? This is explained by Srila Prabhupada in the verse of the Purport:

darsana‑dhyana‑samsparsair matsya‑kurma‑vihangamah svany apatyani pusnanti tathaham api padma ja

``By vision, by meditation and by touch only do the fish, the tortoise and the birds maintain their offspring. Similarly do I also, O Padmaja!'' The idea is that, because Krsna, if we focus our consciousness on Him, than Krsna meditates on the devotees. He sees their endeavor and He carries them to the supreme destination ‑ to His lotus feet, by His mercy. We can try and try but "daivi esa gunamayi, mama maya duratiya", this material energy is impossible to overcome". It is impossible to try to weed out all the anarthas in our heart, weed by weed, bit by bit. It seems like an impossible task. But we should work hard on it. And ultimately because Krsna sees our sincerity, our taste and attachment for achieving Him, and our faith and fixed‑up 'ness' in our spiritual master and in the process ‑ when He sees that, because He is meditating upon His bhaktas, He will pick us up from the material world. That is the way "in a very near future" even though it is difficult. This Section described the process of liberation through 'karma' or work in knowledge. But not just knowledge that we aren't our body, but knowledge of the Supersoul. The next Section (27‑28) describes how to achieve that same liberated condition through 'astanga‑yoga', shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes...

[ E . PRELIMINARY: LIBERATION THROUGH ASTANGA‑YOGA (5. 27‑28) One can become free from desire, fear and anger ‑ fully liberated ‑ through astanga‑yoga. ]

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

By fixed meditation on Supersoul one soon attains liberation in near future. One is assured

liberation by:

Being free from anger and all material desires
By being self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.26 Yatinam, to the monks; yata-cetasam, who have control over their internal organ; kama-krodha-viyuktanam, who are free from desire and anger; vidita-atmanam, who have known the Self, i.e. who have full realization; vartate, there is; brahma-nir-vanam, absorption in Brahman, Liberation; abhitah, either way, whether living or dead. Immediate Liberation of the monks who are steadfast in full realization has been stated. And the Lord has said, and will say, at every stage that Karma-yoga, undertaken as a dedication to Brahman, to God, by surrendering all activities [The activities of body, mind and organs] to God, leads to Liberation through the stages of purification of the heart, attainment of Knowledge, and renunciation of all actions. Thereafter, now, with the idea, 'I shall speak elaborately of the yoga of meditation which is the proximate discipline for full realization,' the Lord gave instruction through some verses in the form of aphorisms:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.26 To those who are free from desire and wrath; 'who are wont to exert themselves' i.e., who are practising self-control; whose 'thought is controlled,' i.e., whose minds are subdued; 'who have conered them,' i.e., whose minds are under their control - to such persons the beatitude of the Brahman is close at hand. The beatitude of the Brahman is already in hand to persons of this type. Sri Krsna concludes the examination of Karma Yoga already stated, as reaching the highest point in the practice of mental concentration (Yoga) having for its object the vision of the self:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.26 Kama - etc. For them at all times i.e., at all stages, there is Brahman-Existence, the ultimately true one, and it does not look for the time of control [of the mind (mediation)]
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.26 Absolute freedom (or Brahmic bliss) exists on all sides for those self-controlled ascetics who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thoughts and who have realised the Self.
Commentary

5.26 कामक्रोधवियुक्तानाम् of those who are free from desire and anger? यतीनाम् of the selfcontrolled ascetics? यतचेतसाम् of those who have controlled their thoughts? अभितः on all sides? ब्रह्मनिर्वाणम् absolute freedom? वर्तते exists? विदितात्मनाम् of those who have realised the Self.Commentary Those who renounce all actions and practise Sravana (hearing of the scriptures)? Manana (reflection) and Nididhyasana (meditation)? who are established in Brahman or who are steadily devoted to the knowledge of the Self attain liberation or Moksha instantaneously (Kaivalya Moksha). Karma Yoga leads to Moksha step by step (Krama Mukti). First comes purification of the mind? then knowledge? then renunciation of all actions and eventually Moksha.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.26 To the monks who have control over their internal organ, who are free from desire and anger, who have known the Self, there is absorption in Brahman either way.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.26 Saints who know their Selves, who control their minds, and feel neither desire nor anger, find Eternal Bliss everywhere.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)
Related verses
BG 2.55 BG 16.21 BG 18.53 SB 11.19.36 SB 7.15.22 SB 4.22.24 CC Madhya 22.87 CC Antya 6.236 CC Madhya 19.176 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.20BRS 1.2.187
Concepts
MayaNirvana
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Those free from anger and desire, self-realized, with controlled minds, devoted to the Self — assured of liberation in the very near future.
Practical Applications
  • Note the actual qualifications: anger-free, desire-free, self-controlled.
  • Track your ongoing campaign against anger and desire.
  • Trust the proximity of liberation as you make progress.
Reflection Questions
  • Which of these qualifications is closest to fulfillment in me?
  • Which is furthest? What's my plan?
Analogy

A fruit ripening on the branch is not yet fallen, but for the gardener who has watched a thousand seasons the falling is already certain — abhitaḥ, very near. The yogī free of kāma and krodha, with mind controlled, is such a ripening fruit. Liberation is not a distant theory but the next step on a road already nearly walked.

Stories
Śukadeva Gosvāmī's near-passage

Śukadeva, son of Vyāsa, was born already perfected — kāma-krodha-vimukta from the womb. Tradition tells that he refused to leave his mother's body for twelve years until Kṛṣṇa Himself promised that māyā would not touch him.

When he did emerge, he walked through the world naked and silent, yata-cetasāṁ, with full control over the mind. He spoke the Bhāgavatam to King Parīkṣit over seven days and at the end he simply walked into the forest and was gone — abhitaḥ brahma-nirvāṇam, liberation in the very near future.

The verse describes Śuka's state. He was vidita-ātmā — self-realized — and liberation was already at hand. He merely walked into it when the speaking was done.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Section 5 (5.27–5.28)
LIBERATION THROUGH ASTANGA YOGA: A PREVIEW
Section overview
Practice of Astanga-yoga gives the same liberation

SECTION VI (5.29) — PEACE ON THE PLATFORM OF LIBERATION

A person in full consciousness of Krishna attains liberation from the pangs of material miseries

LINK BETWEEN SECTION IV & SECTION V: Krishna has now finished His discussion of how to gain

liberation by working in complete knowledge of the Supersoul. In the next two verses He explains how to

achieve that same liberated condition through astanga-yoga. These two texts introduce Chapter Six,

which covers astanga-yoga in detail

FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORT 5.26

(a) “Krishna Conscious person is the best of all salvationists” – Because effective control of senses is

done by focusing on Lotus Feet of Lord which uproots all the deep-grown desires of fruitive acts

(Ref. SB. 4.22.39)

(b) Analogy of meditation: Tortoise, Fish, Bird –

The tortoise brings up its offspring simply by meditation. The eggs of the tortoise are laid on land, and the tortoise meditates on the eggs while in the water
The fish brings up its offspring simply by looking at them
Birds maintain their offspring by touching
Similarly, the devotee in Krishna consciousness, although far away from the Lord's abode, can elevate himself to that abode simply by thinking of Him constantly—by engagement in Krishna consciousness.

(c) Brahma-nirvana: Stage of absence of material miseries due to being constantly immersed in the

Supreme

FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORT 5.25

(a) Highest welfare work – To revive the forgetfulness of Krishna being the Supreme enjoyer,

proprietor and well-wisher

(b) Who can engage in such welfare

One cannot engage in such first class welfare without being liberated in the Supreme
Therefore only one in full Krishna consciousness can perform such welfare

(c) What is the imperfect understanding of “welfare activities”

Physical welfare or temporary relief of external body and mind
Why it is imperfect – Because the real cause of one’s difficulties is “forgetfulness of one’s relationship with the Supreme Lord”

Bhagavad-gītā 5.27-28

↗
స్పర్శాన్కృత్వా బహిర్బాహ్యాంశ్చక్షుశ్చైవాన్తరే భ్రువో: । ప్రాణాపానౌ సమౌ కృత్వా నాసాభ్యన్తరచారిణౌ ॥ ౨౭ ॥ యతేన్ద్రియమనోబుద్ధిర్మునిర్మోక్షపరాయణ: । విగతేచ్ఛాభయక్రోధో య: సదా ముక్త ఏవ స: ॥ ౨౮ ॥
sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṁś
[sparshaan kritvaa bahir baahyaamsh]
cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ
[chakshush chaivaantare bhruvoh]
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā
[praanaapaanau samau kritvaa]
nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau
[naasaabhyantara-chaarinau]
yatendriya-mano-buddhir
[yatendriya-mano-buddhir]
munir mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ
[munir moksha-paraayanah]
vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho
[vigatechchaa-bhaya-krodho]
yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ
[yah sadaa mukta eva sah]
Word-for-word
sparśān — sense objects, such as sound kṛtvā — keeping bahiḥ — external bāhyān — unnecessary cakṣuḥ — eyes ca — also eva — certainly antare — between bhruvoḥ — the eyebrows prāṇa - apānau — up- and down-moving air samau — in suspension kṛtvā — keeping nāsa - abhyantara — within the nostrils cāriṇau — blowing yata — controlled indriya — senses manaḥ — mind buddhiḥ — intelligence muniḥ — the transcendentalist mokṣa — for liberation parāyaṇaḥ — being so destined vigata — having discarded icchā — wishes bhaya — fear krodhaḥ — anger yaḥ — one who sadā — always muktaḥ — liberated eva — certainly saḥ — he is .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṁś
sparśān
sense objects, such as sound
kṛtvā
keeping
bahiḥ
external
bāhyān
unnecessary
cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ
cakṣuḥ
eyes
ca
also
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā
nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau
yatendriya-mano-buddhir
munir mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ
vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho
yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ
eva
certainly
antare
between
bhruvoḥ
the eyebrows
prāṇa - apānau
up- and down-moving air
samau
in suspension
kṛtvā
keeping
nāsa - abhyantara
within the nostrils
cāriṇau
blowing
yata
controlled
indriya
senses
manaḥ
mind
buddhiḥ
intelligence
muniḥ
the transcendentalist
mokṣa
for liberation
parāyaṇaḥ
being so destined
vigata
having discarded
icchā
wishes
bhaya
fear
krodhaḥ
anger
yaḥ
one who
sadā
always
muktaḥ
liberated
eva
certainly
saḥ
he is .
Important Words
  • bāhyān — unnecessary, external
    From bāhya — external. The same root as bāhya-sparśeṣu in verse 21. The meditator's first act is to seal the doors of the city of nine gates against external sense-contact. Prabhupāda glosses 'unnecessary' to mark these contacts as expendable for the meditator, not essential.
  • prāṇa-apānau — up- and down-moving air
    Prāṇa — the upward vital current. Apāna — the downward. The two breaths are equalized — samau — suspending the normal in-out rhythm. This is a precise technical instruction from the haṭha-yoga tradition embedded in the Gītā.
  • yata-indriya-manaḥ-buddhiḥ — controlled senses, mind, and intelligence
    A triple-yoked compound. The discipline reaches inward: senses, then mind, then intelligence. Compare the three layers of verse 11; the chapter is consistent about the architecture of the human instrument.
  • muniḥ — the transcendentalist
    Returns from verse 6. The muni is the contemplative; here the contemplative is given the technical procedure. The chapter has steadily specified what the muni does, culminating in this two-verse meditation manual.
  • vigata-icchā-bhaya-krodhaḥ — having discarded wishes, fear, and anger
    Vigata — departed from. Three internal disturbances named together: icchā (desire), bhaya (fear), krodha (anger). Note that fear joins desire and anger here — Kṛṣṇa adds the third leg to the kāma-krodha pair the chapter has tracked.
Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows, suspending the inward and outward breaths within the nostrils, and thus controlling the mind, senses and intelligence, the transcendentalist aiming at liberation becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always in this state is certainly liberated.
Purport

Being engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can immediately understand one’s spiritual identity, and then one can understand the Supreme Lord by means of devotional service. When one is well situated in devotional service, one comes to the transcendental position, qualified to feel the presence of the Lord in the sphere of one’s activity. This particular position is called liberation in the Supreme. After explaining the above principles of liberation in the Supreme, the Lord gives instruction to Arjuna as to how one can come to that position by the practice of the mysticism or yoga known as aṣṭāṅga-yoga, which is divisible into an eightfold procedure called yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi. In the Sixth Chapter the subject of yoga is explicitly detailed, and at the end of the Fifth it is only preliminarily explained. One has to drive out the sense objects such as sound, touch, form, taste and smell by the pratyāhāra process in yoga, and then keep the vision of the eyes between the two eyebrows and concentrate on the tip of the nose with half-closed lids. There is no benefit in closing the eyes altogether, because then there is every chance of falling asleep. Nor is there benefit in opening the eyes completely, because then there is the hazard of being attracted by sense objects. The breathing movement is restrained within the nostrils by neutralizing the up-moving and down-moving air within the body. By practice of such yoga one is able to gain control over the senses, refrain from outward sense objects, and thus prepare oneself for liberation in the Supreme. This yoga process helps one become free from all kinds of fear and anger and thus feel the presence of the Supersoul in the transcendental situation. In other words, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the easiest process of executing yoga principles. This will be thoroughly explained in the next chapter. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person, however, being always engaged in devotional service, does not risk losing his senses to some other engagement. This is a better way of controlling the senses than by aṣṭāṅga-yoga.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

And then the last Section, Text 29, which explains the 'peace formula' since Arjuna, in the battlefield, is looking for some kind of peace. And this 'peace formula' is attained only on the platform of liberation, by focusing one's consciousness on the Supreme.

[ F . FORMULA FOR PEACE ON THE PLATFORM OF LIBERATION (5. 29) A person in full consciousness of Krsna, who knows Krsna as the supreme controller, and benefactor and well‑wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material desires.]

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

COMMON THEME: Introduction to astanga-yoga

People generally identify spirituality with inaction. They think sitting somewhere in forest is more spiritual than working in Karma-yoga. Lord Krishna makes the point that there is no difference between karma-yoga and astanga-yoga
Krishna tells how one may achieve same Supersoul realization through astanga-yoga (A preview to Chapter 6)
Also when one is thus purified in vision and activities by niskama-karma-yoga, only then one can begin and make advancement in astanga-yoga
SECTION VI (5.29)
PEACE ON THE PLATFORM OF LIBERATION

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SECTION VI

Fear is an uncertainty about the future and how the future may threaten one’s attachments, but one who is in Krishna consciousness is free from fear
He understands that Krishna is the Supreme controller and is benevolent. This confidence brings fearlessness
He is not attached to any material situation. His only concern is devotional service, which cannot be threatened by any material situation. Thus he is not fearful due to attachment
Individual attempts at world peace are impossible without first recognizing the real centre of existence by which all people can recognize their brotherhood. That centre is Sri Krishna
Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam – People fight over things they want to enjoy, but a wise person knows that Krishna is the only real enjoyer
Sarva-loka-mahesvaram – People fight to control land but Krishna is the only true owner for all properties and the common ruler of all rulers
Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam – A Krishna conscious person does not divide enemies from friends because he knows that Krishna is the friend of all living beings
Focus of Learning

(a) Krishna consciousness as “Transcendental position of liberation in the supreme” which includes

the following realizations:

One can immediately understand one’s spiritual position
One can understand the Supreme Lord by devotional service
One is qualified to feel the presence of the Lord everywhere

(b) Astanga-yoga helps by eight-fold means in following ways:

Becoming free from all fear, desire and anger
Control the senses, mind and intelligence
Feel the presence of Supersoul in transcendental situation

(c) What are the eight steps of astanga-yoga – yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara,

dharana, dhyana and Samadhi

(d) Krishna Consciousness as the easiest form of yoga – Krishna conscious person, being always

engaged in devotional service, does not risk losing his senses to some other engagement. Thus it is

a better way of controlling the senses than astanga-yoga

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.27 Krtva, keeping; bahyan, the external; sparsan, objects-sound etc.; bahih, outside: To one who does not pay attention to the external objects like sound etc., brought to the intellect through the ear etc., the objects become verily kept outside. Having kept them out in this way, and (keeping) the caksuh, eyes; antare, at the juncture; bhruvoh, of the eye-brows (-the word 'keeping' has to be supplied-); and similarly, samau krtva, making eal; prana-apanau, the outgoing and the incoming breaths; nasa-abhyantara-carinau, that move through the nostrils; munih, the contemplative-derived (from the root man) in the sense of contemplating-, the monk; yata-indriya-mano-buddhih, who has control over his organs, mind and intellect; should be moksa-para-yanah, fully intent on Liberation-keeping his body is such a posture, the contemplative should have Liberation itself as the supreme Goal. He should be vigata-iccha-bhaya-krodhah, free from desire, fear and anger. The monk yah, who; sada, ever remains thus; sah, he; is muktah yah, who;sada, ever remains thus; sah, he; is muktah, ever, verily free. He has no other Liberation to seek after. What is there to be realized by one who has his mind thus concentrated? The answer this is beig stated:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.27 - 5.28 'Shutting off all contact with outside objects,' i.e., stopping the outward functioning of the senses; seated with his trunk straightened in a posture fit for meditation (Yoga); 'fixing the gaze between the eye-brows,' i.e., at the root of the nose where the eye-brows meet; 'ealising inward and outward breaths,' i.e., making exhalatory and inhalatory breath move eally: making the senses, Manas and intellect no longer capable of anything except the vision of the self, conseently being free from 'desire, fear and wrath'; 'who is intent on release as his final goal,' i.e., having release as his only aim - the sage who is thus intent on the vision of the self 'is indeed liberated for ever,' i.e., he is almost a liberated person, as he would soon be in the ultimate stage of fruition. Sri Krsna now says that Karma Yoga, described above, which is facilitated by the performance of obligatory and occasional rites and which culminates in meditation (Yoga), is easy to practise:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.27 See Comment under 5.28
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.27 Shutting out (all) external contacts and fixing the gaze between the eyrow, ealising the outgoing and incoming breaths moving within the nostrils.
Commentary

5.27 स्पर्शान् contacts? कृत्वा बहिः shutting out? बाह्यान् external? चक्षुः eye (gaze)? च and? एव even? अन्तरे in the middle? भ्रुवोः of the (two) eyrows? प्राणापानौ the outgoing and incoming breaths? समौ eal? कृत्वा having made? नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ moving inside the nostrils.Commentary The verses 27 and 28 deal with the Yoga of meditation (Dhyana). External objects or contacts are the sound and the other senseobjects. If the mind does not think of the external objects they are shut out from the mind. The senses are the doors or avenues through which sound and the other senseobjects enter the mind.If you fix the gaze between the eyrows the eyalls remain fixed and steady. Rhythmical breathing is described here. You will have to make the breath rhythmical. The mind becomes steady when the breath becomes rhythmical. When the breath becomes rhythmical there is perfect harmony in the mind and the whole system. (Cf.VI.10?14VIII.10)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.27-5.28 Keeping the external objects outside, the eyes at the juncture of the eye-brows, and making eal the outgoing and incoming breaths that move through the nostrils, the contemplative who has control over his organs, mind and intellect should be fully intent on Liberation and free from desire, fear and anger. He who is ever is verily free.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.27 Excluding external objects, his gaze fixed between the eyebrows, the inward and outward breathings passing equally through his nostrils;
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 6.13 BG 6.25 BG 8.10 SB 2.2.19 SB 2.2.21 SB 3.28.11 CC Madhya 24.150 CC Madhya 22.104 CC Madhya 19.170 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 2.8Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.3.10
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Closing out external sense objects, fixing vision between the eyebrows, equalizing breath — the meditator free from desire, fear, and anger is forever liberated.
Practical Applications
  • If you take up formal meditation, do so under guidance — these techniques have specific contexts.
  • Honor the discipline of fixed posture and breath.
  • Don't dabble in subtle practices casually.
Reflection Questions
  • What formal practice fits my tradition and capacity?
  • Where is dabbling substituting for guided practice?
Analogy

An archer fixes his gaze, equalizes his breath, draws the bow with single attention, and the arrow flies true. The Gītā's meditator does the same with his own life: external objects sealed out, vision fixed between the brows, breath equalized, mind drawn back. The released arrow is the soul reaching liberation. Every element of the discipline is the archer's discipline.

Stories
Viśvāmitra's long austerity

Viśvāmitra, originally a kṣatriya king, undertook one of the longest meditative austerities recorded in the Itihāsas. He sat by the river fixed in posture for thousands of years — eyes turned inward, breath suspended, mind withdrawn from external sense-objects. The texts describe ants building hills around his motionless body.

Indra repeatedly tested him with celestial pleasures and provocations. At first he was disturbed — anger and desire would crest in him. Over time he established the discipline of this very verse: bāhya-sparśas sealed out, prāṇa-apāna equalized, indriya-manas-buddhi mastered.

He eventually attained the status of brahmarṣi. His success was the verse's procedure carried out for the long stretch most yogīs lack the patience for. The Gītā names the technique that Viśvāmitra spent millennia perfecting.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

Bhagavad-gītā 5.29

↗
భోక్తారం యజ్ఞతపసాం సర్వలోకమహేశ్వరమ్ । సుహృదం సర్వభూతానాం జ్ఞాత్వా మాం శాన్తిమృచ్ఛతి ॥ ౨౯ ॥
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
[bhoktaaram yajna-tapasaam]
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
[sarva-loka-maheshvaram]
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
[suhridam sarva-bhootaanaam]
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
[jnaatvaa maam shaantim richchati]
Word-for-word
bhoktāram — the beneficiary yajña — of sacrifices tapasām — and penances and austerities sarva - loka — of all planets and the demigods thereof mahā - īśvaram — the Supreme Lord su - hṛdam — the benefactor sarva — of all bhūtānām — the living entities jñātvā — thus knowing mām — Me (Lord Kṛṣṇa) śāntim — relief from material pangs ṛcchati — one achieves .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
bhoktāram
the beneficiary
yajña
of sacrifices
tapasām
and penances and austerities
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
sarva - loka
of all planets and the demigods thereof
mahā - īśvaram
the Supreme Lord
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
su - hṛdam
the benefactor
sarva
of all
bhūtānām
the living entities
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
jñātvā
thus knowing
mām
Me (Lord Kṛṣṇa)
śāntim
relief from material pangs
ṛcchati
one achieves .
Important Words
  • bhoktāram — the beneficiary
    From √bhuj — 'to enjoy, to eat.' Kṛṣṇa is the bhoktṛ, the enjoyer. Every offering ultimately reaches Him. The verse establishes the metaphysical economy: only one party in the universe is fundamentally an enjoyer; all others are servers.
  • yajña-tapasām — of sacrifices and austerities
    Yajña — sacrifice. Tapas — austerity. Together they name the entire range of religious effort. Kṛṣṇa claims the fruits of all of it, not just the formally Vaiṣṇava acts. The Gītā's catholicity is striking — every yajña and tapas is His.
  • mahā-īśvaram — the Supreme Lord
    Mahā — great. Īśvara — controller, from √īś. Not just lord, but the controller of all the local lords. Each demigod is an īśvara in his own domain; Kṛṣṇa is the mahā-īśvara above them all. The compound is a doctrinal statement about hierarchy.
  • su-hṛdam — the benefactor
    Su — good. Hṛd — heart. 'Good-hearted-one.' Prabhupāda translates as benefactor, but the literal force is 'one whose heart is good toward all.' Kṛṣṇa's relationship to beings is not merely lordship but heart-friendship. This third term softens the first two.
  • śāntim ṛcchati — one achieves peace
    Ṛcchati — 'goes to, reaches.' From √ṛ. The peace is reached, not earned. Recognition of the threefold truth produces peace automatically — there is no further work after the recognition. The chapter that opened with Arjuna's question closes on this single attainment: peace.
A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
Purport

The conditioned souls within the clutches of the illusory energy are all anxious to attain peace in the material world. But they do not know the formula for peace, which is explained in this part of the Bhagavad-gītā. The greatest peace formula is simply this: Lord Kṛṣṇa is the beneficiary in all human activities. Men should offer everything to the transcendental service of the Lord because He is the proprietor of all planets and the demigods thereon. No one is greater than He. He is greater than the greatest of the demigods, Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. In the Vedas ( Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.7) the Supreme Lord is described as tam īśvarāṇāṁ paramaṁ maheśvaraṁ. Under the spell of illusion, living entities are trying to be lords of all they survey, but actually they are dominated by the material energy of the Lord. The Lord is the master of material nature, and the conditioned souls are under the stringent rules of material nature. Unless one understands these bare facts, it is not possible to achieve peace in the world either individually or collectively. This is the sense of Kṛṣṇa consciousness: Lord Kṛṣṇa is the supreme predominator, and all living entities, including the great demigods, are His subordinates. One can attain perfect peace only in complete Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This Fifth Chapter is a practical explanation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, generally known as karma-yoga. The question of mental speculation as to how karma-yoga can give liberation is answered herewith. To work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to work with the complete knowledge of the Lord as the predominator. Such work is not different from transcendental knowledge. Direct Kṛṣṇa consciousness is bhakti-yoga, and jñāna-yoga is a path leading to bhakti-yoga. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to work in full knowledge of one’s relationship with the Supreme Absolute, and the perfection of this consciousness is full knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure soul is the eternal servant of God as His fragmental part and parcel. He comes into contact with māyā (illusion) due to the desire to lord it over māyā, and that is the cause of his many sufferings. As long as he is in contact with matter, he has to execute work in terms of material necessities. Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction of matter, for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in the material world. The more one is advanced, the more he is freed from the clutches of matter. The Lord is not partial toward anyone. Everything depends on one’s practical performance of duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which helps one control the senses in every respect and conquer the influence of desire and anger. And one who stands fast in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, controlling the abovementioned passions, remains factually in the transcendental stage, or brahma-nirvāṇa. The eightfold yoga mysticism is automatically practiced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness because the ultimate purpose is served. There is a gradual process of elevation in the practice of yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi. But these only preface perfection by devotional service, which alone can award peace to the human being. It is the highest perfection of life. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fifth Chapter of the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā in the matter of Karma-yoga, or Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
29. Knowing Me who am the object of worship of the karmīs and jṣānīs who do sacrifice and penance, the object of worship of the yogīs as Paramātmā, and the object of worship of the devotees— the friend of all living entities by giving instructions on bhakti— this aṣṭāṅga-yogī attains liberation.
Commentary

This verse explains that yogīs who act in this way, by obtaining knowledge of Paramātmā through bhakti, like the jṣānīs, attain liberation. I am the guardian (bhoktāram) of the yajṣa of the karma-yogīs and the austerities (tapasām) of the jṣānīs. That means that I am the object of worship of the karma-yogīs and jṣānīs. I am the great controller of all people (sarva-loka-maheśvaram), the Paramātmā: the object of worship of the aṣṭāṅga-yogīs. I am the friend of all entities: I am the person who gives benefit to all living entities by instructions about bhakti, through the medium of My devotees, out of My mercy. I am the object of worship for the devotees. One cannot attain realization of Me, who am beyond the modes, by sattva-guṇa-jṣāna. I have said that I am attainable only by bhakti: bhaktyāham ekayā grahyaḥ. In the same way, the yogī, only by bhakti which is beyond the modes, by realizing Me as Paramātmā (jṣātvā mām), the object of his worship, attains liberation (śāntim). This chapter explains that the jṣānī and the yogī, by niṣkāma-karma-yoga, attain liberation, after realizing both ātmā and Paramātmā. Thus ends the commentary on the fifth chapter of the Gītā for the joy of the devotees, through the mercy of the ācāryas.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
29. Knowing Me as the protector of sacrifice and austerities, the master of all controllers, and the protector of all living beings, he attains liberation.
Commentary

This verse explains that such a person, situated in samādhi, having accomplished a vision of his own ātmā, and then worshipping paramātmā, becomes liberated. That paramātmā is the guardian of yajṣa and tapas (bhoktāram). He is the great lord (maheśvaram) of all beings, even of Brahmā and Śiva (sarva loka), for as the śruti says tam īśvarāṇāṁ paramaṁ maheśvaraṁ: He is the great, supreme master of all controllers. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.7) He is the unprejudiced assister of all beings (suhrḍam sarva bhūtānām). Knowing Me as such, realizing Me as the object of worship with those qualities, the person attains the cessation of saṁsāra (śantim). Satisfying the lord of all beings and the benefactor of all beings indeed brings about happiness. By niṣkāma karma yoga, the most prominent yoga, which has within it jṣāna, the saniṣtha attains liberation. This is the meaning of the fifth chapter. Chapter 6

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

'Jnatva‑mam' ‑ here is the knowledge, what is to be known. It is not just that we are not our body, but knowledge of Krsna who is these three things: beneficiary, master, and friend. That brings real peace, because it brings liberation. Let us see these things that Krsna listed: 'Bhoktaram' ‑ "I am the enjoyer of 'jnana' and 'tapah'". In the 3rd Chapter so much was talked about sacrifices (yajna); in the 4th Chapter, Section D (describing the different 'tapasyas' and mystic yogas,'yajnas' resulting in transcendental knowledge). Here Krsna is saying that He is the enjoyer of all yajnas and tapasyas. The result of those yajnas and tapasyas is just to please Krsna. Then, 'sarva‑loka mahesvaram' ‑ The Supreme Lord of all the planets and all the demigods. Because one is worshiping the demigods through the yajnas. But Krsna says:"I am the Lord of the demigods and their planets, so it is Me whom the yajnas are directed to." And, 'suhrdam sarva‑bhutanam' ‑ "I am the well‑wishing friend of all living entities". And how? (1) He is the Lord in the heart, travelling with the living entities at all times, and, (2) through His devotees. Even though, here it is related with the Supersoul, we understand that ultimately is related with Krsna Himself.

THUS ENDS THE STUDY OF CHAPTER FIVE.

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

Tells Arjuna how he can remain peaceful on, of all places, a battlefield only by understanding

Krishna’s supremacy and act accordingly

GREATEST PEACE FORMULA

Lord Krishna is:

1. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam – Beneficiary of all sacrifices and penances

Offer everything in the Transcendental Service of the Lord

2. Sarva-loka-mahesvaram – Supreme Proprietor of all planets and demigods

No one is greater than Him; Greater than greatest demigods
Ref. Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.7: Krishna is the Supreme Isvara
The living entity is under illusion in trying to lord over material nature – but is dominated by the material energy

3. Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam – Benefactor and well wisher of all living entities

END OF CHAPTER 5 
Focus of Learning

(a) Fifth Chapter is a practical application of Krishna consciousness, generally known as Karma-yoga.

It thoroughly explains how karma-yoga can give liberation

(b) Karma-yoga as “Action in full knowledge”

To work in Krishna consciousness means to work in full knowledge of Lord as the predominator
Such work is non-different from transcendental knowledge
Direct Krishna consciousness is bhakti-yoga and jnana-yoga is a path leading to bhakti-yoga

(c) Position of living entity as eternal servant

Pure soul is the eternal servant of God as fragmental part and parcel
Cause of his suffering – contact with maya (illusion due to desire to Lord it over)

(d) Krishna consciousness – An arousing of a spiritual experience in the material world

One has to execute work in terms of material necessities as long as one is in contact with matter
However Krishna consciousness brings one into spiritual life while one is in the jurisdiction of matter

(e) Lord is not partial to anyone but reciprocates according to your approach

The more one is advanced, the more one is free from the clutches of maya
Everything depends on one’s practical performance of duties in Krishna consciousness
These duties help one control the senses and conquer the influence of desire and anger
To stand fast in Krishna consciousness and controlling the above mentioned passions, one remains in transcendental stage or Brahma-nirvana

(f) Astanga-yoga is automatically practiced in Krishna consciousness because the ultimate purpose

is served

Astanga-yoga is a process of gradual elevation by eight steps
These eight steps only preface perfection by devotional service

(g) The highest perfection of life – Only devotional service can award peace to the human being

Bhagavad Gita Notes

CHAPTER 5 Appendix

Selected Texts extracted from “Surrender unto Me”

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.29 Rcchati, one attains; santim, Peace, complete cessation of transmigration; jnatva, by knowing; mam, Me who am Narayana; who, as the sarva-loka-mahesvaram, great Lord of all the worlds; am the bhoktaram, enjoyer (of the fruits); yajna-tapasam, of sacrifices and austerities, as the performer and the Deity of the sacrifices and austerities (respectively); (and) who am the suhrdam, friend; sarva-bhutanam, of all creatures-who am the Benefactor of all without consideration of return, who exist in the heart of all beings, who am the dispenser of the results of all works, who am the Witness of all perceptions.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.29 Knowing Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, as the Supreme Lord of all the worlds, and as the Friend of every being, he attains peace, i.e., wins happiness even while performing Karma Yoga. 'Him who is the Supreme Lord of all worlds' means 'Him who is the Lord of all the lords of the worlds.' For the Sruti says: 'Him who is the supreme mighty Lord of lords' (Sve. U., 6.7). The meaning is that knowing Me as the Supreme Lord of all the worlds and the 'friend' of all and considering Karma Yoga to be My worship, he becomes gladly engaged in it. All beings endeavour to please a 'friend'.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.29 Bhokatram etc. [The Lord is deemed to be] the enjoyer in the caste of their fruit of the sacrifices. For, it is in favour of Him that the fruit is renounced. the same is with regard to the austerities. By knowing the nautre of the Lord as such, a man of Yoga is released, whatever way he may remain in.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.29 He who knows Me as the enjoyer of sacrifices and austerities, the great Lord of all the worlds and the friend of all beings, attains to peace.
Commentary

5.29 भोक्तारम् the enjoyer? यज्ञतपसाम् of sacrifices and austerities? सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् the great Lord of all worlds? सुहृदम् friend? सर्वभूतानाम् of all beings? ज्ञात्वा having known? माम् Me? शान्तिम् peace? ऋच्छति attains.Commentary I am the Lord of all sacrifices and austerities. I am their author? goal and their God. I am the friend of all beings? the doer of good to them without expecting any return for it. I am the dispenser of the fruits of all actions and the silent witness of their minds? thoughts and actions as I dwell in their hearts. On knowing Me? they attain peace and liberation or Moksha (deliverance from the round of birth and death and all worldly miseries and sorrows). (Cf.V.15IX.24)Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the fifth discourse entitledThe Yoga of Renunciation of Action.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.29 One attains Peace by knowing Me who, as the great Lord of all the worlds, am the enjoyer of sacrifices and austerities, (and) who am the friend of all creatures.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.29 Knowing me as Him who gladly receives all offerings of austerity and sacrifice, as the Might Ruler of all the Worlds and the Friend of all beings, he passes to Eternal Peace."
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)
Related verses
BG 9.24 BG 10.8 BG 18.66 SB 10.14.3 SB 3.9.11 SB 1.7.10 CC Ādi 2.117 CC Madhya 20.152 CC Madhya 25.32 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.17Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.7
Stories
karna_duryodhana_friendship_middle
Concepts
YajnaMayaNirvana
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Sciences essays referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Knowing Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifices, the Lord of the worlds, the friend of all beings — the sage attains peace.
Practical Applications
  • Frame Kṛṣṇa as the supreme enjoyer, supreme friend — not abstract principle.
  • Approach Him as friend in ordinary moments, not just crisis.
  • Cultivate the threefold recognition: enjoyer, Lord, friend.
Reflection Questions
  • Which of the three (enjoyer / Lord / friend) is least real to me right now?
  • How could I cultivate that recognition this week?
Analogy

A child who realizes that the cook in the kitchen is also her father stops haggling for sweets and simply sits at the table. Recognize Kṛṣṇa as enjoyer of every sacrifice, Lord of every world, friend of every being — and the entire economy of grasping collapses. There is nothing more to negotiate for; everything is already provided by the Friend.

Stories
Draupadī calling at the assembly

When Duḥśāsana began dragging at Draupadī's sari in the Kuru assembly, she first tried to hold the cloth with her own hands. Then, realizing her own strength would not suffice, she released the cloth and raised both hands above her head, calling out to Kṛṣṇa as her friend.

The Mahābhārata records that the cloth became endless. Duḥśāsana pulled and pulled until he collapsed from exhaustion; the sari did not finish.

What she had recognized in that moment was the verse's threefold truth: Kṛṣṇa was the enjoyer of her every prior sacrifice, the Lord whose protection no Kuru could override, and her own personal friend. Jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati — knowing Me, one attains peace. Her shaking hands stilled; the peace came inside her even before the cloth's miracle began.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io