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Chapter 18 · The Perfection of Renunciation · 78 verses

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Remember who is speaking. Kṛṣṇa is speaking. Take the verse as He directs.
  2. 2Say the verse and its words. Read the Sanskrit, then each word with its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation as it is. Let the translation say what it says, without adding your own meaning.
  4. 4Read the purport. Hear the verse through the disciplic succession.
  5. 5Bring your own question. Ask: where does this verse meet my life, my trouble, my doubt?
  6. 6Act on it, remembering Kṛṣṇa. Carry one instruction into your work today.
Read the full guide: how to read the Bhagavad-gītā ›
Duty & actionChapter 18 · The Perfection of Renunciation
18.218.4

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 18.3

Duty, renunciation and giving up the fruits

Karma · Action

त्याज्यं दोषवदित्येके कर्म प्राहुर्मनीषिण: ।

यज्ञदानतप:कर्म न त्याज्यमिति चापरे ॥ ३ ॥

tyājyaṁ doṣa-vad ity eke

karma prāhur manīṣiṇaḥ

yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma

na tyājyam iti cāpare

Translation

Some learned men declare that all kinds of fruitive activities should be given up as faulty, yet other sages maintain that acts of sacrifice, charity and penance should never be abandoned.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

3 study points

Different Views on Giving Up

  1. 1

    Some learned men say to give up all actions done for results; others say sacrifice, charity and penance should never be abandoned.

  2. 2

    Prabhupāda explains that sages disagree about animal sacrifice, which is meant to give the animal a new life.

  3. 3

    The Lord Himself now clarifies these different opinions about sacrifice.

Key points from the purport

There are different opinions in abandoning activities

Some say all fruitive activity is faulty

Others maintain that acts of sacrifice, charity and penance should never be abandoned

a

Instruction of Bhagavad-gita (18.2)

Activities for advanced spiritual activities are not to be given up

e.g. Sacrifices for purification of one’s heart

But performance of activities for results has to be given up

e.g. Sacrifices to attain a good son or elevation to higher planets

b

Example of subjects of contention in Vedic literatures

e.g. Animal killing in sacrifice is a subject of contention among the sages

Further reading

Summary Of Chapters 1 – 6: Karma Section

A true sannyasi does not renounce his activities, but is detached from their fruits

Krishna concludes that renounced order of life (sannyasa) and renunciation of the fruits of action (tyaga) are the same.

Work performed in this way is renunciation in the mode of goodness

Chapter 18, section I: Summary Of Chapters 1 – 6: Karma Section
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tyājyammust be given up
  2. doṣa-vatas an evil
  3. itithus
  4. ekeone group
  5. karmawork
  6. prāhuḥthey say
  7. manīṣiṇaḥgreat thinkers
  8. yajñaof sacrifice
3

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: karma, sva-dharma.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 18.3 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to duty & action?

Practice

Do one task today purely because it is right.

5

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 18 ›
6

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 18.2Duty, renunciation and giving up the fruitsBG 18.4Duty, renunciation and giving up the fruitsBG 2.47Responsibility without ownership of outcomesBG 3.21Leadership by example
Live this todayWorship Kṛṣṇa Through Your WorkA practice from BG 18.46, close to this verse

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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Next in Learn · 4 of 9 · 10 minChapters & storiesGo chapter by chapter, with the Mahābhārata stories that explain what is happening.Back · LearnPrabhupāda's Introduction