Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 13

Chapter 18 – Moksha Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

पञ्चैतानि महाबाहो कारणानि निबोध मे ।
साङ्ख्ये कृतान्ते प्रोक्तानि सिद्धये सर्वकर्मणाम् ॥

Transliteration

pañcaitāni mahābāho kāraṇāni nibodha me .
sāṅkhye kṛtānte proktāni siddhaye sarvakarmaṇām ॥

Meaning

Learn from me, O mighty-armed, these five causes for the accomplishment of all actions, as declared in the Sankhya doctrine, in which all action comes to an end.

Word meanings

पञ्च – five
एतानि – these
महाबाहो – O mighty-armed
कारणानि – causes
निबोध – learn well
मे – from me
साङ्ख्ये – in the Sankhya (doctrine of knowledge)
कृतान्ते – in the system that puts an end to action
प्रोक्तानि – declared
सिद्धये – for the accomplishment
सर्वकर्मणाम् – of all actions

Anvaya (word order)

महाबाहो, सर्वकर्मणां सिद्धये साङ्ख्ये कृतान्ते प्रोक्तानि एतानि पञ्च कारणानि मे निबोध ।

Explanation

Having completed the discussion of relinquishment, Krishna turns to a deeper philosophical question: who really performs action? Once a person understands the many causes through which any action is accomplished, the pride of 'I alone am the doer' naturally loosens — and that pride is the root of bondage. So this analysis makes easier the subtlest form of renunciation: the renunciation of doership.

Krishna says these five causes are taught in sankhye kritante. Sankhya here may refer to Kapila's system, or more broadly to the science of knowledge that discriminates the Self from the not-Self. Kritanta means 'that in which kṛta, action, comes to an end' — the knowledge by which all action is concluded. Shankara takes Sankhya here to mean Vedanta, the wisdom of the Upanishads, which teaches that the Self is not a doer.

Nibodha me — 'understand well from me' — signals the importance of the subject. This is not mere intellectual information but an understanding that changes how a person sees himself. The next verse will list the five causes.

Context

The previous verse said the renouncer is not bound by the fruits of action. To explain why the Self is not the doer, Krishna now introduces the five causes of action. In the next verse (18.14) the five are enumerated.

Life lesson

No undertaking is accomplished by our effort alone; many causes contribute to it. Understanding this reduces both arrogance in success and despair in failure. Examining our actions deeply brings humility.

Key terms

Sankhya: The doctrine of knowledge that discriminates Self from not-Self
Kritanta: The doctrine in which all action comes to an end
Karana: Cause; a factor in the accomplishment of action
Siddhi: Accomplishment of an action