Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 49

Chapter 18 – Moksha Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

असक्तबुद्धिः सर्वत्र जितात्मा विगतस्पृहः ।
नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिं परमां संन्यासेनाधिगच्छति ॥

Transliteration

asaktabuddhiḥ sarvatra jitātmā vigataspṛhaḥ .
naiṣkarmyasiddhiṃ paramāṃ saṃnyāsenādhigacchati ॥

Meaning

One whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has mastered himself and is free from longing, attains through renunciation the supreme perfection of freedom from action.

Word meanings

असक्तबुद्धिः – whose intellect is unattached
सर्वत्र – everywhere
जितात्मा – self-mastered
विगतस्पृहः – free from longing
नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिम् – the perfection of freedom from action
परमाम् – supreme
संन्यासेन – through renunciation
अधिगच्छति – attains

Anvaya (word order)

सर्वत्र असक्तबुद्धिः जितात्मा विगतस्पृहः संन्यासेन परमां नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिम् अधिगच्छति ।

Explanation

Once the mind has been purified by the practice of svadharma, what is the seeker's next stage? From this verse Krishna begins describing the spiritual journey that leads from karma yoga to steadfastness in knowledge and then to supreme devotion (18.49–55). Here he speaks of attaining naishkarmya-siddhi — the perfection of complete freedom from the bondage of action.

Three qualifications are named. Asakta-buddhih sarvatra — one whose intellect is attached nowhere, to no person, object or outcome. Jitatma — one who has conquered his mind and senses. Vigata-sprihah — one whose longings, whether for the body, life or pleasures, have subsided. Together they portray an inner being that is entirely clear and free.

Naishkarmya does not mean the absence of action but the absence of bondage by action. In Chapter 3 (3.4) Krishna said that no one attains naishkarmya merely by not acting. Naishkarmya is the state in which one remains a non-doer even while acting, because the pride of doership is gone. In the words of 4.18, such a person sees inaction in action and action in inaction.

The acharyas differ subtly on the word sannyasena, 'through renunciation'. Shankara takes it as the renunciation of all action that arises from right knowledge: when the knowledge that the Self is not a doer becomes firm, actions naturally fall away, and this is the supreme perfection of actionlessness. Ramanuja takes sannyasa in the sense of the relinquishment described in 18.4–9 — giving up fruit, attachment and doership — through which the karma yogi reaches the perfection of steady meditation. Thus the question of renunciation and relinquishment raised at the start of the chapter here reaches a new height.

Context

The preceding verses (18.41–48) taught the importance of svadharma. This verse explains that one who acts without attachment finally attains the perfection of actionlessness. In the next verse (18.50) Krishna explains how, having attained this perfection, one reaches Brahman.

Life lesson

Attachment, an uncontrolled mind and craving are three bonds; practise loosening them little by little. Running from action is not freedom; remaining inwardly free while acting is true liberty. The less the mind craves, the freer it becomes.

Key terms

Naishkarmya: Freedom from the bondage of action; the state of non-doership
Asakta-buddhi: One whose intellect clings to nothing
Jitatma: Master of mind and senses
Vigata-spriha: Free from longing
Sannyasa: Renunciation — of doership, attachment and fruit; or knowledge-born renunciation of action