Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 8

Chapter 18 – Moksha Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

दुःखमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्त्यजेत् ।
स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत् ॥

Transliteration

duḥkhamityeva yatkarma kāyakleśabhayāttyajet .
sa kṛtvā rājasaṃ tyāgaṃ naiva tyāgaphalaṃ labhet ॥

Meaning

One who gives up action merely because it is painful, out of fear of bodily discomfort, performs rajasic relinquishment and does not obtain the fruit of relinquishment.

Word meanings

दुःखम् – painful
इति एव – merely thinking thus
यत् – which
कर्म – action
कायक्लेशभयात् – out of fear of bodily trouble
त्यजेत् – gives up
सः – he
कृत्वा – having performed
राजसम् – rajasic
त्यागम् – relinquishment
न एव – not at all
त्यागफलम् – the fruit of relinquishment
लभेत् – obtains

Anvaya (word order)

यत् कर्म ‘दुःखम्’ इति एव कायक्लेशभयात् त्यजेत्, सः राजसं त्यागं कृत्वा त्यागफलं न एव लभेत् ।

Explanation

The second type is rajasic relinquishment. Here the person is not deluded — he knows the action is right — yet he finds it duhkham, painful. Out of kaya-klesha-bhaya, fear of fatigue, discomfort and effort, he drops his duty. Think of someone who knows the value of rising early for spiritual practice but finds the comfort of sleep too hard to give up, or someone who recognises the worth of service but wishes to avoid the labour it involves.

The root of this relinquishment is rajas, which breeds craving for pleasure and the impulse to flee from pain. Decisions are made with personal comfort at the centre, not duty. Such a person too may say, 'I have given up action,' but in reality the giving up is a defence of his own ease.

Krishna states the result plainly: naiva tyaga-phalam labhet — he does not gain the fruit of relinquishment at all. The fruit of true relinquishment is purity of mind, peace, and ultimately knowledge and liberation. The rajasic renouncer gains none of these, because though he has dropped the action he has not dropped attachment to comfort; the real cause of bondage remains intact.

Something of this was present in Arjuna too: to avoid the dreadful pain of war and of slaying his kinsmen, he spoke of living on alms (2.5). Shankara remarks that such giving up is merely a way of escaping pain, not the renunciation of all action born of knowledge, and so it does not yield liberation.

Context

The previous verse described tamasic relinquishment born of delusion. This verse describes rajasic relinquishment born of fear of discomfort. The next verse (18.9) describes the highest, sattvic relinquishment.

Life lesson

Dropping a duty simply because it is hard is not renunciation; it is attachment to comfort. Let responsibility, not convenience, guide your decisions. The effort demanded by right action is precisely what strengthens and purifies the mind.

Key terms

Kaya-klesha: Bodily strain and discomfort
Rajasic tyaga: Giving up out of fear of pain or desire for ease
Tyaga-phala: The fruit of true relinquishment — peace and purity of mind