Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 51

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः ।
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम् ॥

Transliteration

karmajaṃ buddhiyuktā hi phalaṃ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ .
janmabandhavinirmuktāḥ padaṃ gacchantyanāmayam ॥

Meaning

The wise, endowed with equanimous understanding, renounce the fruits born of action and, freed from the bondage of birth, reach the state that is beyond all sorrow.

Word meanings

कर्मजम् – born of action
बुद्धियुक्ताः – endowed with equanimous understanding
हि – indeed
फलम् – fruit
त्यक्त्वा – renouncing
मनीषिणः – the wise
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः – completely freed from the bondage of birth
पदम् – state, abode
गच्छन्ति – reach
अनामयम् – free from all affliction

Anvaya (word order)

बुद्धियुक्ताः मनीषिणः हि कर्मजं फलं त्यक्त्वा जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः (सन्तः) अनामयं पदं गच्छन्ति ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna said that one endowed with this understanding is freed from merit and sin. Now He reveals the final fruit of the path: such wise people, completely freed from the bondage of birth, attain the ‘anamaya pada’, the state free from all affliction.

The verse traces a sequence. First, ‘buddhi-yuktah’ — they are endowed with equanimous understanding. Second, ‘karmajam phalam tyaktva’ — they give up attachment to the fruits of action. Note that they do not give up action; they give up only attachment to its fruit. Third, ‘janma-bandha-vinirmuktah’ — through this renunciation they are released from the cycle of birth and death, for the very cause of birth is desire for fruits. Fourth, ‘padam gacchanty anamayam’ — finally they reach that supreme state.

‘Anamaya’ literally means ‘free from disease’. Every pleasure of the world is tied to some pain — union with separation, health with illness, life with death. But that supreme state is free from all such ‘diseases’. Shankara calls it the supreme abode of Vishnu, liberation, free from every trouble. Ramanuja understands it as the pure nature of the Self and the attainment of the Supreme.

The word ‘manishi’ is also significant: one who is master of the mind, discerning. The verse shows that liberation is not a distant dream but the natural result of action done with the right vision.

In life it means that as we act without anxiety over results, the ‘diseases’ of the mind — worry, fear, envy, despair — gradually begin to heal, and the mind moves towards a healthy, peaceful state.

Context

In 2.50 Krishna said that one endowed with understanding is free of merit and sin, and that yoga is skill in action. Here He gives the final fruit of this path — freedom from the bondage of birth. In the next verse (2.52) He says when this will happen: when the intellect crosses the mire of delusion.

Life lesson

The way to freedom is not giving up action but giving up attachment to its fruits. As you let go of anxiety over results, the mind's worry, fear and unrest begin to subside.

Key terms

Manishi: the wise, master of the mind
Janma-bandha: the bondage of the cycle of birth and death
Anamaya pada: the supreme state free from all affliction — liberation