Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verse 1

Chapter 5 – Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

अर्जुन उवाच ।
संन्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि ।
यच्छ्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम् ॥

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca .
saṃnyāsaṃ karmaṇāṃ kṛṣṇa punaryogaṃ ca śaṃsasi .
yacchreya etayorekaṃ tanme brūhi suniścitam ॥

Meaning

Arjuna said: O Krishna, You praise the renunciation of actions and then again Yoga. Tell me decisively which one of these two is the better.

Word meanings

संन्यासम् – renunciation
कर्मणाम् – of actions
कृष्ण – O Krishna
पुनः – again
योगम् – Karma Yoga, selfless action
च – and
शंससि – You praise
यत् – which
श्रेयः – more beneficial
एतयोः – of these two
एकम् – one
तत् – that
मे – to me
ब्रूहि – tell
सुनिश्चितम् – decisively

Anvaya (word order)

अर्जुनः उवाच — कृष्ण, (त्वं) कर्मणां संन्यासं पुनः योगं च शंससि; एतयोः यत् एकं श्रेयः, तत् मे सुनिश्चितं ब्रूहि ।

Explanation

Chapter 5 opens with Arjuna's puzzlement, and it is a very honest one. In the previous chapters Krishna has spoken in praise of sannyasa, the renunciation of actions, in the sense of knowledge that gives up the sense of doing; and he has also commended karma-yoga, the disciplined performance of duty. To Arjuna's ear the two sound like opposite instructions, one advising rest and the other advising work, and he cannot follow both at once.

So he asks for the decisive answer: "Tell me, one thing, in a firm and certain way, which of the two is better." The word "sunishchitam", definitely, shows that Arjuna is not asking for a pleasant compromise. He is asking for clarity, as a sincere student who wants to act correctly and cannot afford to go on guessing.

Shankara notes that this is the same doubt Arjuna raised at the start of chapter 3, and he explains that the Lord's answers had so far seemed to say that action and renunciation of action cannot be practised together by one person; hence the fresh request for a single decision. Ramanuja understands the question as relating to the two paths of knowledge and action as practised by one and the same seeker, and asks which leads more reliably to the goal of the soul. Madhva similarly reads the question as one of relative merit between two proper disciplines.

It is useful to see why the confusion arises, because we share it. In our own lives we hear two voices. One says: do not be attached, let go, look within. The other says: be diligent, serve, do your duty. We often swing between them, becoming either restless or lazy. Arjuna's question is our question, and the sincerity of his asking is a lesson in itself: when in doubt, approach a wise guide and ask plainly.

Notice also that the question follows the same pattern as 3.2, "you confuse my mind with ambiguous words". The Gita never reproaches the doubter. It answers him. The next verse, 5.2, gives the Lord's answer in a single line, and verses 5.4 and 5.5 then explain why the two paths, rightly understood, reach one and the same fruit.

Context

By the end of Chapter 4 the Lord had praised both the glory of knowledge and the need for action. To resolve this apparent contradiction, Arjuna asks here again for a definite answer. The Lord's reply begins at 5.2.

Life lesson

When two good paths seem to lie before you, seek clarity from a worthy guide rather than staying in doubt. But also realise that two seemingly different paths often go in the same direction at heart.

Key terms

Sannyasa: renunciation of actions and their fruits
Karma Yoga: the yoga of selfless action
Shreyas: the highest good