Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verse 3

Chapter 5 – Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति ।
निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ॥

Transliteration

jñeyaḥ sa nityasaṃnyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati .
nirdvandvo hi mahābāho sukhaṃ bandhātpramucyate ॥

Meaning

O mighty-armed, he who neither hates nor desires is to be known as a perpetual renunciate; for, free from the pairs of opposites, he is easily released from bondage.

Word meanings

ज्ञेयः – is to be known
सः – he
नित्यसंन्यासी – a perpetual renunciate
यः – who
न द्वेष्टि – neither hates
न काङ्क्षति – nor desires
निर्द्वन्द्वः – free from the pairs of opposites
हि – for
महाबाहो – O mighty-armed
सुखम् – easily
बन्धात् – from bondage
प्रमुच्यते – is freed

Anvaya (word order)

महाबाहो, यः न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति, सः नित्यसंन्यासी ज्ञेयः; हि निर्द्वन्द्वः सुखं बन्धात् प्रमुच्यते ।

Explanation

Here the Lord changes the very definition of renunciation. A renunciate is not one who dons saffron or leaves home; he is one who is inwardly free of attraction and aversion. ‘Na dveshti na kankshati’ — neither hates nor desires. These two tendencies, hatred of the disagreeable and craving for the agreeable, are the root of bondage.

The word ‘nitya-sannyasi’ is significant. Renunciation is no one-day event but a continuing inner state. A householder who is beyond these two tendencies while fulfilling his duties is ever a renunciate. And one who has outwardly abandoned everything but is filled inwardly with craving and hatred is no sannyasi.

According to Shankara, the Karma Yogi who acts free from desire for the fruit and aversion to obstacles is a renunciate even while acting. Ramanuja expresses the same idea in terms of the Self-centred yogi.

The ‘nirdvandva’ person is not swung between pleasure and pain, gain and loss. So ‘sukham bandhat pramucyate’ — he slips free of bondage easily. Liberation is for him not a struggle but a natural result.

Context

Verse 5.2 called Karma Yoga superior. Verse 5.3 gives the reason: one who acts can also be a true renunciate. Verses 5.4–5.5 will then declare the unity of Sankhya and Yoga.

Life lesson

Renunciation lies not in outer clothes or place but in the quieting of craving and aversion within. One free from them is a sannyasi even in house and office.

Key terms

Nitya-sannyasi: one who is ever inwardly renounced
Nirdvandva: beyond pleasure, pain and other pairs of opposites
Bandha: bondage of action and worldly life