śhrī-bhagavān uvācha—the Supreme Divine Personality said; kāmyānām—desireful; karmaṇām—of actions; nyāsam—giving up; sanyāsam—renunciation of actions; kavayaḥ—the learned; viduḥ—to understand; sarva—all; karma-phala—fruits of actions; tyāgam—renunciation of desires for enjoying the fruits of actions; prāhuḥ—declare; tyāgam—renunciation of desires for enjoying the fruits of actions; vichakṣhaṇāḥ—the wise
English translation
The Blessed Lord said, "The sages understand sannyasa to be the renunciation of action with desire; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all actions to be tyaga."
Translation by Swami Sivananda
Hindi meaning
।।18.2।। श्रीभगवान् ने कहा -- (कुछ) कवि (पण्डित) जन काम्य कर्मों के त्याग को "संन्यास" समझते हैं और विचारशील जन समस्त कर्मों के फलों के त्याग को "त्याग" कहते हैं।।
Hindi rendering by Swami Tejomayananda
English meaning
Lord Shri Krishna replied: The sages say that renunciation is forgoing an action that springs from desire, and relinquishing is the surrender of its fruit.
Shri Purohit Swami
The Bhagavat said, "The seers understand the act of renouncing desire-motivated actions as renunciation; the experts declare the relinquishment of the fruits of all actions to be relinquishment."
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan
Detailed explanation
English Commentary By Swami Sivananda
Commentary by Swami Sivananda
Hindi commentary
Hindi Commentary By Swami Chinmayananda
Swami Chinmayananda
Hindi Commentary By Swami Ramsukhdas
Swami Ramsukhdas
Key teachings
English Commentary By Swami Sivananda
Spiritual significance
In Moksha Sanyaas Yoga (Yoga through the Perfection of Renunciation and Surrender), this verse belongs to the Gita’s teaching on jnana yoga. Here the text presents that teaching through these words: The Blessed Lord said, "The sages understand sannyasa to be the renunciation of action with desire; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all actions to be tyaga."
Chapter 18, verse 2 is part of Moksha Sanyaas Yoga. In the English translation used on this page, it says: The Blessed Lord said, "The sages understand sannyasa to be the renunciation of action with desire; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all actions to be tyaga."
What is the spiritual context of this verse?
It appears in Moksha Sanyaas Yoga, a chapter associated with Jnana Yoga. Tyaga and sannyasa.
