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Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 18
Moksha Sanyasa Yoga
Liberation through Renunciation
The grand finale — the Gita's longest chapter and its own summary. Krishna settles renunciation versus relinquishment, teaches work as worship, and rises to the most beloved verses in the book, ending with Arjuna's "my confusion is destroyed."
All 78 verses
Each verse links to its full Sanskrit text, transliteration, plain-English meaning, key learning and practical application.
Gita 18.1oṃ tatsaditi śrīmadbhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsu brahmavidyāyāṃ yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārju…Arjuna said: I wish to know severally, O mighty-armed one, the truth of sannyasa, O Hrishikesha, and of tyaga, O slayer …Gita 18.2kāmyānāṃ karmaṇāṃ nyāsaṃ saṃnyāsaṃ kavayo viduḥ | sarvakarmaphalatyāgaṃ prāhusty…The Blessed Lord said: The sages understand sannyasa as the renunciation of desire-prompted actions; the wise declare ty…Gita 18.3tyājyaṃ doṣavadityeke karma prāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ | yajñadānatapaḥkarma na tyājyamiti …Some thinkers declare that action should be abandoned as an evil; others say that acts of sacrifice, charity, and auster…Gita 18.4niścayaṃ śṛṇu me tatra tyāge bharatasattama | tyāgo hi puruṣavyāghra trividhaḥ s…Hear from Me the conclusion about tyaga, O best of Bharatas; for tyaga, O tiger among men, is declared to be of three ki…Gita 18.5-6yajñadānatapaḥkarma na tyājyaṃ kāryameva tat | yajño dānaṃ tapaścaiva pāvanāni m…Acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity should not be abandoned, but should indeed be performed; sacrifice, charity, a…Gita 18.7-9niyatasya tu saṃnyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate | mohāttasya parityāgastāmasaḥ parikī…The renunciation of obligatory action is not proper; its abandonment through delusion is declared tamasic. One who aband…Gita 18.10-11na dveṣṭyakuśalaṃ karma kuśale nānuṣajjate | tyāgī sattvasamāviṣṭo medhāvī chinn…The relinquisher pervaded by sattva, wise and with doubts cut away, hates not disagreeable action nor is attached to agr…Gita 18.12aniṣṭamiṣṭaṃ miśraṃ ca trividhaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam | bhavatyatyāgināṃ pretya na tu…The threefold fruit of action, disagreeable, agreeable, and mixed, accrues after death to non-relinquishers, but never t…Gita 18.13-15pañcaitāni mahābāho kāraṇāni nibodha me | sāṅkhye kṛtānte proktāni siddhaye sarv…Learn from Me, O mighty-armed one, these five causes for the accomplishment of all actions, declared in the Sankhya doct…Gita 18.16tatraivaṃ sati kartāramātmānaṃ kevalaṃ tu yaḥ | paśyatyakṛtabuddhitvānna sa paśy…That being so, one who, through unrefined understanding, sees the self alone as the doer, that perverse-minded one does …Gita 18.17yasya nāhaṅkṛto bhāvo buddhiryasya na lipyate | hatvā'pi sa imā~llokānna hanti n…One who is free from the notion of egoism, whose understanding is not tainted, though slaying these people, such a one s…Gita 18.18-19jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ parijñātā trividhā karmacodanā | karaṇaṃ karma karteti trividhaḥ k…Knowledge, the known, and the knower form the threefold impulse to action; the instrument, the action, and the agent for…Gita 18.20-22sarvabhūteṣu yenaikaṃ bhāvamavyayamīkṣate | avibhaktaṃ vibhakteṣu tajjñānaṃ vidd…That knowledge by which one sees the one imperishable Being in all beings, undivided in the divided, know that knowledge…Gita 18.23-25niyataṃ saṅgarahitamarāgadveṣataḥ kṛtam | aphalaprepsunā karma yattatsāttvikamuc…Action that is ordained, free from attachment, done without attraction or aversion, by one not desirous of the fruit, th…Gita 18.26-28muktasaṅgo'nahaṃvādī dhṛtyutsāhasamanvitaḥ | siddhyasiddhyornirvikāraḥ kartā sāt…An agent free from attachment, not egoistic, endowed with steadiness and vigour, unmoved by success and failure, is call…Gita 18.29buddherbhedaṃ dhṛteścaiva guṇatastrividhaṃ śṛṇu | procyamānamaśeṣeṇa pṛthaktvena…Hear now the threefold division of intellect and of resolve, according to the gunas, O Dhananjaya, declared fully and se…Gita 18.30-32pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca kāryākārye bhayābhaye | bandhaṃ mokṣaṃ ca yā vetti budd…The intellect that knows action and renunciation, what ought to be done and what ought not, fear and fearlessness, bonda…Gita 18.33-35dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate manaḥprāṇendriyakriyāḥ | yogenāvyabhicāriṇyā dhṛtiḥ sā pār…The unwavering resolve by which one controls the functions of mind, breath, and senses through yoga, that resolve, O Par…Gita 18.36-39sukhaṃ tvidānīṃ trividhaṃ śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha | abhyāsādramate yatra duḥkhānta…And now hear from Me, O best of Bharatas, the threefold happiness in which one rejoices by practice and reaches the end …Gita 18.40na tadasti pṛthivyāṃ vā divi deveṣu vā punaḥ | sattvaṃ prakṛtijairmuktaṃ yadebhi…There is no being on earth, nor among the gods in heaven, free from these three gunas born of nature.Gita 18.41brāhmaṇakṣatriyaviśāṃ śūdrāṇāṃ ca parantapa | karmāṇi pravibhaktāni svabhāvaprab…The duties of brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras, O scorcher of foes, are distributed according to the qualitie…Gita 18.42śamo damastapaḥ śaucaṃ kṣāntirārjavameva ca | jñānaṃ vijñānamāstikyaṃ brahmakarm…Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness, uprightness, knowledge, realisation, and faith, these are the …Gita 18.43śauryaṃ tejo dhṛtirdākṣyaṃ yuddhe cāpyapalāyanam | dānamīśvarabhāvaśca kṣātraṃ k…Heroism, vigour, firmness, resourcefulness, not fleeing in battle, generosity, and lordliness, these are the duties of t…Gita 18.44kṛṣigaurakṣyavāṇijyaṃ vaiśyakarma svabhāvajam | paricaryātmakaṃ karma śūdrasyāpi…Agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade are the duties of the vaishya, born of his own nature; and action consisting of s…Gita 18.45-46sve sve karmaṇyabhirataḥ saṃsiddhiṃ labhate naraḥ | svakarmanirataḥ siddhiṃ yath…Devoted each to their own duty, a person attains perfection. Hear how one devoted to one's own duty finds perfection: wo…Gita 18.47śreyānsvadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmātsvanuṣṭhitāt | svabhāvaniyataṃ karma kurvannā…Better is one's own dharma, though imperfect, than the dharma of another well performed. Doing the duty ordained by one'…Gita 18.48sahajaṃ karma kaunteya sadoṣamapi na tyajet | sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgniri…One should not abandon the duty suited to one's nature, O son of Kunti, though it have defects; for all undertakings are…Gita 18.49asaktabuddhiḥ sarvatra jitātmā vigataspṛhaḥ | naiṣkarmyasiddhiṃ paramāṃ saṃnyāse…One whose intellect is unattached everywhere, whose self is conquered, from whom longing has departed, by renunciation o…Gita 18.50siddhiṃ prāpto yathā brahma tathāpnoti nibodha me | samāsenaiva kaunteya niṣṭhā …Learn from Me in brief, O son of Kunti, how one who has attained perfection reaches Brahman, the supreme consummation of…Gita 18.51-53buddhyā viśuddhayā yukto dhṛtyātmānaṃ niyamya ca | śabdādīnviṣayāṃstyaktvā rāgad…Endowed with pure intellect, controlling the self with firmness, relinquishing sound and other sense-objects, casting as…Gita 18.54brahmabhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati | samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu madbhakti…Having become Brahman, serene in self, one neither grieves nor desires; the same toward all beings, one attains supreme …Gita 18.55bhaktyā māmabhijānāti yāvānyaścāsmi tattvataḥ | tato māṃ tattvato jñātvā viśate …By devotion one knows Me in truth, what and who I am; then, knowing Me in truth, one enters into Me forthwith.Gita 18.56-58sarvakarmāṇyapi sadā kurvāṇo madvyapāśrayaḥ | matprasādādavāpnoti śāśvataṃ padam…Performing all actions always, taking refuge in Me, by My grace one attains the eternal, imperishable abode. Mentally re…Gita 18.59-60yadahaṅkāramāśritya na yotsya iti manyase | mithyaiṣa vyavasāyaste prakṛtistvāṃ …If, taking refuge in egoism, you think ‘I will not fight,’ vain is this resolve of yours, nature will compel you. Bound …Gita 18.61īśvaraḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ hṛddeśe'rjuna tiṣṭhati | bhrāmayansarvabhūtāni yantrārūḍhā…The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, whirling all beings by His maya, as if mounted on a machine.Gita 18.62tameva śaraṇaṃ gaccha sarvabhāvena bhārata | tatprasādātparāṃ śāntiṃ sthānaṃ prā…Take refuge in Him alone with all your being, O Bharata; by His grace you shall attain supreme peace and the eternal abo…Gita 18.63iti te jñānamākhyātaṃ guhyādguhyataraṃ mayā | vimṛśyaitadaśeṣeṇa yathecchasi tat…Thus has wisdom more secret than all secrets been declared to you by Me; reflect on it fully, then act as you choose.Gita 18.64sarvaguhyatamaṃ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṃ vacaḥ | iṣṭo'si me dṛḍhamiti tato vakṣyām…Hear again My supreme word, most secret of all; you are dearly beloved of Me, therefore I will speak for your good.Gita 18.65manmanā bhava madbhakto madyājī māṃ namaskuru | māmevaiṣyasi satyaṃ te pratijāne…Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow to Me, to Me you shall come, truly I promise you, for you ar…Gita 18.66sarvadharmānparityajya māmekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja | ahaṃ tvā sarvapāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyā…Abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate you from all sins, do not grieve.Gita 18.67idaṃ te nātapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana | na cāśuśrūṣave vācyaṃ na ca māṃ yo'bhy…This is never to be spoken by you to one without austerity, nor to one without devotion, nor to one who does not wish to…Gita 18.68-69ya idaṃ paramaṃ guhyaṃ madbhakteṣvabhidhāsyati | bhaktiṃ mayi parāṃ kṛtvā māmeva…One who declares this supreme secret among My devotees, performing the highest devotion to Me, shall doubtless come to M…Gita 18.70-71adhyeṣyate ca ya imaṃ dharmyaṃ saṃvādamāvayoḥ | jñānayajñena tenāhamiṣṭaḥ syāmit…And one who studies this sacred dialogue of ours, by that one I shall be worshipped through the sacrifice of knowledge; …Gita 18.72kaccidetacchrutaṃ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa cetasā | kaccidajñānasammohaḥ pranaṣṭaste…Has this been heard by you, O Partha, with one-pointed mind? Has your delusion born of ignorance been destroyed, O Dhana…Gita 18.73naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtirlabdhā tvatprasādānmayācyuta | sthito'smi gatasandehaḥ kariṣye…Arjuna said: My delusion is destroyed and memory is regained, O Achyuta, by Your grace. I stand firm with doubts dispell…Gita 18.74-77ityahaṃ vāsudevasya pārthasya ca mahātmanaḥ | saṃvādamimamaśrauṣamadbhutaṃ romah…Sanjaya said: Thus have I heard this wondrous dialogue of Vasudeva and the great-souled Partha, causing my hair to stand…Gita 18.78yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanurdharaḥ | tatra śrīrvijayo bhūtirdhruvā…Wherever there is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, and wherever there is Partha the archer, there abide fortune, victory, pros…
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All 18 chapters
1Arjuna Vishada YogaThe Yoga of Arjuna's Despair2Sankhya YogaThe Yoga of Knowledge3Karma YogaThe Yoga of Action4Jnana Karma Sanyasa YogaKnowledge & Renunciation of Action5Karma Sanyasa YogaThe Yoga of Renunciation6Dhyana YogaThe Yoga of Meditation7Jnana Vijnana YogaKnowledge of the Absolute8Akshara Brahma YogaThe Imperishable Absolute9Raja Vidya Raja Guhya YogaThe Royal Knowledge & Royal Secret10Vibhuti YogaThe Yoga of Divine Glories11Vishvarupa Darshana YogaThe Vision of the Universal Form12Bhakti YogaThe Yoga of Devotion13Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga YogaThe Field & the Knower of the Field14Gunatraya Vibhaga YogaThe Three Gunas15Purushottama YogaThe Supreme Person16Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga YogaThe Divine & Demonic Natures17Shraddhatraya Vibhaga YogaThe Three Kinds of Faith18Moksha Sanyasa YogaLiberation through Renunciation