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Chapter 18 · The Perfection of Renunciation · 78 verses

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Duty & actionChapter 18 · The Perfection of Renunciation
18.118.3

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 18.2

Duty, renunciation and giving up the fruits

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।

काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं सन्न्यासं कवयो विदु: ।

सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस्त्यागं विचक्षणा: ॥ २ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

kāmyānāṁ karmaṇāṁ nyāsaṁ

sannyāsaṁ kavayo viduḥ

sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ

prāhus tyāgaṁ vicakṣaṇāḥ

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The giving up of activities that are based on material desire is what great learned men call the renounced order of life [sannyāsa]. And giving up the results of all activities is what the wise call renunciation [tyāga].

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Two Kinds of Renunciation

  1. 1Sannyāsa means giving up activities based on material desire; tyāga means giving up the results of all activities.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that desire-driven sacrifices should stop, but sacrifices that purify the heart or deepen spiritual knowledge should continue.
  3. 3Give up activities driven by material desires, but continue those that help you grow in spiritual knowledge.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 18, The Perfection of Renunciation: duty, renunciation and giving up the fruits.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Act dutifully without attachment to fruits.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Renunciation

Renunciation and relinquishment of fruits are distinguished.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 18.2 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to duty & action?

Practice

Do one task today purely because it is right.

4

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 18 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 5.2Detached action performed in devotionBG 6.1Renunciation in the midst of actionBG 18.11Duty, renunciation and giving up the fruits

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

Ask the study guide

Ask about BG 18.2 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.