Step 4 of 7 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Pick any verse to see what it means and how to use it in your life.

  1. 1Tap a chapter, then a verse
  2. 2Read what it means
  3. 3Try the practice
700 verses37 detailed
Or browse by chapter
Chapter

Chapter 5 · Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness · 29 verses

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829

Deep profile← → keys move between verses

Questions & crisisChapter 5 · Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness
4.425.2

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 5.1

Arjuna questions renunciation and action

अर्जुन उवाच

सन्न्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि ।

यच्छ्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम् ॥ १ ॥

arjuna uvāca

sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa

punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi

yac chreya etayor ekaṁ

tan me brūhi su-niścitam

Translation

Arjuna said: O Kṛṣṇa, first of all You ask me to renounce work, and then again You recommend work with devotion. Now will You kindly tell me definitely which of the two is more beneficial?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

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

Renunciation or Devotional Work?

  1. 1Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa which is better: giving up work or working with devotion.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that devotional service is better and easier than dry mental speculation because it frees one from reactions to work.
  3. 3Rather than simply stopping work, work in devotion with full knowledge.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 5, Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness: arjuna questions renunciation and action.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Honest questions open the way to wisdom.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 5.1 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?

Practice

Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.

4

The story behind it

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

All stories for chapter 5 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 1.28Compassion entangled with attachmentBG 1.46The bow falls

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

Ask the study guide

Ask about BG 5.1 — 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.