Chapter 5
Karma Sanyasa Yoga
Last updated: 14 June 2026
कर्म संन्यास योग
Total Shlokas: 29~7 min readSanskrit + Multi-language Meanings
Script:
Shloka 1
अर्जुन उवाच। संन्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि। यच्छ्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम्।।5.1।।
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Arjuna asks: Krishna, you praise both the renunciation of action and the performance of selfless action. Please tell me definitively which one is better.
Shloka 2
श्री भगवानुवाच। संन्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ। तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात्कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते।।5.2।।
Show Meaning
Krishna answers: Both renunciation and selfless action lead to liberation. But of the two, selfless action (Karma Yoga) is superior to mere renunciation of action.
Shloka 3
ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति। निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते।।5.3।।
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A true renunciate is one who neither hates nor desires anything. Free from the pairs of opposites, such a person is easily liberated from bondage. True renunciation is a state of mind, not of external circumstances.
Shloka 4
साङ्ख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः। एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम्।।5.4।।
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Only the ignorant speak of knowledge (Sankhya) and selfless action (Yoga) as different. The wise know that one who is truly established in either attains the fruit of both.
Shloka 5
यत्साङ्ख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते। एकं साङ्ख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स पश्यति।।5.5।।
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The state attained by the path of knowledge is also reached by the path of selfless action. One who sees that both paths lead to the same goal truly sees the truth.
Shloka 6
संन्यासस्तु महाबाहो दुःखमाप्तुमयोगतः। योगयुक्तो मुनिर्ब्रह्म नचिरेणाधिगच्छति।।5.6।।
Show Meaning
But renunciation is difficult to achieve without performing selfless action first. A sage engaged in Karma Yoga quickly attains Brahman. Action purifies the mind for higher realization.
Shloka 7
योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रियः। सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते।।5.7।।
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One who is devoted to selfless action, who is pure in heart, who has conquered the body and senses, and who sees the Self in all beings — such a person is not tainted by action despite being active.
Shloka 8
नैव किञ्चित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित्। पश्यञ्शृण्वन्स्पृशञ्जिघ्रन्नश्नन्गच्छन्स्वपञ्श्वसन्।।5.8।।
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A person united with the Divine, who knows the truth of things, realizes 'I do nothing at all' — even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, or breathing.
Shloka 9
प्रलपन्विसृजन्गृह्णन्नुन्मिषन्निमिषन्नपि। इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेषु वर्तन्त इति धारयन्।।5.9।।
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While speaking, letting go, grasping, opening and closing the eyes, one who knows the truth holds firmly that it is the senses alone that are interacting with sense objects, not the Self.
Shloka 10
ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः। लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा।।5.10।।
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One who acts without attachment, offering all actions to Brahman, is not touched by sin — just as a lotus leaf remains unaffected by water. This is the ideal of detached action.
Shloka 11
कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि। योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वात्मशुद्धये।।5.11।।
Show Meaning
Yogis perform action through body, mind, intellect, and senses alone, abandoning attachment, for the sake of self-purification. The purpose of action is inner growth, not outer gain.
Shloka 12
युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम्। अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते।।5.12।।
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One who is united with the Self, having abandoned the fruits of action, attains lasting peace. But the person who is not in union, motivated by desire, becomes bound.
Shloka 13
सर्वकर्माणि मनसा संन्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी। नवद्वारे पुरे देही नैव कुर्वन्न कारयन्।।5.13।।
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The self-controlled embodied being, mentally renouncing all actions, dwells happily in the city of nine gates (the body), neither acting nor causing others to act.
Shloka 14
न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभुः। न कर्मफलसंयोगं स्वभावस्तु प्रवर्तते।।5.14।।
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The Lord does not create the sense of doership, the actions, or the connection between action and its fruits for anyone. It is one's own nature (the modes of material nature) that drives everything.
Shloka 15
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः। अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः।।5.15।।
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The omnipresent Lord does not accept anyone's sin or virtue. Knowledge is covered by ignorance, and through this, beings are deluded.
Shloka 16
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः। तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम्।।5.16।।
Show Meaning
But for those whose ignorance is destroyed by self-knowledge, that knowledge illuminates the Supreme like the sun — revealing what was always present but hidden.
Shloka 17
तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः। गच्छन्त्यपुनरावृत्तिं ज्ञाननिर्धूतकल्मषाः।।5.17।।
Show Meaning
Those whose intellect, mind, steadfast fixedness (niṣṭhā), and refuge are all established in That (Brahman), purified by knowledge, attain the state from which there is no return. This is the path to permanent liberation.
Shloka 18
विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि। शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः।।5.18।।
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A truly wise person sees with equal vision a learned and humble sage, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste. This vision of equality comes from seeing the one Self in all beings.
Shloka 19
इहैव तैर्जितः सर्गो येषां साम्ये स्थितं मनः। निर्दोषं हि समं ब्रह्म तस्माद् ब्रह्मणि ते स्थिताः।।5.19।।
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Those whose minds are established in equality have conquered the world even while living in it. Since Brahman is flawless and equal, they are established in Brahman.
Shloka 20
न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम्। स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद् ब्रह्मणि स्थितः।।5.20।।
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One who neither rejoices upon obtaining something pleasant nor grieves upon receiving something unpleasant, who is steady in intellect, undeluded, and established in Brahman — such a person knows Brahman.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 (Karma Sanyasa Yoga) about?
Chapter 5, Karma Sanyasa Yoga, deals with the reconciliation of action and renunciation — both paths lead to the same liberation. It contains 29 verses and is part of the dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna at Kurukshetra.
How many verses are in Chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita?
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 (Karma Sanyasa Yoga) has 29 shlokas (verses). On VedKosh each one is available with the original Sanskrit, transliteration, and meaning in Hindi and English.
What is the key teaching of Chapter 5?
The central teaching of Karma Sanyasa Yoga is the reconciliation of action and renunciation — both paths lead to the same liberation. Read it as part of the unfolding wisdom Krishna gives Arjuna to resolve his moral crisis and act with clarity.