🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 18.49

Chapter 18 · मोक्षसंन्यासयोग · Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga · "The Yoga of Liberation & Renunciation" · Verse 49 of 78

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असक्तबुद्धिः सर्वत्र जितात्मा विगतस्पृहः।नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिं परमां संन्यासेनाधिगच्छति।।18.49।।
Bhagavad-Gītā 18.49 · the yathārtha śloka (Devanāgarī Sanskrit · canonical)

🪷 English Translations

Five authentic English voices · each from a distinct sampradāya · together revealing the verse's full śabda-tattva.

Shri Purohit Swami · Poetic English · 1935 · public domain · Cosmo Press tradition
18.49 He whose mind is entirely detached, who has conquered himself, whose desires have vanished, by his renunciation reaches that stage of perfect freedom where action completes itself and leaves no seed.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
18.49 He whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has subdued his self, from whom desire has fled, he by renunciation, attains the supreme state of freedom from action.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
18.49 Asakta-buddhih, he whose intellect, the internal organ, remains unattached; sarvatra, to everything, with regard to son, wife and others who are the cuases of attachment; jitatma, who has conered his internal organs; and vigata-sprhah, who is desireless, whose thirst for his body, life and objects of enjoyment have been eradicated;-he who is such a knower of the Self, adhigaccahti, attains; sannyasena, through monasticism, through perfect knowledge or through renunciation of all actions preceded by this knowledge; the paramam, supreme, most excellent; naiskarmya-siddhim, perfection consisting in the state of one free from duties. One is said to be free from duties from whom duties have daparted as a result of realizing that the actionless Brahman is his Self; his state is naiskarmyam. That siddhi (perfection) which is this naiskarmya is naiskarmya-siddhi. Or, this phrase means 'achievement of naiskarmya', i.e., achievement of the state of remaining established in one's own real nature as the actionless Self-which is different from the success arising from Karma (-yoga), and is of the form of being established in the state of immediate Liberation. Accordingly has it been said, '৷৷.having given up all actions mentally,৷৷.without doing or causing (others) to do anything at all' (5.13). The stages through which one who has attained success-which has the aforesaid characteristics and which arises from the performance of one's own duties mentioned earlier as worship of God-, and in whom has arisen discriminative knowledge, achieves perfection-in the form of exclusive adherence to Knowledge of the Self and consisting in the state of one free from duties-have to be stated. With this is view the Lord says:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
18.49 He whose understanding is, on all sides, without attachments, concerning fruits etc., whose 'self is conered,' i.e., who has conered his mind; who, by contemplating on the agency of the Supreme Person, is free from the habit of attributing agency to the self; and who is thus eipped with Sannyasa which has been positively determined to be the same as Tyaga - such a man, performing actions, attains supreme perfection which is free from all activities. The meaning is that he attains devotion to Dhyana which is the consummation of even Jnana Yoga; he attains Dhyana Yoga (Yoga of meditation) consisting in the complete cessation of sensory activity, which is going to be described hereafter.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
18.49. He, whose mind entertains no attachment to anything, who is self-conered and is free from craving-he attains by means of renunciation the supreme success of actionlessness.

🪷 English Commentaries · The Ācārya Voices

The classical commentary tradition rendered in English · each ācārya speaks from their own sampradāya · the seer chooses the depth of darśana.

Swami Sivananda · Verse-by-verse word-keys with Sanskrit anchors
18.49 असक्तबुद्धिः whose intellect is unattached? सर्वत्र eveywhere? जितात्मा who has subdued his self? विगतस्पृहः whose desire has fled? नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिम् the perfection consisting in freedom from action? परमाम् the supreme? संन्यासेन by renunciaion? अधिगच्छति (he) attains.Commentary The mind of one who is free from attachment to wife? son? body and property? who has controlled his senses and the mind? who has no desire for the body? for life and for sensual pleasure? turns inwards towards God or the immortal Self. It is not attracted by the sensual objects of the world. It is filled with dispassion and discrimination.He gradually gets himself established in his own Self which is of the nature of ExistenceKnowledgeBliss. Such a person who has knowledge of the Self attains to the highest perfection? to pefect freedom from action by renunciation.Ignorance is destroyed by the attainment of the knowledge of the Self. There is cessation of activity. One may perform actions for the solidarity of the world and yet he will not be bound by actions as he has attained absolute freedom from action through the knowledge of the Self. The fire of knowledge has burnt the fruitbearing effects of Karmas or actions. He has no idea of agency as he is absolutely free from egoism? as he has identified himself with the Supreme Being.Naishkarmya siddhi may also mean the attainment of the state of Naishkarmya. In this exalted? magnanimous? ineffable state of divine splendour and glory? one remains as the actionless Self. This is the state of immediate liberation of the Vedantins (Kaivalya Moksha or Sadyomukti). This marvellous state is attained by renunciation or right knowledge or by the renunciation of all actions brought about by the attainment of the knowledge of the Self. Mentally renouncing all actions and selfcontrolled? the embodied one rests happily in the ninegated? city? neither acting nor causing others to act. (Cf.V.13)Now the Lord teaches in the next verse how a man who? having attained perfection as described above in verse 46? by doing his duty in the service of the Lord can attain perfect freedom from action. He gets discrimination? practises constant meditation and rests in the knowledge of the immutable Self.,(Cf.III.4and19)
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
18.49 Asakta-buddhih, he whose intellect, the internal organ, remains unattached; sarvatra, to everything, with regard to son, wife and others who are the cuases of attachment; jitatma, who has conered his internal organs; and vigata-sprhah, who is desireless, whose thirst for his body, life and objects of enjoyment have been eradicated;-he who is such a knower of the Self, adhigaccahti, attains; sannyasena, through monasticism, through perfect knowledge or through renunciation of all actions preceded by this knowledge; the paramam, supreme, most excellent; naiskarmya-siddhim, perfection consisting in the state of one free from duties. One is said to be free from duties from whom duties have daparted as a result of realizing that the actionless Brahman is his Self; his state is naiskarmyam. That siddhi (perfection) which is this naiskarmya is naiskarmya-siddhi. Or, this phrase means 'achievement of naiskarmya', i.e., achievement of the state of remaining established in one's own real nature as the actionless Self-which is different from the success arising from Karma (-yoga), and is of the form of being established in the state of immediate Liberation. Accordingly has it been said, '৷৷.having given up all actions mentally,৷৷.without doing or causing (others) to do anything at all' (5.13). The stages through which one who has attained success-which has the aforesaid characteristics and which arises from the performance of one's own duties mentioned earlier as worship of God-, and in whom has arisen discriminative knowledge, achieves perfection-in the form of exclusive adherence to Knowledge of the Self and consisting in the state of one free from duties-have to be stated. With this is view the Lord says:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
18.49 He whose understanding is, on all sides, without attachments, concerning fruits etc., whose 'self is conered,' i.e., who has conered his mind; who, by contemplating on the agency of the Supreme Person, is free from the habit of attributing agency to the self; and who is thus eipped with Sannyasa which has been positively determined to be the same as Tyaga - such a man, performing actions, attains supreme perfection which is free from all activities. The meaning is that he attains devotion to Dhyana which is the consummation of even Jnana Yoga; he attains Dhyana Yoga (Yoga of meditation) consisting in the complete cessation of sensory activity, which is going to be described hereafter.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
18.49 See Comment under 18.60
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।18.49।। हमको यह स्मरण रखना चाहिए कि सम्पूर्ण गीतोपदेश उस अर्जुन के लिए दिया गया था? जो युद्ध भूमि पर कर्तव्य की विशालता को देखकर संभ्रमित हो गया था। वह युद्ध से पलायन कर? जंगलों में स्वकल्पित धारणा के अनुसार संन्यास का जीवन जीना चाहता था। भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण ने गीता में इस सिद्धांत का प्रतिपादन किया है कि सांसारिक जीवन तथा उसके कर्तव्यों से दूर भागना संन्यास नहीं है। इस श्लोक में भगवान् श्री कृष्ण नैर्ष्कम्य सिद्धि की परिभाषा देते हैं? जिसका साधन संन्यास है। संन्यास का अर्थ है शरीर? मन और बुद्धि उपाधियों के साथ हुए अपने तादात्म्य का त्याग करना। अपने शुद्ध आत्मस्वरूप में निष्ठा प्राप्त करना ही नैर्ष्कम्य सिद्धि है।जब हम अपने आत्मस्वरूप को विस्मृत कर देते हैं? तब कर्तृत्व भोक्तृत्व अभिमानी जीव की उत्पत्ति होती है। तत्पश्चात् हमारा समस्त व्यवहार जीव के रूप में ही होता है। लौकिक जगत् में भी? मद्यपान से उन्मत्त पुरुष में इस प्रकार की आत्मविस्मृति देखी जाती है। वह अपने व्यक्तित्व और पद को विस्मृत कर किसी अन्य रूप में ही व्यवहार करने लगता है। इस मादक उन्मत्तता में वह अपनी शिक्षादीक्षा? सभ्यता और संस्कृति को अपमानित करता हुआ निन्दनीय व्यवहार करता है। जब तक उस मादक पेय का प्रभाव बना रहता है? तब तक वह इसी प्रकार निन्द्य व्यवहार करता रहता है।आत्म अज्ञान के कारण अभिमानी जीव की उत्पत्ति होती है। आत्मज्ञान से इस अज्ञान का नाश हो जाने पर जीव को अपने परिपूर्ण सच्चिदानन्द स्वरूप का अनुभव होता है। उस पूर्ण के पूर्ण अनुभव में अपूर्णता का भान कहाँ और अपूर्णता न हो? तो कामना की भी उत्पत्ति नहीं हो सकती। कामना के अभाव में विचारों का संचलन ही अवरुद्ध हो जाता है? और इस प्रकार सुख की प्राप्ति के लिए कर्म करने की आवश्यकता नहीं रह जाती। यह स्थिति परम नैर्ष्कम्य सिद्धि कही जा सकती है।वेदान्त दर्शन में वर्णित नैर्ष्कम्य सिद्धि परमानन्द के अनुभव की वह स्थिति है? जिसमें अज्ञान? काम? विचार और कर्म का सर्वथा अभाव है। वेदान्तरूपी अध्यात्मिकमनोविज्ञान में हम कह सकते हैं कि अज्ञान कर्म का प्रपितामह है अत यह स्पष्ट हो जाता है कि स्वस्वरूप में संस्थिति ही नैर्ष्कम्य सिद्धि है। इसे ही निर्विकल्प अथवा निष्कामत्व की स्थिति भी कहते हैं।इस श्लोक में गीताचार्य भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण यह स्पष्ट घोषणा करते हैं कि नैर्ष्कम्य की परम सिद्धि को प्राप्त होने का साधन ज्ञानलक्षण संन्यास है। जीवन संघर्षों से तुच्छ प्रकार के अशोभनीय पलायन के द्वारा इस पूर्णत्व की स्थिति को प्राप्त नहीं किया जा सकता। स्वधर्म के पालन द्वारा हमको चित्तशुद्धि प्राप्त करनी चाहिए और तदुपरान्त ही संन्यास अर्थात् आत्मबोध के द्वारा स्वस्वरूप में दृढ़स्थिति प्राप्त की जा सकती है। क्षत्रिय होने के नाते अर्जुन का युद्ध से विरत होना उपयुक्त नहीं था। अत भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण उसे उसके स्वधर्म में प्रवृत्त करते हैं।सर्वत्र असक्त बुद्धि यह सुविदित तथ्य है कि विषयों में आसक्त पुरुष को कभी मनशान्ति नहीं प्राप्त होती। आसक्ति के कारण मन क्षुब्ध रहता है और दुर्बल शरीर मन की इच्छा के अनुसार काम करते हुए थक जाता है। मुण्डन किया हुआ मस्तक अर्थात् वह बुद्धि जो समस्त प्रकार की आसक्तियों से मुक्त है? वही उस परमात्मा को प्रकट कर सकती है? जो समस्त उपाधियों को चेतना प्रदान करता है। यह वास्तविक नैर्ष्कम्य सिद्धि है और एक साधन सम्पन्न उत्तम अधिकारी ही इसे प्राप्त कर सकता है।अर्जुन की संन्यास की इच्छा बन्धुमित्र परिवार के प्रति आसक्ति के कारण उत्पन्न हुई थी? अनासक्ति से नहीं। इसलिए? वह इच्छा मिथ्या ही थी।जितात्मा और विगतस्पृह जिस पुरुष के मन में विषयभोग की किंचिन्मात्र भी लालसा नहीं रह गयी है (विगतस्पृह)? केवल वही पुरुष जितात्मा अर्थात् पूर्ण आत्मसंयमी बन सकता है।मन और बुद्धि में ही क्रमश कर्तृत्व और भोकतृत्व के अभिमान निवास करते हैं। इन दोनों अभिमानों का संयुक्त रूप ही जीव कहलाता है। संसार में इस जीव का अस्तित्व बने रहने के कारण विषयों में उसकी स्पृहा है। सम्यक् विवेचन द्वारा यह जानकर कि विषयों में सुख नहीं होता? यह स्पृहा नष्ट की जा सकती है। उसी प्रकार? आत्मा और अनात्मा के विवेक के द्वारा आत्मबोध होने पर जीवभाव का भी अन्त हो जाता है। गीता इस बात को बारम्बार दोहराते हुए कभी नहीं थकती कि आध्यात्मिक उन्नति के लिए आत्मसंयम एवं स्पृहा समाप्ति अपरिहार्य गुण हैं। यहाँ विशेष ध्यान देने योग्य बात यह है कि नैर्ष्कम्य सिद्धि कोई अप्राप्त और नवीन स्थिति की प्राप्ति नहीं है? वरन् अज्ञान जनित आसक्तियों के त्याग से अपने स्वरूप की पहचान मात्र है। यह स्वत सिद्ध साध्य की सिद्धि है।भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण आगे कहते हैं।

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सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)