🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 5.12
Chapter 5 · कर्मसंन्यासयोग · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · "The Yoga of Action-Renunciation" · Verse 12 of 29
🪷 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
5.12 Having abandoned the fruit of action, he wins eternal peace. Others unacquainted with spirituality, led by desire and clinging to the benefit which they think will follow their actions, become entangled in them.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
5.12 The united one (the well poised or the harmonised) having abandoned the fruit of action attains to the eternal peace: the non-united only (the unsteady or the unbalanced) impelled by desire, attached to the fruit, is bound.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
5.12 Tyaktva, giving up; karma-phalam, the result of work; yuktah, by becoming resolute in faith, by having this conviction thus-'Actions are for God, not for my gain'; apnoti, attains; santim, Peace, called Liberation; naisthikim arising from steadfastness. It is to be understood that he attains this through the stages of purification of the heart, acisition of Knowledge, renunciation of all actions, and steadfastness in Knowledge.
On the other hand, however, he who is ayuktah, lacking in resolute faith; he, phale saktah, being attached to result; thinking, 'I am doing this work for my gain'; kama-karena, under the impulsion of desire-kara is the same as karana (action); the action of desire (kama-kara; under that impulsion of desire, i.e. being prompted by desire; nibadhyate, gets bound. Therefore you become resolute in faith. This is the idea.
But one who has experienced the supreme Reality-
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
5.12 A Yogin is one who has no hankering for fruits other than the self, and who is exclusively devoted to the self. If a man renounces the fruits of actions and performs actions merely for the purification of himself, he attains lasting peace, i.e., he attains bliss which is of the form of lasting experience of the self. The unsteady person is one who is inclined towards fruits other than the self. He has turned himself away from the vision of the self. Being impelled by desire, he becomes attached to fruits of actions, and remains bound for ever by them. That is, he becomes a perpetual Samsarin or one involved in transmigratory cycle endlessly. What is said is this: Free of attachment for fruits and attributing one's actions to Prakrti which has developed into the form of senses, one should perform actions merely to free the self from bondage.
Next, the shifting of agency to Prakrti, from which the body has come into existence, is described:
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
5.12. Having abandoned [the attachment for] the fruit of actions, the master of Yoga attains the highest Peace. [But] the person, other than the master of Yoga, attached to the fruit of action, is bound by his action born of desire.
🪷 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
5.12 युक्तः the united one (the well poised)? कर्मफलम् fruit of action? त्यक्त्वा having abandoned? शान्तिम् peace? आप्नोति attains? नैष्ठिकीम् final? अयुक्तः the nonunited one? कामकारेण impelled by desire? फले in the fruit (of action)? सक्तः attached? निबध्यते is bound.Commentary Santim naishthikim is interpreted as peace born of devotion of steadfastness. The harmonious man who does actions for the sake of the Lord without expectation of the fruit and who says? I do actions for my Lord only? not for my personal gain or profit? attains to the peace born of devotion? through the following four stages? viz.? purity of mind? the attainment of knowledge? renunciation of actions? and steadiness in wisdom. But the unbalanced or the unharmonised man who is led by desire and who is attached to the fruits of the actions and who says? I have done such and such an action I will get such and such a fruit? is firmly bound.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
5.12 Tyaktva, giving up; karma-phalam, the result of work; yuktah, by becoming resolute in faith, by having this conviction thus-'Actions are for God, not for my gain'; apnoti, attains; santim, Peace, called Liberation; naisthikim arising from steadfastness. It is to be understood that he attains this through the stages of purification of the heart, acisition of Knowledge, renunciation of all actions, and steadfastness in Knowledge.
On the other hand, however, he who is ayuktah, lacking in resolute faith; he, phale saktah, being attached to result; thinking, 'I am doing this work for my gain'; kama-karena, under the impulsion of desire-kara is the same as karana (action); the action of desire (kama-kara; under that impulsion of desire, i.e. being prompted by desire; nibadhyate, gets bound. Therefore you become resolute in faith. This is the idea.
But one who has experienced the supreme Reality-
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
5.12 A Yogin is one who has no hankering for fruits other than the self, and who is exclusively devoted to the self. If a man renounces the fruits of actions and performs actions merely for the purification of himself, he attains lasting peace, i.e., he attains bliss which is of the form of lasting experience of the self. The unsteady person is one who is inclined towards fruits other than the self. He has turned himself away from the vision of the self. Being impelled by desire, he becomes attached to fruits of actions, and remains bound for ever by them. That is, he becomes a perpetual Samsarin or one involved in transmigratory cycle endlessly. What is said is this: Free of attachment for fruits and attributing one's actions to Prakrti which has developed into the form of senses, one should perform actions merely to free the self from bondage.
Next, the shifting of agency to Prakrti, from which the body has come into existence, is described:
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
5.12 Yuktah etc. Highest : that from which there is no return.
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।5.12।। कर्मफल की प्राप्ति की चिन्ताओं से मुक्त होकर सम्यक् प्रकार से कर्माचरण के द्वारा कर्मयोगी को अनिर्वचनीय शान्ति प्राप्त होती है। यह शान्ति आर्थिक अथवा राजनैतिक परिस्थितियों द्वारा उत्पन्न की जाने वाली कोई वस्तु नहीं है। संविधान बनाने वाली संस्थाओं तथा अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय संगठनों के द्वारा भी इस शान्ति को स्थापित नहीं किया जा सकता। यह तो मनुष्य के मन की वह स्थिति है जबकि उसका आन्तरिक संसार विक्षुब्ध करने वाले विचारों के मदोन्मत्त तूफानों से विचलित नहीं होता। शान्ति एक अखण्डानुभूति एवं एक संगठित व्यक्तित्व को सुरभि है। यज्ञ भावना से कर्म करते हुए इस शान्ति को प्राप्त करना ही यहां प्रतिपादित क्रांतिकारी सिद्धांत है। जब साधक कर्तृत्व के अभिमान और फल की आसक्ति का त्याग करके अपने कर्तव्य कर्म करता है तब उसे कर्मयोग निष्ठा की शान्ति शीघ्र ही प्राप्त होती है।इसी बात पर अधिक बल देने के लिये भगवान् कहते हैं कि कर्मयोगी के विपरीत जो अयुक्त पुरुष है वह अभिमान तथा फलासक्ति के कारण अपने ही कर्मों से बँधता है। जो औषधि कम मात्रा में उपचार का कार्य करती है उसी का अधिक मात्रा में सेवन मृत्यु का कारण बन सकता है जैसे नींद की गोलियाँ। जो शस्त्र आत्मरक्षण का साधन है वही आत्महनन का भी कारण बन सकता है।इसी प्रकार जगत् में अविवेक से कार्य करने पर संतोष और आनन्द के आलोक के मिलन के स्थान पर दृढ़तर बन्धन और अथाह अन्धकारमय जीवन प्राप्त होता है। इसका एकमात्र कारण है हमारी किसी फलविशेष के लिए कामना। भविष्य मे अपने मन के अनुकूल स्थिति को चाहने का नाम है कामना अथवा इच्छा। यदि एक मेंढक अपना विस्तार करता हुआ बैल के आकार का बनने का प्रयत्न करे तो उसका अन्त दुखपूर्ण ही होगा। एक परिच्छिन्न सार्मथ्य का जीव स्वयं के अनुकूल और इष्ट परिस्थिति का निर्माण करने में सर्वथा असमर्थ है। उसका प्रयत्न उस मेढक के समान ही होने के कारण अविवेकपूर्ण है। उसको यह समझना चाहिए कि कर्म करने में वह स्वतन्त्र है परन्तु कर्मफल अनेक नियमों के अनुसार प्राप्त होने के कारण फल प्राप्ति में वह परवश है। इसलिए किसी फलविशेष में आसक्त होकर उसका आग्रह रखना केवल अज्ञान के सिवाय और कुछ नहीं।परन्तु जो परमार्थदर्शी हैं उसके विषय में कहते हैं
🪷 Place in the Bhagavad-Gītā
- This is verse 12 of 29 in Chapter 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga (The Yoga of Action-Renunciation)
- Chapter theme: Sama-darśana · the body as nine-gated city · seer beyond doer
- Ṣaṭka grouping: TVAM-Ṣaṭka (BG 1-6 · the jīva)
- Chapter hub: /karma-sannyasa
🪷 ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय 🪷
सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)