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← Chapter 18: The Yoga of Liberation through Renunciation

Verse 18.49

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

असक्तबुद्धिः सर्वत्र जितात्मा विगतस्पृहः | नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिं परमां सन्न्यासेनाधिगच्छति ||४९||

Transliteration (IAST)

asakta-buddhiḥ sarvatra jitātmā vigata-spṛhaḥ | naiṣkarmya-siddhiṁ paramāṁ sannyāsenādhigacchati ||49||

Word-by-Word Meanings

asakta-buddhiḥ-one whose intellect is unattached
sarvatra-everywhere
jitātmā-one who has conquered the self
vigata-spṛhaḥ-free from desires
naiṣkarmya-siddhim-perfection of actionlessness
paramām-supreme
sannyāsena-by renunciation

Translation

He whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has subdued his self, and from whom desire has departed - he attains the supreme perfection of freedom from action through renunciation.

Commentary

Krishna describes the state of one who has transcended the need for action. Shankaracharya explains that naiṣkarmya-siddhi is not mere inaction but the state where actions no longer bind - the culmination of karma yoga leading to jnana. Ramanuja interprets this as the state of complete surrender where God acts through the devotee.

Themes

mokshajnanasurrender