Chapter 18, Verse 1
अर्जुन उवाच | संन्यासस्य महाबाहो तत्त्वमिच्छामि वेदितुम् | त्यागस्य च हृषीकेश पृथक्केशिनिषूदन ||१८-१||
arjuna uvāca . saṃnyāsasya mahābāho tattvamicchāmi veditum . tyāgasya ca hṛṣīkeśa pṛthakkeśiniṣūdana ||18-1||
Meaning
18.1 Arjuna said I desire to know severally, O mighty-armed, the essence or truth of renunciation, O Hrishikesa, as also of abandonment, O slayer of Kesi.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
The final chapter opens with Arjuna asking one last clarifying question. Throughout the dialogue Krishna has used two closely related Sanskrit words — sannyasa (renunciation) and tyaga (abandonment) — almost interchangeably, and Arjuna now wants their precise distinction. By addressing Krishna as Hrishikesha, master of the senses, he acknowledges that the answer concerns inner mastery, not outward escape.
This is the mark of a sincere seeker: rather than settling for a comfortable blur, Arjuna pursues exactness about the very terms on which a spiritual life is built. The whole chapter, the Gita's grand summary, unfolds from this honest desire to truly understand before he acts.
💡 Key Takeaway
Before committing to a path, take the trouble to understand precisely what its key ideas actually mean.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं संन्यासं कवयो विदुः | सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस्त्यागं विचक्षणाः ||१८-२||
śrībhagavānuvāca . kāmyānāṃ karmaṇāṃ nyāsaṃ saṃnyāsaṃ kavayo viduḥ . sarvakarmaphalatyāgaṃ prāhustyāgaṃ vicakṣaṇāḥ ||18-2||
18.2 The Blessed Lord said The sages understand Sannyasa to be the renunciation of action with desire; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all actions as Tyaga.
त्याज्यं दोषवदित्येके कर्म प्राहुर्मनीषिणः | यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यमिति चापरे ||१८-३||
tyājyaṃ doṣavadityeke karma prāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ . yajñadānatapaḥkarma na tyājyamiti cāpare ||18-3||
18.3 Some philosophers declare that actions should be abandoned as an evil; while others (declare) that acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be relinished.
निश्चयं शृणु मे तत्र त्यागे भरतसत्तम | त्यागो हि पुरुषव्याघ्र त्रिविधः सम्प्रकीर्तितः ||१८-४||
niścayaṃ śṛṇu me tatra tyāge bharatasattama . tyāgo hi puruṣavyāghra trividhaḥ samprakīrtitaḥ ||18-4||
18.4 Hear from Me the conclusion or the final truth about this abandonment, O best of the Bharatas; abandonment, verily, O best of men, has been declared to be of three kinds.