Chapter 18, Verse 9
कार्यमित्येव यत्कर्म नियतं क्रियतेऽर्जुन | सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलं चैव स त्यागः सात्त्विको मतः ||१८-९||
kāryamityeva yatkarma niyataṃ kriyate.arjuna . saṅgaṃ tyaktvā phalaṃ caiva sa tyāgaḥ sāttviko mataḥ ||18-9||
Meaning
18.9 Whatever obligatory action is done, O Arjuna, merely because it ought to be done, abandoning attachment and also the desire for reward, that renunciation is regarded as Sattvic (pure).
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Now Krishna reveals the highest form: sattvic renunciation. Here the prescribed duty is fully performed — not abandoned — simply because kaaryam, because it ought to be done. What is renounced is the inner attachment and the craving for results, not the action itself.
This is the resolution of the whole inquiry. True renunciation is an inner act performed in the midst of outer engagement. The sattvic person does what is right with steady devotion to duty, neither chasing reward nor fleeing difficulty. This quiet, selfless fulfilment of responsibility is the purest renunciation the Gita knows.
💡 Key Takeaway
The purest renunciation is doing your duty wholeheartedly simply because it is right, free of attachment and reward.
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.
यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत् | यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम् ||१८-५||
yajñadānatapaḥkarma na tyājyaṃ kāryameva tat . yajño dānaṃ tapaścaiva pāvanāni manīṣiṇām ||18-5||
18.5 Acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be abandoned, but should be performed; sacrifice, gift and also austerity are the purifiers of the wise.
एतान्यपि तु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च | कर्तव्यानीति मे पार्थ निश्चितं मतमुत्तमम् ||१८-६||
etānyapi tu karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā phalāni ca . kartavyānīti me pārtha niścitaṃ matamuttamam ||18-6||
18.6 But even these actions should be performed leaving aside attachment and the desire for rewards, O Arjuna; this is My certain and best conviction.