Chapter 5, Verse 5
यत्साङ्ख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते | एकं साङ्ख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स पश्यति ||५-५||
yatsāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṃ tadyogairapi gamyate . ekaṃ sāṅkhyaṃ ca yogaṃ ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati ||5-5||
Meaning
5.5 That place which is reached by the Sankhyas or the Jnanis is reached by the Yogis (Karma Yogis). He sees, who sees knowledge and the performance of action (Karma Yoga) as one.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna drives the point home with luminous simplicity. The sthana — the supreme state attained by those on the path of knowledge — is exactly the same state reached by those who follow the path of selfless action. The destination is one; only the approaches differ.
The final line is a definition of true vision: 'He sees, who sees knowledge and action as one.' To perceive the underlying unity of the two paths is itself a mark of wisdom. The one who grasps this no longer wastes energy debating which is higher; they recognize that knowledge ripens in action and action is illumined by knowledge. This integrated seeing — samyag-darshana — is the clarity Arjuna sought. Right understanding precedes right living, and here understanding and doing are revealed as a single movement.
💡 Key Takeaway
Knowledge and selfless action are two doors to one room — seeing their unity is itself true insight.
Related Verses
साङ्ख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः | एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम् ||५-४||
sāṅkhyayogau pṛthagbālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ . ekamapyāsthitaḥ samyagubhayorvindate phalam ||5-4||
5.4 Children, not the wise, speak of knowledge and the Yoga of action or the performance of action as though they are distinct and different; he who is truly established in one obtains the fruits of both.
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः | अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः ||५-१५||
nādatte kasyacitpāpaṃ na caiva sukṛtaṃ vibhuḥ . ajñānenāvṛtaṃ jñānaṃ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ ||5-15||
5.15 The Lord takes neither the demerit nor even the merit of any; knowledge is enveloped by ignorance, thery beings are deluded.
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः | तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम् ||५-१६||
jñānena tu tadajñānaṃ yeṣāṃ nāśitamātmanaḥ . teṣāmādityavajjñānaṃ prakāśayati tatparam ||5-16||
5.16 But to those whose ignorance is destroyed by the knowledge of the Self, like the sun, knowledge reveals the Supreme (Brahman).