Not all action should be abandoned.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
त्याज्यं दोषवदित्येके कर्म प्राहुर्मनीषिणः |यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यमिति चापरे ||१८-३||
tyājyaṃ doṣavadityeke karma prāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ . yajñadānatapaḥkarma na tyājyamiti cāpare ||18-3||
Use this verse when you want to abandon all practice.
Meaning
Some thinkers say action should be abandoned as faulty, while others say acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity should not be abandoned.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
There are different views on whether action should be renounced, but sacred duties remain important.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna presents the debate. Some see action as binding, while others protect yajna, charity, and tapas as purifying duties. The chapter will reconcile action with detachment.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna lays out the honest disagreement among the wise before giving his own verdict. One school treats all action as inherently flawed and binding, urging its total abandonment. Another insists that the purifying acts — yajna (sacrifice), dana (charity), and tapas (austerity) — must never be given up.
By naming these competing views fairly, Krishna models intellectual integrity: he does not strawman either side. The tension is real, and Arjuna deserves to see it clearly before the resolution comes. This sets up the next verses, where Krishna will reconcile the dispute with his own carefully reasoned conclusion.
In daily life
Do not reject purifying duties just because action feels hard.
A person may stop prayer, giving, or discipline during stress, but these may be exactly what purifies the mind.
Try this today
Keep one small yajna, daan, or tapas practice today.
I keep purifying duties with detachment.Reflect
Which purifying duty am I tempted to abandon?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘दोषवत्’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on renunciation, in other chapters
- Verse 2.51The wise who abandon attachment to the fruits of action attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
- Verse 3.4Walking away from your duties does not free you — freedom is found by acting without attachment, not by avoiding action.
- Verse 4.41Selfless action joined with clear knowledge frees the self-possessed soul — deeds no longer bind one anchored in the Self.
- Verse 5.1 · ArjunaWhen two good paths seem to contradict, ask for clarity rather than choosing blindly — sincere questioning is the start of wisdom.
Swipe left for 18.4 · Renunciation has a guna-quality.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.3
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.3, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.3, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.3 mean?
Some thinkers say action should be abandoned as faulty, while others say acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity should not be abandoned. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.3 for daily life?
Do not reject purifying duties just because action feels hard. A person may stop prayer, giving, or discipline during stress, but these may be exactly what purifies the mind.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.3 mean?
त्याज्यं — should be abandoned; दोषवत् — as an evil / being full of fault; इति एके — thus some; कर्म — action; प्राहुः — declare.
Where does verse 18.3 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 3 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.4.