Discomfort alone is not a valid reason to abandon duty.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
दुःखमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्त्यजेत् |स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत् ||१८-८||
duḥkhamityeva yatkarma kāyakleśabhayāttyajet . sa kṛtvā rājasaṃ tyāgaṃ naiva tyāgaphalaṃ labhet ||18-8||
Use this verse when discomfort makes you quit.
Meaning
One who gives up action merely because it is troublesome or from fear of bodily discomfort performs rajasic renunciation and does not gain the fruit of renunciation.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Giving up duty because it is uncomfortable is rajasic renunciation.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna distinguishes discomfort from wisdom. If a person abandons responsibility only because it is difficult, tiring, or inconvenient, the renunciation is rajasic and does not purify.
Read the traditional commentary
The second category is rajasic renunciation, driven by passion's twin — aversion. Here a person drops a duty simply because it is uncomfortable, fearing kaya-klesha, bodily strain or trouble. This is not high principle but mere avoidance of difficulty.
Krishna's verdict is firm: such a person gains none of the true fruit of renunciation. Quitting because something is hard is not spiritual; it is rajas dressed up as wisdom. The genuine renunciate releases attachment, not effort. Real tyaga is measured by inner freedom, never by the comfort one manages to preserve.
In daily life
Do not quit right action merely because it is hard.
A person may avoid exercise, study, or an honest conversation because it feels uncomfortable.
Try this today
Take one small step into a difficult but right duty.
I do not let discomfort decide my dharma.Reflect
What good action am I avoiding because it feels difficult?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘त्यागफलं’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on comfort, in other chapters
- Verse 11.49Behind the most fearsome face of Reality is a love that calls us out of fear and back into peace and gladness.
- Verse 3.37The real enemy within is insatiable desire, which sours into anger — name it clearly, for an enemy understood can be conquered.
- Verse 14.7Restless craving disguises itself as productivity — it is attachment to doing, not action itself, that binds you.
- Verse 17.9Constantly chasing intense stimulation — in food or in life — thrills for a moment but breeds agitation and suffering over time.
Swipe left for 18.9 · Sattvic tyaga is duty plus detachment.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.8
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.8, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.8, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.8 mean?
One who gives up action merely because it is troublesome or from fear of bodily discomfort performs rajasic renunciation and does not gain the fruit of renunciation. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.8 for daily life?
Do not quit right action merely because it is hard. A person may avoid exercise, study, or an honest conversation because it feels uncomfortable.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.8 mean?
दुःखम् इति एव — merely as painful; यत् कर्म — whatever action; कायक्लेशभयात् — from fear of bodily trouble; त्यजेत् — one abandons; सः कृत्वा — he, having done.
Where does verse 18.8 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 8 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.9.