Renunciation begins inside the mind.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति |निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ||५-३||
jñeyaḥ sa nityasaṃnyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati . nirdvandvo hi mahābāho sukhaṃ bandhātpramucyate ||5-3||
Use this verse when likes or dislikes control your peace.
Meaning
One who neither hates nor desires should be known as a constant renunciate. Free from dualities, such a person is easily released from bondage.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
True renunciation is freedom from hatred and craving.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna redefines renunciation. It is not only changing clothes, location, or social role. A true renunciate is one who is not ruled by attraction and aversion. This is deeply practical: you can live in the world and still renounce inner slavery to likes, dislikes, jealousy, fear, and craving.
Read the traditional commentary
Here Krishna redefines what renunciation truly means. The nitya-sannyasi — the eternal renunciate — is not one who has abandoned home or duty, but one who has abandoned the inner movements of dvesa (hatred) and kanksha (craving). Such a person may be fully active in the world, yet is internally free.
The key term is nirdvandva — beyond the dualities of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame. These opposites are the chains that bind us; we are tossed between craving one and rejecting the other. The moment the heart stops clinging and recoiling, bondage dissolves easily (sukham) — not through struggle, but naturally.
This verse dissolves Arjuna's confusion: action and renunciation are reconciled in the person who acts without desire or aversion.
In daily life
Notice both craving and hatred; both can bind you.
Someone may not chase luxury, but still be bound by resentment toward successful people.
Try this today
Write one craving and one aversion, then observe how they affect your choices.
I release craving and hatred into inner freedom.Reflect
What do I strongly crave or strongly reject?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘निर्द्वन्द्वः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on renunciation, in other chapters
- Verse 6.4You are established in yoga when nothing — neither pleasures nor projects — has a grip on your mind anymore.
- Verse 3.18Inner completeness means acting from fullness, not need — free from the endless calculation of what you might gain or lose.
- Verse 15.5Inner freedom from pride, craving, and the swing of pleasure and pain leads to the imperishable state.
- Verse 18.10When you act free of attachment, no task feels like a burden and no pleasant outcome traps you.
Swipe left for 5.4 · Knowledge and action complete each other.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 5.3
Who says Bhagavad Gita 5.3, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 5.3, in Chapter 5, Karma Sannyas Yoga (Karma Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 5.3 mean?
One who neither hates nor desires should be known as a constant renunciate. Free from dualities, such a person is easily released from bondage. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 5.3 for daily life?
Notice both craving and hatred; both can bind you. Someone may not chase luxury, but still be bound by resentment toward successful people.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 5.3 mean?
ज्ञेयः — should be known; सः नित्यसंन्यासी — as a perpetual renunciate; यः न द्वेष्टि — who neither hates; न काङ्क्षति — nor desires; निर्द्वन्द्वः — free from the pairs of opposites.
Where does verse 5.3 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 3 of 29 in Chapter 5, Karma Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 5.4.