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Chapter 18 · Verse 11 · Moksha Sanyaas Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 18.11

transformative Karma & Action Attachment & Letting Go Moksha & Liberation

Sanskrit

न हि देहभृता शक्यं त्यक्तुं कर्माण्यशेषतः।यस्तु कर्मफलत्यागी स त्यागीत्यभिधीयते।।18.11।।

Transliteration

na hi deha-bhṛitā śhakyaṁ tyaktuṁ karmāṇy aśheṣhataḥ yas tu karma-phala-tyāgī sa tyāgīty abhidhīyate

Word by Word

na not
hi indeed
deha-bhṛitā for the embodied being
śhakyam possible
tyaktum to give up
karmāṇi activities
aśheṣhataḥ entirely
yaḥ who
tu but
karma-phala fruits of actions
tyāgī one who renounces all desires for enjoying the fruits of actions
saḥ they
tyāgī one who renounces all desires for enjoying the fruits of actions
iti as
abhidhīyate are said
Simplified Perspective

Krishna reveals the paradox that destroys the ego's final hiding place: you cannot abandon action itself—the body demands it, breath demands it, life demands it—but you can abandon the poisoned fruit, the attachment that makes action into bondage. This is not renunciation of the world; it is renunciation of the world's grip on your heart.

When you act without clinging to results, without the anxiety of gain and loss, you become truly free while your hands remain full of work. In modern life, this means you can excel in your career, serve your family, pursue your gifts—but you stop treating outcomes as your identity, your worth, your proof of existence.

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Bhagavad Gita 18.11 — BG 18.11

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Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

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