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Chapter 18 · Verse 5 · Moksha Sanyaas Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 18.5

transformative Karma & Action Dharma & Duty Moksha & Liberation

Sanskrit

यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत्।यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम्।।18.5।।

Transliteration

yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyaṁ kāryam eva tat yajño dānaṁ tapaśh chaiva pāvanāni manīṣhiṇām

Word by Word

yajña sacrifice
dāna charity
tapaḥ penance
karma actions
na never
tyājyam should be abandoned
kāryam eva must certainly be performed
tat that
yajñaḥ sacrifice
dānam charity
tapaḥ penance
cha and
eva indeed
pāvanāni purifying
manīṣhiṇām for the wise
Simplified Perspective

Lord Krishna dissolves the false renunciation that abandons action itself—the wise do not flee from sacrifice, charity, and discipline, but transform them into pathways of purification. These three sacred fires burn away the ego's attachments and reveal the Self that was never bound.

When you act with this understanding, every gift given, every ritual performed, every austerity undertaken becomes an offering that liberates rather than entangles you.

Listen

Bhagavad Gita 18.5 — BG 18.5

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

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