Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 4
निश्चयं श्रृणु मे तत्र त्यागे भरतसत्तम।त्यागो हि पुरुषव्याघ्र त्रिविधः संप्रकीर्तितः।।
niścayaṁ śṛṇu me tatra tyāge bharata-sattama
tyāgo hi puruṣa-vyāghra tri-vidhaḥ samprakīrtitaḥ
also searched as "nishchayam shrinu me tatra tyage bharatasattama"
Translation
Listen to My decision, O Arjuna, concerning abandonment; for abandonment is declared to be of three kinds.
Vāṇi's rendering
Hear my settled judgment on letting go. Relinquishment itself, they teach, is of three kinds.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| निश्चयम्niścayaṁ | settled conclusion, the final word on the matter |
| श्रृणुśṛṇu | hear, listen |
| मेme | my, from me |
| तत्रtatra | there, in that matter |
| त्यागेtyāge | concerning relinquishment, about letting go |
| भरतसत्तमbharata-sattama | best of the Bharatas — Arjuna |
| त्यागःtyāgo | relinquishment, letting go (tyāgaḥ, softened before hi) |
| हिhi | indeed, for |
| पुरुषव्याघ्रpuruṣa-vyāghra | tiger among men — Arjuna |
| त्रिविधःtri-vidhaḥ | of three kinds, threefold |
| संप्रकीर्तितःsamprakīrtitaḥ | has been declared, is taught |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 4 mean?
Krishna answers the confusion of the previous verses by refusing a single ruling. He says: hear my settled judgment — tyāga is threefold. Letting go is not one act with one value. The same outward withdrawal can come from fear, from fatigue, or from freedom, and only the last is worth the name.
What is nishchayam shrinu me tatra tyage bharatasattama about?
It is Krishna asking Arjuna to stop weighing rival opinions and listen. The sages disagreed about whether action should be abandoned. Rather than pick a side, Krishna reframes the question — the issue was never whether to relinquish, but what kind of relinquishing is happening inside you.
Why does Krishna call Arjuna tiger among men here?
Because he is about to teach surrender, and surrender in a coward's mouth is only escape. Puruṣa-vyāghra sets the standard: what follows is for someone with the strength to act. Only a man who could fight is free to hear what real letting go means.
What are the three kinds of relinquishment in the Gita?
Krishna names them in the verses just ahead — sāttvika, rājasika, tāmasika. Giving up duty from delusion, giving it up to avoid discomfort, and doing the work while releasing all claim on its fruit. Same hands, three different hearts. Watch which one moves yours.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Two names for Arjuna in one verse — best of the Bharatas, tiger among men. Krishna is not flattering him; he is reminding a man about to be told to let go that letting go is not weakness. Then the surprise: relinquishment has kinds. Not everyone who walks away is doing the same thing. Some drop the work out of fear, some out of laziness, some because the fruit stopped mattering. The hand looks identical; the heart is not. Before you praise yourself for having released something, ask which of the three it was.