Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 7
नियतस्य तु संन्यासः कर्मणो नोपपद्यते।मोहात्तस्य परित्यागस्तामसः परिकीर्तितः।।
niyatasya tu sannyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate
mohāt tasya parityāgas tāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ
also searched as "niyatasya tu sannyasah karmano nopapadyate"
Translation
But the renunciation of obligatory acts is not proper; abandonment of these through delusion is declared to be of a Tamasic nature.
Vāṇi's rendering
The work that is yours to do must not be renounced. To drop it out of confusion — that is dark.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नियतस्यniyatasya | of what is settled upon you, the work that is yours to do |
| तुtu | but |
| संन्यासःsannyāsaḥ | renunciation, laying down |
| कर्मणःkarmaṇaḥ | of action, of the work |
| नna | not |
| उपपद्यतेupapadyate | is fitting, holds up (joins with the preceding na as nopapadyate) |
| मोहात्mohāt | out of confusion, from being clouded |
| तस्यtasya | of that work |
| परित्यागःparityāgaḥ | abandonment, dropping it altogether (visarga becomes s before tāmasaḥ) |
| तामसःtāmasaḥ | dark, of the nature of inertia |
| परिकीर्तितःparikīrtitaḥ | is called, is declared to be |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 7 mean?
It means the work that has fallen to you cannot be renounced by walking off. Krishna allows the giving up of attachment and of the fruit; he does not allow the giving up of the task. When the task is dropped because the mind is clouded, that dropping is tāmasa — dark, heavy, a sinking rather than a rising.
niyatasya tu sannyasah karmano nopapadyate — what is this verse saying?
Niyata karma is what is fixed for you — the duty your place and your hour have handed over. Krishna says renouncing that does not hold up. It fails on its own terms. What you can lay down is your grip on the outcome; the doing itself stays where it stands, waiting for you.
How do I tell true renunciation from running away?
Look at what is moving your hand. Clarity can set a thing down and remain steady, unhurried, unafraid of what people will say. Confusion cannot stay in the room, so it leaves and calls the leaving freedom. If relief is really escape, it does not last past the second morning.
Why does Krishna call this abandonment tamasic?
Because tamas is not wickedness but weight — the pull toward not moving, dressed up as peace. An act born of moha is born blind; it cannot see what it is refusing. Krishna names it plainly so Arjuna cannot mistake his own trembling on the field for the calm of a sage.
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Commentary
There is a walking away that looks like freedom and is only fog. Krishna has just said to act while letting go of the fruit; now he shuts the door Arjuna keeps eyeing. Dropping the work itself is not renunciation — it is escape wearing renunciation's clothes. The test is not how the leaving looks but what moves the hand. Clarity can set a thing down. Confusion only flees it, and calls the fleeing wisdom. So ask what is actually pushing you out the door. The task you abandoned this morning because it frightened you is still, tomorrow morning, yours.