Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 2
यं संन्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव।
न ह्यसंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन।।
न ह्यसंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन।।
yaṁ sannyāsam iti prāhur yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṇḍava
na hyasannyasta-saṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana
also searched as "yam sannyasam iti prahur yogam tam viddhi pandava"
Translation
That which is called Sannyasa (Jnana Yoga), know that to be Yoga (Karma Yoga), O Arjuna. For no one, among Karma Yogins, whose delusive identification of the body with the self has not been abandoned, becomes a true Karma Yogin.
Vāṇi's rendering
What they call renunciation is yoga itself — for no one becomes a yogi without renouncing self-serving designs.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यम्yaṁ | that which |
| संन्यासम्sannyāsam | renunciation, the laying down of the world |
| इतिiti | thus, by this name |
| प्राहुःprāhur | they call, they speak of |
| योगम्yogaṁ | yoga, the yoking of action |
| तम्taṁ | that same thing |
| विद्धिviddhi | know |
| पाण्डवpāṇḍava | son of Pandu — Arjuna |
| नna | not |
| हिhi | for, indeed (joined by sandhi to the next word) |
| असंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पःasannyasta-saṅkalpaḥ | one who has not set down his designs — the plans and wishes made for his own gain |
| योगीyogī | a yogi |
| भवतिbhavati | becomes |
| कश्चनkaścana | anyone at all |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 2 mean?
It means renunciation and yoga are not two paths. Krishna tells Arjuna that what people call sannyāsa is the very thing he has been teaching as action without attachment. Neither is about where you stand or what you wear. Both turn on whether the self-serving design behind the deed has been laid down.
yam sannyasam iti prahur yogam tam viddhi pandava — what is Krishna saying here?
He is refusing a distinction Arjuna leans on. Arjuna wants renunciation to mean escape from the field. Krishna says the renouncer and the yogi are one figure, because the actual renunciation happens inward — in saṅkalpa, the plotting of results — and can be done anywhere, including in the middle of a war.
What is sankalpa, and why must it be renounced?
Saṅkalpa is the mind's forward reach: the plan, the wish, the arrangement of an outcome that flatters you. It is not planning itself that Krishna faults, but the self folded into the plan. Leave that out and the work stays; only its grip on you goes.
Does this verse mean I do not need to give anything up?
It means the giving up is harder than leaving. Robes and empty hearths cost little; a mind that stops bargaining costs everything. You are not asked to abandon your duties. You are asked to do them without a private ledger running underneath.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna hears two words and thinks they name two roads. Krishna collapses them. The one who leaves the world and the one who works in it are doing the same thing, or neither is doing anything — because what gets renounced was never the work. It is saṅkalpa: the scheming that runs ahead of the deed, arranging outcomes in your favour. You can carry that into a cave. You can also drop it at your desk. Look at the last thing you did and find the design folded inside it. That is the thing to set down, not the doing.