A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Renunciation is not one thing; it has distinct forms.”
Arjuna, first hear my settled view on renunciation. Renunciation is said to be threefold.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallysettled view · hear · my · there · on renunciation · renunciation · indeed · tiger among men · threefold
Krishna tells Arjuna to listen carefully to his clear view on renunciation. He says renunciation has three forms, so the subject needs to be understood with precision.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Moksha Sanyasa Yoga" (Liberation through Renunciation).
Verse 4 sits in Chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sanyasa Yoga, "Liberation through Renunciation". The chapter has 78 verses in total.
A family selling the ancestral house argues about giving up the land, the memories, or the fight with the cousins. Krishna's point here is to sort out which kind of letting go is on the table before deciding.
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Before ruling on the debate, Krishna says tyaga comes in three kinds and asks Arjuna to hear his view.
What this verse means
Krishna tells Arjuna to listen carefully to his clear view on renunciation. He says renunciation has three forms, so the subject needs to be understood with precision.
Context & commentary
Arjuna still stands trapped between action and withdrawal. Krishna begins to untangle the final teaching by saying that renunciation itself must be understood in distinct forms, because not every kind of letting go means the same thing.
What it looks like today
A family selling the ancestral house argues about giving up the land, the memories, or the fight with the cousins. Krishna's point here is to sort out which kind of letting go is on the table before deciding.
“Clarity replaces confusion when a hard choice is named carefully.”
Explore related themes: renunciation (14 verses), tyaga (14 verses), sannyasa (12 verses)