Sanskrit
अनिष्टमिष्टं मिश्रं च त्रिविधं कर्मणः फलम् । भवत्यत्यागिनां प्रेत्य न तु संन्यासिनां क्वचित् ॥ १२ ॥
aniṣṭam iṣṭaṃ miśraṃ ca trividhaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam bhavaty atyāginām pretya na tu saṃnyāsināṃ kvacit
Translation
Good, evil and mixed—threefold is the fruit of action hereafter for the non-relinquisher; but there is none ever for the renouncer.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The stakes of the distinction: three kinds of fruit — good, evil, and mixed — accrue after death to anyone who has not relinquished results, while the one who has relinquished gets none of these at all, for better or worse. This is the karmic bookkeeping made explicit: fruit-attachment isn’t just morally worse, it’s what keeps the ledger open in the first place. The fruit of action — good, bad, mixed — accrues after death only to those who clung to it. The saṃnyāsin, who let it go, carries none of it forward. This is BG 4.37’s “fire burns all actions to ash.””
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Word by word
- aniṣṭam iṣṭaṃ miśraṃ caअनिष्टं इष्टं मिश्रं च
- unwanted, wanted, and mixed (aniṣṭam + iṣṭam + miśram + ca)
- trividhaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalamत्रिविधं कर्मणः फलं
- the threefold fruit of action (trividham + karmaṇaḥ + phalam)
- bhavaty atyāginām pretyaभवत्य् अत्यागिनां प्रेत्य
- comes to non-relinquishers after death (bhavati + atyāginām + pretya)
- na tu saṃnyāsināṃ kvacitन तु संन्यासिनां क्वचित्
- but never to the renouncers (na + tu + saṃnyāsinām + kvacit)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Worth noticing that the fruit-attached person doesn’t just risk bad outcomes alongside good ones — a third, uncontrollable category, mixed fruit, is guaranteed to be in play as well. The case for relinquishing fruit here isn’t “good outcomes are impossible,” it’s that clinging to results buys you a three-way lottery you can’t steer, where even a well-intentioned action can land you in the mixed column instead of the good one.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you're gripping tightly to a specific outcome, remember you're not choosing between success and failure — you're entering a three-way lottery that includes an uncontrollable mixed result even when your intentions and effort are good. That's a reason to loosen the grip, not a reason to try harder at controlling it.
Professional
- When you tie your sense of the quarter to how a launch lands, remember the possible outcomes aren't just win or lose — a well-run launch can still land in an unpredictable mixed column for reasons outside your control. Judge your own effort against the standard you set, not against which of three uncontrollable outcomes shows up.
Family & Social
- If your mood rises and falls with how a child's specific choice turns out, remember that even a well-supported choice can land in an unpredictable mixed result — it's not a verdict on your parenting. Loosen your grip on the specific outcome rather than doubling down on controlling it.
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