Sanskrit
असक्तबुद्धिः सर्वत्र जितात्मा विगतस्पृहः । नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिं परमां संन्यासेनाधिगच्छति ॥ ४९ ॥
asakta-buddhiḥ sarvatra jitātmā vigata-spṛhaḥ naiṣkarmya-siddhiṃ paramāṃ sannyāsenādhigacchati
Translation
He whose Reason is everywhere unattached, the self-subdued, dead to desires, he goeth by renunciation to the supreme perfection of freedom from obligation.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The person of everywhere-unattached reason, self-mastered and free of longing, reaches naishkarmya-siddhi — perfection through freedom from the bondage of action — by way of sannyasa. This is the chapter finally settling the karma-yoga-versus-sannyasa tension running since chapter 3: renunciation here isn’t abstention from acting but the inward detachment that stops action from generating bondage in the first place, the same redefinition chapter 5 first proposed and chapter 6 developed through meditation. Naiṣkarmya-siddhi — “the perfection of actionlessness” — reached not by stopping action (BG 3.4) but by the inner renunciation of its fruit. BG 18.50–BG 18.55 describe how that state opens onto Brahman and then devotion.
Study deeper
Word by word
- asakta-buddhiḥ sarvatraअसक्त-बुद्धिः सर्वत्र
- intellect unattached everywhere (asakta-buddhiḥ + sarvatra)
- jitātmā vigata-spṛhaḥजितात्मा विगत-स्पृहः
- self conquered, longing gone (jita-ātmā + vigata-spṛhaḥ)
- naiṣkarmya-siddhiṃ paramāṃनैष्कर्ंय-सिद्धिं परमां
- the supreme perfection of actionlessness (naiṣkarmya-siddhim + paramām)
- sannyāsenādhigacchatiसंन्यासेनाधिगच्छति
- he attains by renunciation (sannyāsena + adhigacchati)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The three qualities named here are sequenced, not simultaneous: unattached reason first, self-mastery next, absence of longing last. Read in order, longing isn’t the first thing to be fought directly — it’s the last thing to fall away, a byproduct of a changed relationship to things and a mastered self, rather than the initial target of the effort.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- If you're trying to eliminate a craving head-on and it isn't working, this verse's order suggests attacking it directly may be the wrong entry point — change your relationship to the object first, build the underlying discipline next, and let the longing fade as a downstream effect.
Professional
- Don't attack a team's resistance to change, its longing for the old way, as the first target; address the underlying orientation, how they relate to the change and their own sense of competence, and the resistance tends to fall away as a byproduct.
Family & Social
- A family member's persistent craving or attachment, to control, to an old grievance, rarely responds to being confronted head-on first; addressing the underlying relationship and sense of security usually has to come first, with the craving fading later.
Ask yourself
A few ways to take this verse past reading. Ticks and the note stay in this browser.
Reflect on this verse
Keep exploring
Topics