Sanskrit
यदा हि नेन्द्रियार्थेषु न कर्मस्वनुषज्जते । सर्वसङ्कल्पसंन्यासी योगारूढस्तदोच्यते ॥
yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu na karmasv anuṣajjate sarvasaṅkalpasaṃnyāsī yogārūḍhas tadocyate
Translation
When a man feeleth no attachment either for the objects of sense or for actions, renouncing the formative will, then, he is said to be enthroned in yoga.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
This defines the “enthroned” (yogarudha) state named in verse 3: non-attachment to both sense objects and to actions themselves, alongside the renunciation of sankalpa introduced in verse 2. The three terms — objects, actions, and the will that plans around them — form the complete list of what has to be released, not merely restrained. The list is exhaustive by design: indriya-artha (what pulls), karma (the doing), saṅkalpa (the wanting behind it). BG 6.18 restates this same condition in the meditation section’s vocabulary.
Study deeper
Word by word
- yadā hi nendriyārtheṣuयदा हि नेन्द्रियार्थेषु
- when, indeed, [one clings] not to sense-objects (yadā + hi + na + indriya-artheṣu)
- na karmasv anuṣajjateन कर्मस्व् अनुषज्जते
- nor to actions is attached (na + karmasu + anuṣajjate)
- sarvasaṅkalpasaṃnyāsīसर्वसङ्कल्पसंन्यासी
- having renounced all willful purpose (sarva-saṅkalpa-saṃnyāsī)
- yogārūḍhas tadocyateयोगारूढस् तदोच्यते
- then he is called established in yoga (yoga-ārūḍhaḥ + tadā + ucyate)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Notice the verb Krishna doesn’t use: not restrained, suppressed, or managed — released. Non-attachment here isn’t a tighter grip held very carefully, it’s the grip actually opening. A list of three things (objects, actions, the will around them) sounds like more to manage, but the verse’s whole claim is that at this stage it stops being management at all.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- If a habit or craving still requires constant effort to hold in check, you haven't arrived at freedom from it yet — you're still managing it. The real marker of progress is when the grip loosens on its own, not when your control gets tighter.
Professional
- If avoiding office politics or self-promotion still takes visible effort and constant vigilance, you're managing the impulse, not free of it — that's fine as a stage, but don't mistake white-knuckled restraint for the calm indifference you're aiming toward.
Family & Social
- If you still have to consciously bite your tongue to avoid a familiar argument with a family member, you're restraining the reaction, not past it — notice the difference, and don't claim more peace with them than you've actually earned yet.
Ask yourself
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