18.7 Giving up your own work Krishna speaks
नियतस्य तु संन्यासः कर्मणो नोपपद्यते
मोहात्तस्य परित्यागस्तामसः परिकीर्तितः
niyatasya tu sannyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate
mohāt tasya parityāgas tāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ
Renouncing the action that falls to you is not right. Giving it up out of delusion is said to be of inertia.
Explanation
Giving up your own work is not right.
And giving it up out of delusion is graded as tāmasa — of inertia.
Chapter 17's threefold scheme is now being turned on renunciation itself. Even letting go comes in grades, and the lowest grade looks exactly like the highest from outside.
Word by word
- niyatasya
- of prescribed duties
- tu
- but
- sanyāsaḥ
- renunciation
- karmaṇaḥ
- actions
- na
- never
- upapadyate
- to be performed
- mohāt
- deluded
- tasya
- of that
- parityāgaḥ
- renunciation
- tāmasaḥ
- in the mode of ignorance
- parikīrtitaḥ
- has been declared
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