18.8 Quitting because it is hard Krishna speaks
दुःखमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्त्यजेत्
स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत्
duḥkham ity eva yat karma kāya-kleśha-bhayāt tyajet
sa kṛitvā rājasaṁ tyāgaṁ naiva tyāga-phalaṁ labhet
One who gives up action because it is troublesome, out of fear of bodily discomfort, has let go in the manner of restlessness, and gains nothing by it.
Explanation
Quitting because it is hard.
Out of fear of bodily discomfort — of restlessness, and gains nothing by it.
The middle grade, and the most recognisable. This is the person who leaves a difficult situation and calls it detachment, and the verse says the letting go was real and produced nothing.
Word by word
- duḥkham
- troublesome
- iti
- as
- eva
- indeed
- yat
- which
- karma
- duties
- kāya
- bodily
- kleśha
- discomfort
- bhayāt
- out of fear
- tyajet
- giving up
- saḥ
- they
- kṛitvā
- having done
- rājasam
- in the mode of passion
- tyāgam
- renunciation of desires for enjoying the fruits of actions
- na
- never
- eva
- certainly
- tyāga
- renunciation of desires for enjoying the fruits of actions
- phalam
- result
- labhet
- attain
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