5.2 Both, and one of them Krishna speaks
संन्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ
तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात्कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते
sannyāsaḥ karma-yogaśh cha niḥśhreyasa-karāvubhau
tayos tu karma-sannyāsāt karma-yogo viśhiṣhyate
Both renunciation and the yoga of action lead to the highest. But of the two, the yoga of action is the better.
Explanation
Both reach the highest — and one of them is better anyway.
karma-yoga, the yoga of action, is named the better of the two. Not the truer.
The pattern here recurs throughout the book: the question is granted, the either/or is refused, and then a preference is given on practical grounds. Chapter 12 will do exactly this again with the formless and the personal.
Going further
Word by word
- śhrī-bhagavān uvācha
- the Supreme Lord said
- sanyāsaḥ
- renunciation
- karma-yogaḥ
- working in devotion
- cha
- and
- niḥśhreyasa-karau
- lead to the supreme goal
- ubhau
- both
- tayoḥ
- of the two
- tu
- but
- karma-sanyāsāt
- renunciation of actions
- karma-yogaḥ
- working in devotion
- viśhiṣhyate
- is superior
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Arjuna asks which is better and Krishna answers both — and then, immediately, that one of them is better anyway.
It is worth noticing how often the Gita does this: grants the question, refuses the dichotomy, then gives a practical preference. Renunciation and action reach the same place; action is the surer road. That is a recommendation about people, not about metaphysics.