दुःखम् इत्य् एव यत् कर्म कायक्लेशभयात् त्यजेत् । स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत् ॥
duḥkham ity eva yat karma kāya-kleśa-bhayāt tyajet | sa kṛtvā rājasaṃ tyāgaṃ naiva tyāga-phalaṃ labhet ||
Rājasic tyāga: abandoning action as painful/from fear of body-trouble — obtains no fruit of tyāga.
Word by word (3)
- duḥkham ity eva yat karma kāya-kleśa-bhayāt tyajet
- — the karma/action that one abandons (tyajet) saying 'this is painful' (duḥkham iti = calling it suffering) from fear (bhayāt) of bodily affliction (kāya-kleśa = body-pain/discomfort) — the rājasic motivation: action abandoned because it is physically or emotionally uncomfortable
- sa kṛtvā rājasaṃ tyāgaṃ naiva tyāga-phalaṃ labhet
- — that person (sa), having performed (kṛtvā) rājasic tyāga (rājasam tyāgam), does not obtain (naiva... labhet = certainly not gains) the fruit of tyāga (tyāga-phalam) — rajas-motivated abandonment gives neither the actions' fruits NOR the liberation that true tyāga produces
- kāya-kleśa-bhayāt
- — from fear of bodily pain (kāya = body, kleśa = affliction/trouble, bhayāt = from fear) — the rājasic root: self-comfort seeking; the person abandons prescribed duty because it is inconvenient, difficult, or uncomfortable
When one abandons action saying 'this is painful,' out of fear of physical discomfort — that person, performing rājasic abandonment, obtains no fruit of tyāga.
A modern analogy
Rājasic renunciation is quitting a demanding practice because 'it's too hard' — and calling it spiritual renunciation. A person who stops daily meditation because it's 'uncomfortable' or stops charitable work because it 'costs too much effort' has made a rājasic tyāga. The fruit of genuine tyāga (purified consciousness, liberation from karma) is not obtained — because the motivation was self-comfort, not wisdom.
V8 gives the rājasic tyāga — abandonment motivated by pain-avoidance. The structure parallels Ch.17: rājasic practices are always characterized by self-seeking (here: seeking comfort, avoiding kāya-kleśa). The verdict 'naiva tyāga-phalam labhet' (obtains no fruit of tyāga) is precise: true tyāga's fruit is liberation from karma-bondage; rājasic tyāga produces neither the benefits of the action (abandoned) nor the liberation of true renunciation. Both outcomes are lost.
Rājasic tyāga fails because it is essentially desire-driven: the person desires to be free of discomfort (kāya-kleśa-bhaya). They are not renouncing in accordance with śāstra or wisdom — they are renouncing in accordance with their comfort-seeking. This is precisely the opposite of the tyāgī's inner posture: the genuine tyāgī continues even difficult prescribed action (kāyam eva, V5) with full engagement, releasing only the fruit.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Whatever act one may abandon because it is painful, from fear of bodily trouble, he practises Rajasic abandonment, and he shall obtain no fruit whatever of abandonment. [1]
He who from fear of bodily trouble relinquishes action, because it is painful, thus performing a Rajasika relinquishment, he obtains not the fruit thereof. [4]
When a man abandons action, merely as being troublesome, through fear of bodily affliction, he does not obtain the fruit of abandonment by making such passionate abandonment. [9]
Regarding it as a source of sorrow, when work is abandoned from fear of bodily pain, one making such an abandonment which is of the quality of passion never obtains the fruit of abandonment. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
One with no ego-doer-sense, whose buddhi is untainted — even while killing all these beings, kills not, is not bound.
Sannyāsa = abandoning desire-motivated action; tyāga = abandoning fruits of ALL action — say the learned.
For the fully realized: neither action nor inaction gains or loses anything. They depend on no being for any purpose.
Yogis act with body, mind, intellect, and bare senses — abandoning attachment — solely for self-purification.
These acts do not bind Me — I sit as one uninvolved, unattached to them, O Dhananjaya.
Unable even to act for My sake? Then take refuge in Me, abandon all fruits of action — with self-restraint.