ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति। निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात् प्रमुच्यते॥५-३॥
jñeyaḥ sa nitya-sannyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati | nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho sukhaṃ bandhāt pramucyate || 5.3 ||
The eternal renunciant neither desires nor hates — free from all opposites, easily freed from bondage.
Word by word (6)
- jñeyaḥ
- — should be known as
- nitya-sannyāsī
- — eternal renunciant / perpetual sannyāsī
- na dveṣṭi
- — neither hates / does not dislike
- na kāṅkṣati
- — nor desires / does not crave
- nirdvandvaḥ
- — free from pairs of opposites (pleasure-pain, praise-blame)
- sukham bandhāt pramucyate
- — is easily freed from bondage
The one who neither craves pleasant things nor hates unpleasant things is the true and permanent renunciant (nityasannyāsī). Such a person, free from the push-pull of opposites, is easily liberated from all bondage.
A modern analogy
A surgeon who performs operations without fearing failure or craving praise operates in a state of nityasannyāsa — fully present, fully skilled, undisturbed by outcomes. The external role is intense; the inner stance is one of pure function.
What it does NOT mean
True renunciation is not about wearing robes or going to a forest. It is an inner state — the absence of craving and aversion. You can be a nityasannyāsī in a busy office if your mind is free from these reactions.
Take with you
- True renunciation is internal — it is the release of craving (kāṅkṣā) and aversion (dveṣa), not the abandonment of activity.
- Freedom from dvandvas (pairs of opposites: hot-cold, success-failure, praise-blame) is the hallmark of inner liberation.
- You can test your renunciation right now: what do you desperately want? What do you deeply dread? Those are your current bonds.
V3 delivers the conceptual core of Ch.5: nitya-sannyāsa — eternal renunciation — is defined functionally, not formally. It is not a social status (monk, ascetic) but a psychological-metaphysical condition: the absence of dveṣa (hate/aversion) and kāṅkṣā (desire/craving). The word nirdvandva is crucial — literally 'without the pairs.' The dvandvas are the fundamental structure of ordinary experience: pleasure-pain, gain-loss, honor-dishonor. A nirdvandva consciousness no longer oscillates between these poles. Such a person is sukhaṃ bandhāt pramucyate — 'easily freed from bondage.' The adverb sukham (easily/happily) is pointed: when doership and ownership are absent, liberation is not a struggle but a natural unfolding.
Modern parallels
Stoic philosophy identifies the same two disruptors: appetite (craving) and aversion. Epictetus taught that freedom comes from distinguishing what is 'up to us' (our judgments, desires, aversions) from what is not. Krishna's nityasannyāsī and the Stoic sage share this: both have pacified the inner oscillation between want and dread.
Practice
In meditation, when thoughts arise — pleasant or unpleasant — practice the same response: observe, allow, release. Neither cling to pleasant states nor push away unpleasant ones. This is the direct training of nirdvandva.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
"He who neither hates nor desires should be known as a perpetual sannyāsī; free from pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed, he is easily liberated from bondage." [1]
"He should be known as a perpetual Sannyasi, who neither hates nor desires; for, free from the pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed, he is easily set free from bondage." [4]
"He who neither hateth nor desireth may be known as the ever-renouncer; free from pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed, he is easily released from bondage." [5]
"He who, free from love and hatred and without desire, performs all his actions, may be considered always a renouncer; he is free from the pairs of opposites." [6]
"He who, without desire for fruits, works, untouched by praise or blame — call him sannyasi, the renouncer." [7]
"He is to be regarded as a constant devotee who neither loathes nor desires; for, O mighty-armed one! being free from pairs of opposites, he is easily delivered from bonds." [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The Vedas deal in the three qualities of nature — go beyond them: free from opposites, self-possessed.
Unmoved in sorrow, ungreedy in joy, free from passion, fear, and anger — that is the steady sage.
Content with what comes by chance, beyond opposites, free from envy — equal in success and failure, not bound.
No thrill, no hatred, no grief, no craving — renouncing both good and evil — this full-devotee is dear to Me!
Uttering 'Tat,' without fruit-desire, mokṣa-seekers perform yajña, tapas, and various acts of dāna.
Sannyāsa = abandoning desire-motivated action; tyāga = abandoning fruits of ALL action — say the learned.