Shankaracharya's commentary, trans. Alladi Mahadeva Sastry (1897)
[1]"Renunciation and Karma-yoga both lead to liberation; but of the two, Karma-yoga is superior to renunciation of action."
BG 5.2
श्रीभगवानुवाच। संन्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ। तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात् कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते॥५-२॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca | sannyāsaḥ karma-yogaś ca niḥśreyasa-karāv ubhau | tayos tu karma-sannyāsāt karma-yogo viśiṣyate || 5.2 ||
"Both sannyāsa and karma-yoga lead to liberation — karma-yoga surpasses mere renunciation."
All public-domain translations
6 translations · all pre-1928 or released to public domain · sources
Swami Swarupananda, Srimad Bhagavad Gita (1909)
[4]"Renunciation and the Yoga of action both lead to the highest bliss; but of the two, the Yoga of action is superior to the renunciation of action."
Annie Besant & Bhagavan Das, The Bhagavad Gītā (1905)
[5]"Renunciation and the Yoga of action both lead to the highest bliss; but of the two, the Yoga of action is preferable to the renunciation of action."
William Quan Judge, The Bhagavad Gita (1890)
[6]"The renunciation of works and the practice of works (as devotion) both lead to final beatitude; but of the two the practice of devotion is better than renunciation."
Sir Edwin Arnold, The Song Celestial (1885)
[7]"Both renunciation and the Yoga of right acts lead to bliss supreme; but of these twain the better way is working with due act, not abandonment."
K.T. Telang, Sacred Books of the East Vol. 8 (1882)
[9]"Abandonment and devotion [to action] both lead to emancipation; but of these, devotion to action is distinguished above abandonment of action."