allbig.in
Adhyāyas / Karma-Sannyāsa Yogaḥ / verse 1

Mūla — the verse

Gita Press numbering
अर्जुन उवाच संन्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि। यच्छ्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्िचतम्
arjuna uvācha sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛiṣhṇa punar yogaṁ cha śhansasi yach chhreya etayor ekaṁ tan me brūhi su-niśhchitam
Anuṣṭubh

Translation

Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣya

Arjuna said, "O Krsna, you praise renunciation of actions and, at the same time, Karma-yoga. Please tell me for certain which one is better between these two."

हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda

अर्जुन ने कहा हे -- कृष्ण ! आप कर्मों के संन्यास की और फिर योग (कर्म के आचरण) की प्रशंसा करते हैं। इन दोनों में एक जो निश्चय पूर्वक श्रेयस्कर है, उसको मेरे लिए कहिये।।

Pronunciation — Vaamshii

from Vaamshii
अ उ
सन्न्यासङ् कर्मणाङ् कृष्ण
पुनर् योगङ् च शंससि
यच्छ्रेय एतयो रेकम्
तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम्
॥ १ ॥
Read each split group as one breath-unit; hyphens join pādas kept whole for the meter or a compound word. Symbols: # upadhmānīya (visarga before p/ph), % jihvāmūlīya (visarga before k/kh), ऽ avagraha (an elided a). Full method →

Word by word

padārtha
arjunaḥ uvāchaArjun said
sanyāsamrenunciation
karmaṇāmof actions
kṛiṣhṇaShree Krishna
punaḥagain
yogamabout karm yog
chaalso
śhansasiyou praise
yatwhich
śhreyaḥmore beneficial
etayoḥof the two
ekamone
tatthat
meunto me
brūhiplease tell
su-niśhchitamconclusively

Themes

from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad Gītā

Meaning — Questions & Solutions

from Q&A with KnA
5.1The dilemma of the paths still persists.

Arjuna is honest to a fault. He has been told to renounce, and told to act; the two sound incompatible, and he asks Kṛṣṇa to settle it: “Renunciation of actions You praise, and again Yoga; tell me decisively which one is better.” The repetition of his confusion from 3.2 is not a flaw in the text but a fidelity to how the mind actually learns — the same knot must often be untied more than once, and at a deeper level each time. Kṛṣṇa's answer will be that the dilemma is false: the choice is not between acting and not-acting, but between acting with the ego and acting without it.