Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga, Shloka 36
Moksha Sannyasa Yoga
सुखं त्विदानीं त्रिविधं शृणु मे भरतर्षभ । अभ्यासाद्रमते यत्र दुःखान्तं च निगच्छति ॥ १८.३६ ॥
sukhaṃ tv idānīṃ trividhaṃ śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha | abhyāsād ramate yatra duḥkhāntaṃ ca nigacchati || 18.36 ||
Now hear from Me, O best of the Bharatas, the threefold happiness—wherein one delights through practice and comes to the end of suffering.
Now hear from Me, O best of the Bharatas, the threefold happiness, in which one delights through practice and reaches the end of suffering.
Now hear from me, O bull among the Bharatas, the threefold happiness—wherein one delights through repeated practice and comes to the cessation of suffering.
abhyāsa indicates sustained cultivation; the verse introduces a typology of sukha (happiness/pleasure) by guṇas, with an emphasis on long-term transformation rather than momentary gratification.
FAQs
It distinguishes immediate pleasure from cultivated well-being: some forms of happiness emerge only after training attention, habits, and values, and they reduce distress over time.
Happiness is evaluated in terms of its relation to duḥkha-cessation, aligning pleasure with liberation-oriented transformation rather than sensory stimulation alone.
After intellect and perseverance, the text turns to the experiential outcome—happiness—again classified by guṇas, continuing the chapter’s moral-psychological mapping.
It supports the idea of delayed gratification and skill-based flourishing: meditation, ethical living, and disciplined learning can yield stable satisfaction that is less dependent on external conditions.