Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga, Shloka 7
Moksha Sannyasa Yoga
नियतस्य तु संन्यासः कर्मणो नोपपद्यते । मोहात्तस्य परित्यागस्तामसः परिकीर्तितः ॥ १८.७ ॥
niyatasya tu saṃnyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate | mohāt tasya parityāgas tāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ || 18.7 ||
Renunciation of prescribed duty is not proper; abandoning it out of delusion is declared to be tamasic.
नियत कर्म का संन्यास उचित नहीं है; मोहवश उसका त्याग ‘तामस’ कहा गया है।
Renunciation of prescribed action is not appropriate; abandoning it out of delusion is declared to be tamasic.
Traditional exegesis often identifies ‘prescribed’ with obligatory duties grounded in dharma and social role; the academic reading keeps the normative point: withdrawal motivated by confusion (moha) is ethically and psychologically inferior within the guṇa framework.
FAQs
The verse distinguishes detachment from avoidance: giving up responsibilities due to confusion or inertia is framed as tamasic, often linked with diminished clarity and motivation.
Within guṇa theory, tamas obscures discernment; thus ‘renunciation’ arising from moha does not conduce to liberation-oriented clarity, even if it resembles renunciation externally.
It begins the promised threefold analysis of tyāga by marking an improper form: abandoning dharmically required action from delusion.
It can inform ethical decision-making by asking whether stepping back from duties is a thoughtful boundary or a confusion-driven retreat; the text recommends clarity-based disengagement rather than inertia-based withdrawal.