Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga, Shloka 9
Moksha Sannyasa Yoga
कार्यमित्येव यत्कर्म नियतं क्रियतेऽर्जुन । सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलं चैव स त्यागः सात्त्विको मतः ॥ १८.९ ॥
kāryam ityeva yat karma niyataṃ kriyate ’rjuna | saṅgaṃ tyaktvā phalaṃ caiva sa tyāgaḥ sāttviko mataḥ || 18.9 ||
O Arjuna, that prescribed action which is performed only with the understanding, “This is my duty,” abandoning attachment and also the fruit—such renunciation is held to be sāttvika.
हे अर्जुन! जो नियत कर्म ‘यह कर्तव्य है’ ऐसा समझकर किया जाता है और आसक्ति तथा फल का त्याग करके किया जाता है, वह त्याग सात्त्विक माना गया है।
That renunciation is considered sāttvika when one performs the prescribed action solely because it is to be done, abandoning attachment and also the fruit (of action), O Arjuna.
Traditional translations often gloss ‘niyata’ as ‘scripturally enjoined/assigned duty’; academic versions keep it as ‘prescribed/regular.’ Both converge on the core criterion: duty-oriented action with relinquishment of attachment and results.
FAQs
It models healthy agency: acting from commitment to a role or value, while reducing anxiety and possessiveness by releasing fixation on outcomes.
Sattvic renunciation aligns action with clarity and balance; it supports liberation-oriented practice by weakening karmic binding factors associated with craving for results.
This verse gives the positive definition of renunciation after rejecting avoidance-based renunciation (18.8), establishing the ideal standard used in 18.10–12.
In work or caregiving, focus on doing what is appropriate and ethical, while treating praise, profit, or recognition as secondary rather than identity-defining.