Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga, Shloka 57

Moksha Sannyasa Yoga

Devanagari script

चेतसा सर्वकर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्परः । बुद्धियोगमुपाश्रित्य मच्चित्तः सततं भव ॥ १८.५७ ॥

Transliteration

cetasā sarva-karmāṇi mayi saṁnyasya mat-paraḥ | buddhi-yogam upāśritya mac-cittaḥ satataṁ bhava || 18.57 ||

Translation

Alle Handlungen im Geist Mir darbringend und Mich als höchstes Ziel setzend, gestützt auf Buddhi-Yoga (Yoga der Einsicht), sei stets mit dem Geist auf Mich gerichtet.

Gita Press Meaning

मन से सब कर्म मुझमें अर्पण करके और मुझे ही परम लक्ष्य मानकर बुद्धियोग का आश्रय लेकर सदा मुझमें चित्तवाला हो।

Critical Edition Meaning

Mentally consigning all actions to Me, taking Me as the highest aim, resorting to the yoga of understanding (buddhi-yoga), keep your mind on Me constantly.

Comparative Note

‘Saṁnyasya’ here is explicitly mental/intentional offering rather than external abandonment, clarifying the Gītā’s distinctive ‘renunciation-in-action.’ ‘Buddhi-yoga’ can be read as disciplined discernment, integrative contemplation, or the practical method of karma-yoga grounded in insight.

Word by Word

• चेतसा: by the mind; with mental intention
• चेतसा: Karana
• Root: चेतस्

• सर्वकर्माणि: all actions
• सर्वकर्माणि: Karma
• Root: सर्व + कर्मन्

• मयि: in Me
• मयि: Adhikarana
• Root: अस्मद्

• संन्यस्य: having renounced; having laid down (offered up)
• Root: √अस् (न्यासे) उपसर्गः सम् + नि

• मत्परः: having Me as the supreme goal; devoted to Me
• मत्परः: Karta
• Root: मद् + पर

• बुद्धियोगम्: the yoga of understanding; disciplined intellect
• बुद्धियोगम्: Karma
• Root: बुद्धियोग

• उपाश्रित्य: having taken refuge in; resorting to
• Root: √श्रि (सेवायाम्/आश्रये) उपसर्गः उप + आ

• मच्चित्तः: with mind fixed on Me; whose mind is in Me
• मच्चित्तः: Karta
• Root: मद् + चित्त

• सततम्: always; continually
• Root: सतत

• भव: be; become
• Root: √भू

Speakers

• Krishna
• Arjuna

Primary Concepts

• Karma-arpana (offering of action)
• Mat-para (ultimate orientation)
• Buddhi-yoga
• Smṛti/Anusandhāna (constant recollection)

Key Themes

• Inner renunciation
• Continuous God-orientation
• Integration of action and contemplation

FAQs

Psychological significance?

The instruction resembles attentional training: keep a stable overarching intention while acting, which reduces fragmentation and supports meaning-centered motivation.

Metaphysical meaning?

Actions are re-situated within a theistic metaphysics: the agent offers acts to the divine, loosening karmic bondage through transformed agency and understanding.

Contextual relevance?

Near the conclusion of the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa condenses practice into a simple directive: dedicate action, prioritize the ultimate, and maintain continuous recollection.

Modern Application?

Before tasks, set a brief intention of service; during work, periodically return attention to that intention; after completion, release the outcome without rumination.