Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga, Shloka 26

Moksha Sannyasa Yoga

Devanagari script

मुक्तसङ्गोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वितः । सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योर्निर्विकारः कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥ १८.२६ ॥

Transliteration

muktasaṅgo 'nahaṁvādī dhṛtyutsāhasamanvitaḥ | siddhyasiddhyor nirvikāraḥ kartā sāttvika ucyate || 18.26 ||

Translation

El hacedor que está libre de apego, no habla desde el «yo», está dotado de firmeza y entusiasmo, y permanece inmutable ante el éxito y el fracaso, se dice sátvico.

Gita Press Meaning

जो कर्ता आसक्ति से मुक्त है, जो ‘मैं’ कहने वाला (अहंकारयुक्त) नहीं है, जो धैर्य और उत्साह से युक्त है तथा सिद्धि-असिद्धि में विकार-रहित रहता है—वह सात्त्विक कहा जाता है।

Critical Edition Meaning

An agent who is free from attachment, not self-proclaiming (‘I’-talk), endowed with steadiness and energy, and unchanged in success and non-success—such an agent is called sattvic.

Comparative Note

Traditional versions often relate ‘anahaṁvādī’ to humility and absence of ego-claiming. Academic translations keep the concrete sense of not asserting ‘I’ as the doer, aligning with the Gītā’s broader critique of egoic agency.

Word by Word

• मुक्तसङ्गः: free from attachment
• Root: मुक्त (√मुच्) + सङ्ग

• अनहंवादी: not speaking in terms of ‘I’ (not egoistic in speech)
• Root: अनहंवादिन्

• धृत्युत्साहसमन्वितः: endowed with steadiness and enthusiasm
• Root: धृति + उत्साह + समन्वित (√इ)

• सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः: of success and failure
• Root: सिद्धि + असिद्धि

• निर्विकारः: unchanged; without perturbation
• Root: निर्विकार

• कर्ता: doer; agent
• कर्ता: Karta
• Root: कर्तृ (√कृ)

• सात्त्विकः: sattvic (of the nature of sattva)
• Root: सात्त्विक

• उच्यते: is said; is called
• Root: √वच्

Speakers

• Krishna

Primary Concepts

• Sattva
• Kartṛtva (agency)
• Ahaṅkāra
• Dhairya (steadiness)

Key Themes

• Non-egocentric action
• Resilience
• Balanced effort

FAQs

Psychological significance?

The sattvic agent combines motivation (utsāha) with emotional stability (nirvikāra) and low ego-claiming, a profile associated with resilient performance and reduced defensiveness.

Metaphysical meaning?

It suggests a mode of agency that does not appropriate action as ‘mine’ in an ultimate sense, resonating with the Gītā’s teaching that guṇas operate within prakṛti while the wise remain unattached.

Contextual relevance?

After defining sattvic/rajasic/tamasic action, the text now classifies the doer (kartā), showing that ethical quality depends also on the agent’s inner disposition.

Modern Application?

It recommends striving with discipline while not tying self-worth to outcomes—useful for leadership, scholarship, and service-oriented work.