Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga, Shloka 18
Moksha Sannyasa Yoga
ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं परिज्ञाता त्रिविधा कर्मचोदना । करणं कर्म कर्तेति त्रिविधः कर्मसंग्रहः ॥ १८.१८ ॥
jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ parijñātā trividhā karmacodanā | karaṇaṁ karma karte ti trividhah karmasaṅgrahaḥ || 18.18 ||
જ્ઞાન, જ્ઞેય (જાણવા યોગ્ય), અને પરિજ્ઞાતા (જ્ઞાતા)—આ કર્મપ્રેરણાના ત્રણ પ્રકાર છે; તેમજ કરણ, કર્મ અને કર્તા—આ કર્મસંગ્રહના ત્રણ પ્રકાર છે.
ज्ञान, ज्ञेय (जानने योग्य वस्तु) और ज्ञाता—ये तीन प्रकार की कर्म-प्रेरणा हैं; तथा करण, कर्म और कर्ता—ये तीन प्रकार का कर्म-संग्रह (कर्म का समुच्चय) है।
Knowledge, the knowable, and the knower—this is the threefold impelling (basis) of action; instrument, action, and agent—this is the threefold compendium of action.
Traditional renderings often gloss ‘karmacodanā’ as ‘that which impels one to act’ and ‘karmasaṅgraha’ as ‘the aggregate/constituents of action’. Academic-literal translations keep the technical triads without interpretive expansion; no major variant is typically noted for this verse in standard critical presentations.
FAQs
The verse frames action as arising from a cognitive triad (knower, known, knowledge) and being executed through a practical triad (agent, action, instruments). This supports a psychological reading in which intention and perception shape behavior, while capacities and tools condition how behavior manifests.
It distinguishes epistemic factors (jñāna/jñeya/parijñātā) from the components of action (kartā/karma/karaṇa), allowing later discussion of how the guṇas qualify knowledge and agency without reducing consciousness to mere action.
In Chapter 18’s systematic recap, Krishna begins a taxonomy that will classify knowledge, action, and agent according to the three guṇas, providing a framework for ethical discernment and disciplined conduct.
For decision-making, it encourages separating (1) what you know, (2) what you aim to know, (3) your standpoint as knower, from (4) your tools/resources, (5) the task, and (6) your role as doer—helpful for reflective practice and accountability.