{
  "chapter": 5,
  "lang": "en",
  "verses": [
    {
      "id": "5.1",
      "translation": "You praise the renunciation of actions, Krishna, and then you praise yoga as well. Of these two, tell me clearly which one is truly the better path.",
      "explanation": "Arjuna is confused because Krishna has recommended both giving up action, that is renunciation (saṃnyāsa), and acting in the spirit of yoga, meaning disciplined action without clinging to results. He asks Krishna to say plainly which one leads to the higher good (śreyas). Krishna answers this in the next verse."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.2",
      "translation": "Renunciation of action and the yoga of action both lead to the highest good. Of the two, though, the yoga of action is better than the renunciation of action.",
      "explanation": "Arjuna has just asked which is better: giving up action (saṃnyāsa) or practicing yoga through action (karmayoga), which means acting while letting go of attachment to results. Krishna answers that both lead to liberation, the highest good (niḥśreyasa). He still rates karmayoga above renouncing action. Traditions differ on how close the two are: some see them as two routes to one goal, others see karmayoga as a preparation for renunciation."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.3",
      "translation": "Know that person to be a constant renunciant who neither hates nor craves. Free from the pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed one, such a person is easily freed from bondage.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is answering Arjuna's question about whether renunciation or action is better. He says true renunciation (saṃnyāsa) is an inner state: someone who acts without aversion (dveṣa) or craving (kāṅkṣā) and is untouched by the pairs of opposites (dvandva), such as pleasure and pain, is already a renunciant. Such a person is freed from bondage (bandha), the tie of karma and rebirth, without strain."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.4",
      "translation": "It is the immature, not the wise, who speak of sankhya and yoga as separate. Someone who is truly established in even one of them gains the fruit of both.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is answering Arjuna's question about whether renouncing action or practicing selfless action is better. Here sankhya (sāṅkhya) means the path of knowledge and renunciation, and yoga means the discipline of acting without attachment. He says only the immature see them as rivals, because properly followed, either path leads to the same fruit, liberation. Traditions differ on how far the two are really the same, but all read this verse as rejecting a strict opposition between them."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.5",
      "translation": "The state that the followers of sankhya reach, the followers of yoga reach as well. One who sees sankhya and yoga as one truly sees.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues answering Arjuna's question about whether to renounce action or to act. Here sankhya (sāṅkhya) means the path of knowledge and renunciation, and yoga means the path of disciplined action without attachment. He says both lead to the same highest state, so the person who sees them as one has real insight. Traditions differ on how closely the two are joined: some see them as two routes to one goal, others as stages of one path."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.6",
      "translation": "But renunciation, O mighty-armed one, is hard to attain without yoga. The sage who is disciplined in yoga reaches Brahman before long.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues answering Arjuna's question about whether to renounce action or practice disciplined action. He says renunciation (saṃnyāsa) is difficult without yoga, meaning steady, disciplined action done with a balanced mind. The sage (muni) who is established in such yoga quickly reaches Brahman, the ultimate reality. Traditions differ on whether yoga here is a necessary preparation for renunciation, as many Advaita readings take it, or a path equal in itself, as other readings take it."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.7",
      "translation": "One who is disciplined in yoga, whose mind is pure, who has mastered the self and conquered the senses, and whose self has become one with the self of all beings, is not tainted, even while acting.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is answering Arjuna's question about whether renouncing action or acting is better, and he continues praising karma yoga (the discipline of selfless action). A person who is purified, self-controlled and sees themselves in all beings acts without being stained (lipyate) by what they do. Commentators differ on the emphasis: some stress the yoga of action here, others read it as a description of the knower of the Self, but the verse itself does not settle this."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.8",
      "translation": "“I do not do anything at all,” the steadfast one who knows the truth would think—while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping, breathing…",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the person disciplined in yoga (spiritual discipline), who knows the truth (tattva) about the self. Even while doing ordinary things like seeing, eating or breathing, such a person does not regard the self as the doer (kartā). The sentence runs on into the next verse, which explains that it is the senses that are active among their objects."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.9",
      "translation": "…while speaking, letting go, grasping, even opening and closing the eyes, he holds the understanding that it is only the senses moving among the objects of the senses.",
      "explanation": "Krishna finishes the sentence begun in the previous verse. The disciplined knower of truth (yukta tattvavit) does not think \"I am the doer\", even in ordinary acts such as speaking, grasping or blinking. He sees them as the senses (indriya) working among their objects (indriyārtha). Commentators differ on whether this describes a person established in the Self's inaction, or a practical attitude of detachment that a karma yogi can grow into."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.10",
      "translation": "One who acts, offering their actions to Brahman and giving up attachment, is not touched by wrong, just as a lotus leaf is not touched by water.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining to Arjuna how a person can stay fully active in the world and still remain inwardly free. Such a person acts without attachment (saṅga) and places their actions in Brahman, the ultimate reality, so wrong (pāpa) does not cling to them, just as water slides off a lotus leaf. Commentators differ on whether Brahman here means the Supreme Being to whom actions are dedicated, or the universal reality or nature in which all action takes place."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.11",
      "translation": "With body, mind, intellect, and even the senses alone, yogis perform action, giving up attachment, for the purification of the self.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing how a person can act without being bound. Yogis act through body, mind, intellect and senses, but without attachment (saṅga), and their aim is inner purification (ātma-śuddhi), not personal gain. Traditions differ on the word \"kevalaiḥ\" (\"only/alone\"): some take it as acting with the senses free of any sense of \"I am the doer\", others as acting without craving for results."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.12",
      "translation": "The one who is disciplined, giving up the fruit of action, attains lasting peace. The one who is undisciplined, driven by desire and attached to the fruit, remains bound.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues his answer to Arjuna about acting without being bound by action. The one who is disciplined (yukta), steady in yoga, gives up the results of action and finds lasting peace (śānti). The one who acts out of desire (kāma) and clings to results stays bound. Traditions differ on \"yukta\": some read it as one established in karma yoga, others as one united with the Self in knowledge."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.13",
      "translation": "Mentally renouncing all actions, the self-controlled embodied one rests happily in the city of nine gates, neither acting nor causing anyone to act.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the person who is disciplined and unattached to results. The \"city of nine gates\" is the body, with its nine openings. Such a person gives up the sense of being the doer (kartṛtva) inwardly, so he stays at peace even while the body acts. Traditions differ on whether this inner renunciation (saṃnyāsa) is compatible with outward activity or points toward formal renunciation."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.14",
      "translation": "The Lord does not create people's sense of agency, nor their actions, nor the link between action and its fruit. It is their own nature that works itself out.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the person who has renounced the sense of doing. The Lord (prabhu) is not the source of our feeling \"I am the doer\" (kartṛtva), of particular actions, or of the tie between an action and its result; these arise from one's own nature (svabhāva), the working of the gunas. Advaita commentators take \"prabhu\" as the Self or Lord standing beyond all doing, while theistic traditions stress that the Lord stays untouched by individual deeds. Both readings agree that the sense of agency is not imposed from above."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.15",
      "translation": "The all-pervading Lord takes on no one's wrongdoing, nor anyone's good deeds. Knowledge is covered over by ignorance, and so beings are deluded.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues from the previous verse, where he said the Lord does not create agency or actions in the world. Here he adds that the all-pervading one (vibhu) does not take on anyone's sin (pāpa) or merit (sukṛta). Beings are bewildered because ignorance (ajñāna) veils their knowledge. Some commentators read \"vibhu\" as the supreme Lord, others as the self (ātman) itself, which stays untouched by action."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.16",
      "translation": "But for those in whom that ignorance of the self has been destroyed by knowledge, that knowledge lights up the Supreme, like the sun.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said that knowledge (jñāna) is covered by ignorance (ajñāna), which confuses living beings. Here he says that when this ignorance about the self is removed by knowledge, that knowledge reveals the highest reality, as the sun lights up everything. Traditions differ on what \"the Supreme\" (param) means: Advaita readings take it as the one Self or Brahman, while devotional readings take it as the Lord."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.17",
      "translation": "With their minds fixed on That, their selves absorbed in That, devoted to That, and holding That as their highest goal, they go to a state from which there is no return, their impurities washed away by knowledge.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues from the previous verse, where knowledge of the Self shines like the sun. \"That\" (tat) refers to the supreme reality, Brahman or the Self, known through that knowledge. Those whose understanding (buddhi), identity, steady commitment and aim all rest in it are cleansed of impurity (kalmaṣa) and reach liberation, with no return to rebirth (apunarāvṛtti). Traditions differ on whether \"That\" is the formless Self, as non-dualist readings take it, or the Lord himself, as devotional readings take it."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.18",
      "translation": "The wise look with the same eye on a Brahmin endowed with learning and humility, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eating outcaste.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing those whose impurities have been washed away by knowledge. Such wise people (paṇḍitāḥ) look on all beings with equal vision (samadarśinaḥ), whether a learned Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, or an outcaste dog-eater (śvapāka). Most traditions take this to mean equal regard for the one Self present in all beings, not treating every person or creature identically in conduct."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.19",
      "translation": "Even here, in this very life, creation is conquered by those whose minds rest in equanimity. For Brahman is flawless and the same in all, and so they are established in Brahman.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues from the previous verse, where the wise see all beings with the same eye. Here he says that a mind steady in equanimity (sāmya) overcomes the cycle of birth and death (sarga, 'creation') right in this life. The reason given is that Brahman, the ultimate reality, is flawless and equal in everyone, so an even-minded person abides in it. Some commentators read sarga as the world of rebirth, others as the bondage of worldly dualities; the verse supports both readings."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.20",
      "translation": "One who knows Brahman, steady in understanding, free from bewilderment and established in Brahman, should not rejoice on getting what is pleasant, nor be disturbed on getting what is unpleasant.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the person who has reached the state of inner equality mentioned in the previous verse. Such a person is unmoved by pleasant or unpleasant experiences because their understanding (buddhi) is steady and they are not deluded. Brahman, the ultimate reality, is both what they know and where they dwell."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.21",
      "translation": "With a self unattached to outer contacts, one finds the happiness that lies within the self. Such a person, whose self is joined in yoga with Brahman, enjoys happiness that never runs out.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the steady person who rests in Brahman (the ultimate reality). Because such a person is not attached (asakta) to outer sense contacts (bāhya-sparśa), they find a lasting joy within the self (ātman). This joy is called imperishable (akṣaya), unlike pleasures that depend on outside things."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.22",
      "translation": "The pleasures that are born of contact are, in truth, sources of suffering. They have a beginning and an end, O son of Kunti. A wise person does not delight in them.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his teaching to Arjuna on the contrast between outer pleasure and inner joy. Pleasures from contact (saṁsparśa) of the senses with their objects are fleeting, and the wish to hold on to them brings pain, so the discerning (budha) do not take their rest in them. Traditions differ little here: Advaita readers stress that only the Self's bliss is lasting, while devotional readers stress turning the senses toward God."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.23",
      "translation": "Whoever can withstand here, before the body is released at death, the surge that arises from desire and anger — that person is disciplined, and that person is happy.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said that pleasures born of contact with sense objects begin and end, and bring suffering. Here he says real happiness belongs to one who can bear the rush of desire (kāma) and anger (krodha) without being swept along, and who does so in this life, not later. \"Disciplined\" translates yukta, meaning steady in yoga, the practice of inner balance and union."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.24",
      "translation": "The one whose happiness is within, whose delight is within, and whose light is likewise within — that yogi, having become Brahman, attains the nirvana of Brahman.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the person who has mastered the surge of desire and anger. Such a yogi finds joy and illumination (jyoti) within, not in outside things, and so becomes one with Brahman, the ultimate reality, reaching Brahman-nirvana (brahmanirvāṇa), the 'extinguishing' of bondage in it. Advaita readers take this as realizing the self's identity with Brahman, while devotional traditions stress a liberation that remains in relationship with the Lord."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.25",
      "translation": "Sages whose faults have worn away, whose doubts are cut off, whose selves are disciplined, and who delight in the welfare of all beings, attain the nirvana of Brahman.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing those who reach liberation, the nirvana of Brahman (brahmanirvāṇa), a state of freedom and peace in the ultimate reality. He names four marks of such sages: their impurities (kalmaṣa) are gone, their doubts or sense of duality (dvaidha) are resolved, they have self-control (yatātman), and they care for the good of all beings. Traditions differ on whether 'cut-off duality' means ending inner doubt or seeing no separation between self and Brahman."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.26",
      "translation": "For those ascetics who are free from desire and anger, whose minds are disciplined, and who have come to know the Self, the nirvana of Brahman lies close at hand on every side.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing those who reach freedom, building on the previous verse. Such ascetics (yati) have mastered desire (kāma) and anger (krodha), steadied the mind, and known the Self (ātman). For them the nirvana of Brahman (brahmanirvāṇa), freedom and peace in the ultimate reality, is near on every side. Traditions differ on whether this is liberation reached while alive or at death, and whether it means absorption into Brahman or union with God."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.27",
      "translation": "Shutting out external contacts, fixing the gaze between the eyebrows, and evening out the incoming and outgoing breaths as they move within the nostrils…",
      "explanation": "Krishna is describing the practice of meditation for those who seek liberation, and this sentence continues into the next verse. He speaks of shutting out outer sense contacts (sparśa), resting the gaze between the eyebrows, and balancing the inhaling breath (prāṇa) and exhaling breath (apāna). Some readers take the gaze literally as a physical practice, while others take it as a pointer to inward focus."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.28",
      "translation": "The sage who has brought senses, mind and intellect under control, who is devoted to liberation, and who is free from desire, fear and anger, is truly liberated for good.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is concluding his teaching to Arjuna on meditative renunciation, following the description of steady gaze and balanced breath. Here he describes the person who is truly free: a contemplative (muni) whose senses, mind and intellect are disciplined, whose aim is liberation (mokṣa), and who is beyond desire, fear and anger. Such a person is called liberated (mukta) already, not only after death."
    },
    {
      "id": "5.29",
      "translation": "Knowing Me as the enjoyer of sacrifices and austerities, the great Lord of all the worlds, and the friend of all beings, one attains peace.",
      "explanation": "This closes Chapter 5. Krishna describes the seeker who has let go of desire, fear and anger, and says such a person finds peace (śānti) by knowing Him in three ways: as the one who receives all sacrifice (yajña) and austerity (tapas), as the supreme Lord of all worlds, and as the well-wisher of every being. Traditions differ on how to read \"Me\": devotional schools take it as the personal God, while non-dual readings take it as the Supreme Self present in all."
    }
  ]
}