Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5: Karma Sanyasa Yoga
True renunciation is inner: act in the world yet stay untouched, like a lotus leaf on water.
कर्मसंन्यासयोग — सच्चा संन्यास भीतर का है — संसार में रहकर भी कमल के पत्ते की तरह अलिप्त रहो।
Chapter 5 of 18 · 29 verses · “The Yoga of Renunciation”
Chapter 5 summary
Arjuna asks Krishna to settle the question once and for all: which is better, renouncing action or doing it with detachment? Krishna answers that both lead to freedom, but acting without attachment is better and easier for most people. True renunciation is not giving up work; it is giving up the craving and aversion behind it.
Krishna describes the person who acts in the world yet remains untouched, “like a lotus leaf on water” (5.10). Such a person sees the same divine presence in a learned scholar, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste (5.18). Pleasures that come from sense contact have a beginning and an end and become sources of pain (5.22); whoever can withstand the surge of desire and anger in this very life is truly happy (5.23). The chapter closes by introducing meditation, which chapter 6 explains in detail.
Key teachings of chapter 5
- Renunciation is inner, not outer; act without craving.
- Live in the world like a lotus leaf on water (5.10).
- See all beings with equal vision (5.18).
- Mastering the surge of desire and anger is the key to happiness (5.23).
Key verses of chapter 5
ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः। लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा॥
One who acts without attachment, offering all actions to the Supreme, is not touched by sin, just as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.
हिंदी अर्थ: जो आसक्ति छोड़कर सभी कर्म परमात्मा को अर्पित करके करता है, वह पाप से वैसे ही अछूता रहता है जैसे कमल का पत्ता जल से।
- One who acts, offering all actions to the divine and giving up attachment, is untouched by wrong, like a lotus leaf by water. — Gita 5.10
- The wise see with an equal eye a learned person, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste. — Gita 5.18
- Pleasures born of contact have a beginning and an end; they are sources of pain, and the wise do not delight in them. — Gita 5.22
- Whoever can withstand the surge of desire and anger before leaving the body is steady in yoga — and happy. — Gita 5.23
What chapter 5 means today
You do not need to leave your job or family to become free. Chapter 5 suggests a quieter revolution: stay where you are, do what you must, and let go of the inner grasping. The lotus grows in muddy water and still stays clean.
Frequently asked questions
How many verses are in chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita?
Chapter 5, Karma Sanyasa Yoga, has 29 verses in the standard (Gita Press) numbering.
What is the lotus leaf example in the Gita?
In 5.10 Krishna says a person who acts without attachment, offering their work to the divine, is not touched by wrongdoing — just as a lotus leaf rests on water without getting wet.
Is renunciation better than action according to the Gita?
Krishna says both can lead to liberation, but karma yoga — action without attachment — is better for most people (5.2), because renunciation without inner purity is very hard to achieve.