Verse 18.7
नियतस्य तु संन्यासः कर्मणो नोपपद्यते ।
मोहात्तस्य परित्यागस्तामसः परिकीर्तितः ॥
Transliteration
niyatasya tu saṃnyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate |
mohāttasya parityāgastāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3
Translation
Verily the renunciation of obligatory action is not proper; the abandonment of the same from delusion is declared to be Tamasic.
From the owner's sheet · +1 more
The renunciation of an obligatory action is not proper. Abandoning it out of delusion is declared to be tamasic.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08 · +1 more
Word by word
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08
Explanation
Krishna now classifies relinquishment by the qualities. To give up an action that is one's obligatory duty (niyata karma) is not right. When it is abandoned out of delusion, that relinquishment is tamasic. This directly addresses Arjuna's original wish to lay down his weapons. Abandoning a duty out of confusion may look like renunciation, but Krishna calls it a form of darkness, since it springs from misunderstanding rather than wisdom.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08