Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
त्याज्यं दोषवदित्येके कर्म प्राहुर्मनीषिणः ।
यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यमिति चापरे ॥३॥
tyājyaṁ doṣa-vad ity eke
karma prāhur manīṣiṇaḥ
yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma
na tyājyam iti cāpare
Word for word (synonyms)
- tyājyam
- must be given up
- doṣavat
- as an evil
- iti
- thus
- eke
- one group
- karma
- work
- prāhuḥ
- said
- manīṣiṇaḥ
- of great thinkers
- yajña
- sacrifice
- dāna
- charity
- tapaḥ
- penance
- karma
- work
- na
- never
- tyājyam
- is to be given up
- iti
- thus
- ca
- certainly
- apare
- others
Translation
Some learned men declare that all kinds of fruitive activities should be given up, but there are yet other sages who maintain that acts of sacrifice, charity and penance should never be abandoned.
Defined in the Gītā
The learned
Who is truly learned?
One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every act is devoid of desire for sense gratification. He is said by sages to be a worker whose fruitive action is burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge.
Sacrifice
Which sacrifice is the greatest?
O chastiser of the enemy, the sacrifice of knowledge is greater than the sacrifice of material possessions. O son of Pṛthā, after all, the sacrifice of work culminates in transcendental knowledge.
Charity
What is charity in goodness?
That gift which is given out of duty, at the proper time and place, to a worthy person, and without expectation of return, is considered to be charity in the mode of goodness.
Purport
There are many activities in the Vedic literatures which are subjects of contention. For instance, it is said that an animal can be killed in a sacrifice, yet some maintain animal killing is completely abominable. Although animal killing in a sacrifice is recommended in the Vedic literature, the animal is not considered to be killed. The sacrifice is to give a new life to the animal. Sometimes the animal is given a new animal life after being killed in the sacrifice, and sometimes the animal is promoted immediately to the human form of life. But there are different opinions among the sages. Some say that animal killing should always be avoided, and others say that for a specific sacrifice it is good. All these different opinions on sacrificial activity are now being clarified by the Lord Himself.
What this verse teaches
Kṛṣṇa defines sannyāsa and tyāga. He gives two opinions on tyāga and then His own opinion.
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.