Sanskrit
संन्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ । तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात्कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते ॥
saṃnyāsaḥ karmayogaś ca niḥśreyasakarāv ubhau tayos tu karmasaṃnyāsāt karmayogo viśiṣyate
Translation
Renunciation and yoga by action both lead to the highest bliss; of the two, yoga by action is verily better than renunciation of action.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna’s direct answer to verse 1: both paths lead to the same highest good, but karma yoga is declared better. The rest of the chapter has to earn that ranking rather than just assert it — verse 6 will explain why (bare renunciation attempted without yogic discipline is hard to sustain), and verses 4-5 will relativize the ranking by insisting that anyone truly established in either path already obtains the fruit of both. So this verse states the chapter’s thesis, not yet its full argument.
Concepts