Chapter 18 • Verse 17

Moksha Sanyasa Yoga

The Yoga of Liberation and Renunciation

Sanskrit Verse

yasya nahankrito bhavo buddhir yasya na lipyate hatvapi sa imal lokan na hanti na nibadhyate

Translation & Meaning

One whose intelligence is free from the sense of 'I am the doer' and whose understanding is not tainted — even if that person slays these worlds — does not slay and is not bound. The absence of ego-doership brings true freedom from karmic bondage.

Key Teachings

  • •Freedom from ahankara liberates one from karmic consequences even in violent action
  • •It is the ego-identification with doership that creates bondage, not the action itself
  • •This paradox illuminates the deepest teaching on nishkama karma

Topics

ahankaradoershipliberationkarma-bondageego-free-action
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