Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 18: Freedom through Renunciation
Bhagavad Gita 18.1
संन्यासस्य महाबाहो तत्त्वमिच्छामि वेदितुम् ।
त्यागस्य च हृषीकेश पृथक्केशिनिषूदन ॥
saṃnyāsasya mahābāho tattvamicchāmi veditum | tyāgasya ca hṛṣīkeśa pṛthakkeśiniṣūdana ||
I wish to know, mighty-armed Krishna, the true nature of renunciation and of relinquishment, and the difference between the two.
Modern context
The last chapter opens with Arjuna's final question: what is the true meaning of sannyasa, renunciation, and tyaga, relinquishment, and how do they differ? It is the question he has circled since chapter 2. Should he leave the world or act in it? Now, at the end, he asks for a clear definition. The whole final chapter is, in a sense, the answer.