Bhagavad Gita · Sankhya YogaChapter 2, Shloka 39 (2.39)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
एषा तेऽभिहिता साङ्ख्ये बुद्धिर्योगे त्विमां शृणु
बुद्ध्या युक्तो यया पार्थ कर्मबन्धं प्रहास्यसि
॥ 2.39 ॥
eṣā te'bhihitā sāṅkhye buddhiryoge tvimāṃ śṛṇu
buddhyā yukto yayā pārtha karmabandhaṃ prahāsyasi
Translation
"O Partha! This understanding has been given to you concerning sankhya (discernment of the self); now hear this understanding concerning yoga — endowed with which you will cut through the bondage of karma."
Interpretation
Sankhya and Yoga — the Gita's definitions. Here "sankhya" and "yoga" are not the names of two philosophical schools, but of two outlooks:
- Shankaracharya: Sāṅkhya = paramārtha-vastu-viveka — discernment of the highest truth; through this knowledge, the faults of samsara such as grief and delusion cease directly. Yoga = the means to attain that knowledge — karma-yoga, done without attachment, giving up the pairs of opposites, as worship of Ishvara, and samadhi-yoga. Through this yoga-understanding — by means of knowledge gained through the grace of Ishvara — the bondage of karma is cut.
- Ramanuja: Sāṅkhya = the reality of the self, to be determined by understanding; knowledge of it was given in 2.12–2.30. Yoga = the buddhi-yoga involved in performing action as a means to moksha, grounded in knowledge of the self — this is what will be said in "dūreṇa hy avaraṃ karma buddhi-yogāt" (2.49).
- Madhva: Quoting a statement from the Vyasa Smriti — the knowledge of the pure reality of the self = sankhya; yoga = the means.
"Karma-bandha" — the bondage of karma. Every action bears fruit, and the fruit becomes the cause of new actions and new births — this is bondage. Krishna promises an understanding with which there will be no bondage even while acting.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.