Bhagavad Gita · Jnana Karma Sannyasa YogaChapter 4, Shloka 10 (4.10)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिताः
बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागताः
॥ 4.10 ॥
vītarāgabhayakrodhā manmayā māmupāśritāḥ
bahavo jñānatapasā pūtā madbhāvamāgatāḥ
Translation
"Free from attachment, fear and anger, absorbed in me, taking refuge in me, many people, purified by the austerity of knowledge, have attained my state of being (nature)."
Interpretation
Three purifications, one refuge. (1) The departure of attachment, fear and anger; (2) man-maya — a consciousness absorbed in the Lord; (3) mām upāśritāḥ — refuge; and the means — jñāna-tapas (the austerity of knowledge).
Shankaracharya: man-mayāḥ brahmavidaḥ īśvarābheda-darśinaḥ — knowers of Brahman who see their non-difference from the Lord; mām eva ca parameśvaram upāśritāḥ kevala-jñāna-niṣṭhāḥ (taking refuge in me alone, the Supreme Lord, steadfast in knowledge alone); jñānam eva ca paramātma-viṣayaṃ tapaḥ — knowledge of the Supreme Self is itself austerity; mad-bhāvam īśvara-bhāvaṃ mokṣam — my state, that is, the state of the Lord, liberation. The qualifier "jñāna-tapasā" shows that this is itara-tapo-nirapekṣa jñāna-niṣṭhā — steadfastness in knowledge that does not depend on other austerities. And the next question: do you have attachment and aversion, that you grant oneness with yourself only to some? — the answer is 4.11.
Acharya Ramanuja: madīya-janma-karma-tattva-jñānākhyena tapasā — through the austerity that is knowledge of the truth of my birth and deeds, many have been purified. He quotes the Upanishad — tasya dhīrāḥ parijānanti yonim — only the steadfast (the foremost of the wise) know the manner of his birth.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.