Bhagavad Gita · Jnana Karma Sannyasa YogaChapter 4, Shloka 33 (4.33)

Why superior?

• Shankaracharya: dravyamayo hi yajñaḥ phalasya ārambhakaḥ, jñāna-yajñaḥ na phalārambhakaḥ — the yajña of material things produces (new) results; the yajña of knowledge does not (it creates no bondage); hence it is praśasyataraḥ (more praiseworthy). Sarvaṃ karma … jñāne mokṣa-sādhane sarvataḥ-samplutodaka-sthānīye parisamāpyate antarbhavati — all actions are contained in knowledge, the means to liberation, which is like a reservoir full on all sides (the simile of 2.46). He gives the illustration from the Chhandogya (4.1.4) — just as in a game of dice, when the highest throw (kṛta) wins, all the lower throws are included in it, so whoever knows that (truth) receives the fruit of all the good deeds of all beings.
• Acharya Ramanuja: ubhayākāre karmaṇi dravyamayād aṃśād jñānamayaḥ aṃśaḥ śreyān — in action of two forms (material and knowledge), the part made of knowledge is superior to the part made of material things; sarvasya karmaṇaḥ … jñāne parisamāpteḥ — because all action culminates in knowledge. And an important point: tad evaṃ sarvaiḥ sādhanaiḥ prāpya-bhūtaṃ jñānaṃ karmāntargatatvena abhyasyate; tad eva hi abhyasyamānaṃ krameṇa prāpya-daśāṃ pratipadyate — the knowledge to be attained through all the means is practised within action itself; and that very practice, continued, gradually becomes the state to be attained (the goal).