Bhagavad Gita · Karma Sannyasa YogaChapter 5, Shloka 2 (5.2)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
श्रीभगवानुवाच
सन्न्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ
तयोस्तु कर्मसन्न्यासात् कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते
॥ 5.2 ॥
sannyāsaḥ karmayogaśca niḥśreyasakarāvubhau
tayostu karmasannyāsāt karmayogo viśiṣyate
Translation
"The Blessed Lord said: Renunciation and karma yoga — both bring the highest good; but of the two, karma yoga is better than the renunciation of action."
Interpretation
"Both" and "superior". Krishna rejects neither path — both are niḥśreyasa-kara — but for a seeker like Arjuna, karma yoga is better.
Shankaracharya — than "mere" renunciation. Saṃnyāsaḥ karmaṇāṃ parityāgaḥ, karma-yogaś ca teṣām anuṣṭhānam — tau ubhau api niḥśreyasa-karau mokṣaṃ kurvāte jñānotpatti-hetutvena — both bring moksha by becoming causes of the arising of knowledge; karma-saṃnyāsāt kevalāt karma-yogo viśiṣyate — karma yoga is superior to mere (knowledge-less) renunciation of action. (In 5.5 Shankara will make clear that renunciation joined with knowledge — "sankhya" — is something else.)
Acharya Ramanuja — even for one fit for jnana yoga. Saṃnyāsaḥ jñāna-yogaḥ karma-yogaḥ ca jñāna-yoga-śaktasya api ubhau nirapekṣau niḥśreyasa-karau — even for a person capable of jnana yoga, both lead to the good independently (neither depending on the other); tayoḥ tu karma-saṃnyāsād jñāna-yogāt karma-yogaḥ eva viśiṣyate — but karma yoga alone is superior to jnana yoga.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.