Bhagavad Gita · Karma Sannyasa YogaChapter 5, Shloka 26 (5.26)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
कामक्रोधवियुक्तानां यतीनां यतचेतसाम्
अभितो ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं वर्तते विदितात्मनाम्
॥ 5.26 ॥
kāmakrodhaviyuktānāṃ yatīnāṃ yatacetasām
abhito brahmanirvāṇaṃ vartate viditātmanām
Translation
"For ascetics who are free from desire and anger, who keep the mind under control and know the self, brahma-nirvana is all around (on every side)."
Interpretation
"Abhitaḥ" — two readings.
Shankaracharya: Abhitaḥ ubhayataḥ jīvatāṃ mṛtānāṃ ca — on both sides, while living and after death, there is moksha. Yatīnāṃ saṃnyāsinām — yati means renunciate. And the essence of the chapter: samyag-darśana-niṣṭhānāṃ saṃnyāsināṃ sadyaḥ muktiḥ uktā — the immediate liberation of renunciates established in right vision has been stated; karma-yogaś ca … sattva-śuddhi-jñāna-prāpti-sarva-karma-saṃnyāsa-krameṇa mokṣāya — karma yoga gives moksha through the sequence purification of mind → knowledge → renunciation of all action. Now dhyāna-yogaṃ samyag-darśanasya antaraṅgam — dhyana yoga, the inner means of right vision, is treated in detail in chapter 6; 5.27–5.28 are its sūtra-sthānīya (formula-like) verses.
Acharya Ramanuja: Yatīnāṃ yatana-śīlānām — yati means one who strives (not a renunciate, a practitioner); vijitātmanāṃ vijita-manasām; evaṃbhūtānāṃ hastasthaṃ brahma-nirvāṇam — for such people brahma-nirvana is held in their hand.
The difference: Shankara — "yati" = renunciate, "abhitaḥ" = both in life and after death; Ramanuja — "yati" = also the striving karma yogi, "abhitaḥ" = in hand, very near.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.