Bhagavad Gita · Karma Sannyasa YogaChapter 5, Shloka 29 (5.29)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
भोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम्
सुहृदं सर्वभूतानां ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिमृच्छति
॥ 5.29 ॥
bhoktāraṃ yajñatapasāṃ sarvalokamaheśvaram
suhṛdaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ jñātvā māṃ śāntimṛcchati
Translation
"Knowing Me as the enjoyer of yajnas and austerities, the great Lord of all the worlds, and the friend of all beings, (a person) attains peace."
Interpretation
Three epithets:
- Enjoyer — all yajnas and austerities reach Him (9.24 ahaṃ hi sarva-yajñānāṃ bhoktā).
- Great Lord of all the worlds — the master of all.
- Friend (suhrid) — the selfless friend of all. The third epithet turns the power of the first two into love.
Shankaracharya. Evaṃ samāhita-cittena kiṃ vijñeyam — what is to be known with a composed mind? Answer: bhoktāraṃ yajña-tapasāṃ … kartṛ-rūpeṇa devatā-rūpeṇa ca — the enjoyer of yajna and austerity, both in the form of the doer and in the form of the deity; suhṛdaṃ sarva-bhūtānāṃ … pratyupakāra-nirapekṣatayā upakāriṇam — one who does good without expecting anything in return; sarva-bhūtānāṃ hṛdayeśayaṃ sarva-karma-phalādhyakṣaṃ sarva-pratyaya-sākṣiṇaṃ māṃ nārāyaṇaṃ jñātvā — knowing Me, Narayana, who dwells in the hearts of all, presides over the fruits of all actions and witnesses all experiences — one attains śāntiṃ sarva-saṃsāroparatim — the peace that is the cessation of all samsara.
Acharya Ramanuja — karma yoga with ease. Karma-yoga-karaṇa eva sukham ṛcchati — one finds happiness in the very doing of karma yoga. Sarva-loka-maheśvaraṃ sarveṣāṃ lokeśvarāṇām api īśvaram — the Lord even of the lords of the worlds — taṃ īśvarāṇāṃ paramaṃ maheśvaram (Śvetāśvatara Up. 6.7). The main argument: māṃ … sarva-suhṛdaṃ jñātvā mad-ārādhana-rūpaḥ karma-yoga iti sukhena tatra pravartate — knowing Me as the friend of all, one engages in karma yoga happily, in the spirit of "karma yoga is My worship"; because suhṛdām ārādhanāya sarve pravartante — everyone gladly works to please a friend.
The difference: Shankara — the object to be known in meditation is Narayana, and the fruit is the cessation of samsara; Ramanuja — knowing Ishvara as friend makes karma yoga easy and joyful (which is what Ramanuja said at the end of 5.28: the suśakatā of karma yoga).
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.