BG 5.20 — Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 5.20Chapter 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

न प्रहृष्येत् प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत् प्राप्य चाप्रियम् ।

स्थिरबुद्धिरसंमूढो ब्रह्मविद् ब्रह्मणि स्थितः ॥

na prahṛṣyet priyaṃ prāpya nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam

sthira-buddhir asaṃmūḍho brahmavid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

A knower of Brahman neither swells at good fortune nor shrinks from misfortune, grounded in steady understanding, free from delusion, abiding in Brahman.

ekras · bhāṣya

The verse names the inner condition of the brahma-vid in a familiar pair of negations. "He does not swell on receiving the priya, does not shrink on receiving the apriya — sthira-buddhi, asammudha, the brahma-vid stands in Brahman." Four predicates in tight succession close the verse.

Shankara reads the verse with characteristic precision. Exhilaration at gain and dejection at loss belong exclusively to the deha-matra-atma-darshin — the one whose vision of self extends only as far as the body. The brahma-vid sees only the non-dual atman; for him the priya and apriya have no real address to land at, because the body-complex they were aimed at is no longer his self. The condition is not suppression of feeling; the seat for the feeling has dissolved.

Ramanuja reads the verse as practice rather than portrait. The priya and apriya the body-dwelling jiva still encounters through prachina-karma-vasana are to be received without harsha or udvega; the means is sthira-buddhi directed steadily at atman as Bhagavan's chit-body. The body still meets pleasure and displeasure; the orientation has shifted.

Madhusudana traces three progressive stages. Shravana-manana-phala — the fruit of hearing and reflection — produces sthira-buddhi. Nididhyasana — sustained meditation — produces asammudha, freedom from the viparita-bhavana that blocks sakshatkara even after intellectual conviction. Sakshatkara itself — direct vision — is brahma-vid brahmani sthitah, knower of Brahman established in Brahman.

Madhva keeps the bheda-frame steady: brahmani sthitah names the jiva's condition of resting in real ontological subordination to svatantra Hari, not absorption that dissolves the distinction.

Context

where

Chapter 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 5.19

Those whose minds are settled in equanimity have conquered birth and becoming right here in this life, for Brahman is faultless and the same in all, and they already stand in it.

What's going on

A knower of Brahman neither swells at good fortune nor shrinks from misfortune, grounded in steady understanding, free from delusion, abiding in Brahman.

Sūtras through this verse (63)

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downbetween

5.13Lay down all acts in mind; sit at ease, body free.───→here5.20───→6.1The fire-keeper is renouncer only in a soft sense.

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

5.1Every clause tagged jñāna or karma.───→here5.20───→7.1First hexad ends, middle hexad opens.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

5.12Drop the wish for fruit, not the fruit itself.───→here5.20───→5.29The Lord owns every act, never you.

show all 63

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

5.13Nine-gated city, all karma laid down───→here5.20───→6.1Soft sense of renouncer

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youbetween

5.2Each path bears fruit by its own working.───→here5.20───→18.66The combined-path view named and dismantled.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentbetween

5.6Renunciation is hard without yoga first.───→here5.20───→18.41Each order's work is born of its own nature.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

5.13Body-self confusion is the only error.───→here5.20───→13.2One Self lights every body as one sun lights all.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedbetween

5.13Nine-gated city: body remains, doership does not.───→here5.20───→5.29Knowing Me, all wandering ceases at once.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here5.20───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalI

The lover and the knower are one personapproach

───→here5.20───→7.16Of the four devotees, the knower is dearest.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldexit

5.8I do nothing at all, says the knower.───→here5.20───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

5.14Two tiers of rulership───→here5.20───→9.9Like one detached, not actually

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

5.7'Self of all beings' just means the Lord.───→here5.20───→8.3The 'imperishable Brahman' is the supreme person.

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closebetween

5.14The soul rules the inert; the Lord rules the soul.───→here5.20───→6.9Souls differ by nature not by accident alone.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

5.14The Lord rules the modes; the soul rules the body.───→here5.20───→9.9He sits like one detached, not actually detached.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsbetween

5.1Renouncing isn't quitting the householder's life.───→here5.20───→6.1The renouncer and yogi are one person, two names.

MadhvaclassicalT8

Direct vision — the only proximate causebetween

5.16Mediated knowing is just the first step.───→here5.20───→6.7The stilled mind sees the seated supreme self.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

5.7'Self of all' resolves to the Lord himself.───→here5.20───→6.20'Self' here is not soul but the Lord within.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

5.12Peace of the released───→here5.20───→18.46Work as worship

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentbetween · v2

2.58Tortoise withdrawing───→here5.20───→5.27Senses excluded

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvabetween · v2

5.14Lord neither acts nor causes───→here5.20───→13.20Prakriti causes, puruṣa enjoys

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementbetween · other

3.37Kāma is the enemy───→here5.20───→5.23Endure the urge

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledbetween

5.1Two saṃnyāsas: fruit and means.───→here5.20───→6.46Yogin vs. jñānin: not synonyms.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsbetween

5.1Recap-then-question becomes the rule.───→here5.20───→7.1Lord answers a question Arjuna did not ask.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

5.1Body-residue karma vs. fruit-bearing karma.───→here5.20───→18.1Tyāga and saṃnyāsa named distinct.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

5.13All actions renounced by mind alone.───→here5.20───→18.1Tyāga = renouncing the relationship.

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

Three groups of six: you, the Lord, the joiningbetween

5.1Two chapters settled action and knowing.───→here5.20───→7.1First six unfold 'you,' middle six unfold 'that.'

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsbetween

5.1Not combined, not optional; distributed by fitness.───→here5.20───→6.1The renouncer and yogi are one under two views.

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landbetween

5.1Action for the ignorant: purification's only door.───→here5.20───→6.1Renouncing too lives by purity of mind.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

5.13The knower's body acts; the knower does not.───→here5.20───→6.1Calling a karma-yogi 'renouncer' is only a courtesy.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionbetween

5.12Renounce the wish for fruit, not the fruit.───→here5.20───→5.23Endure desire and anger while still alive.

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingbetween

5.19A mind in equality has already won.───→here5.20───→6.8Clay, stone, and gold are all level to him.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

5.4Insight and practice are not two paths.───→here5.20───→6.46The lover outranks every other yogi.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursbetween

5.8The knower thinks, 'I do nothing at all.'───→here5.20───→6.3Body, senses, and mind: none of them yours.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here5.20───→

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here5.20───→6.10Solitary seat

Ekrasmodernbhakti

Bhakti — devotion pathapproach · v2

───→here5.20───→7.16Four kinds of bhakta

ĀnandagiriclassicalI

Bhakti carries jñāna, never parallelapproach

───→here5.20───→7.1Upāsya and tat-pada in apposition. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalJ

Prakṛti is never autonomousapproach

───→here5.20───→7.4Two-fold prakṛti is the Lord's own power.

MadhusūdanaclassicalE

Devotion is how knowing actually arrivesapproach

───→here5.20───→7.1The chapter elaborates the prior bhajana-line.

MadhusūdanaclassicalF

Every middle chapter opens with a bow to the teacherapproach

───→here5.20───→7.1A bow to the bliss-cloud, Nanda's son, opens seven.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here5.20───→6.30See Me everywhere, I am never lost.

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)between

5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.───→here5.20───→6.1The renouncer and yogi are the same person.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketbetween

5.16Knowledge dispels what mā śucaḥ will close.───→here5.20───→9.24The receiver of all rites is named one verse.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

5.5The fruit of either is one and the same.───→here5.20───→6.1The renouncer and yogi are one figure.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefbetween

5.16Knowledge-darkness cleared — not yet refuge.───→here5.20───→16.5Daivī-asuric grief closed mid-text.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedbetween

5.1Arjuna asks the wrong question. first.───→here5.20───→6.1Real renouncing keeps the act alive.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

5.1Single-verse prelude sets sannyāsa-yoga eka.───→here5.20───→6.1Prelude binds yoga to puṣṭi-bhakti.

VallabhaclassicalE

Three paths, one teaching orderbetween

5.5Where one path goes, the other reaches too.───→here5.20───→6.1The two paths are one through fruit-renouncing act.

RāmānujaclassicalA

World as the Lord's body (antaryāmin)approach

───→here5.20───→7.4Two natures of the Lord: matter and selves.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionapproach

───→here5.20───→7.17I am dearest to him.

RāmānujaclassicalF

Two prakṛtis · jīva as eternal aṃśaapproach

───→here5.20───→7.4Lower nature: matter.

RāmānujaclassicalJ

Śeṣa-śeṣī · pati-vrata simileapproach

───→here5.20───→7.18He is My self; I cannot hold without him.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalB

Prapatti — bhakti's access for those the long path defeatsapproach

───→here5.20───→7.14Those who take refuge cross the māyā.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalI

9.24 — the standing citation for ārādhyaapproach

───→here5.20───→7.21Deity-worship: His self-arrangement of grace.

VallabhaclassicalB

Grace alone — the technical markapproach

───→here5.20───→7.18The wise one is Myself, by grace alone.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here5.20───→6.47Six chapters of aphorism close at this verse.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

5.5See sāṅkhya and yoga as one — see truly.───→here5.20───→8.7Without a clean mind, steady remembrance fails.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spinebetween

5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?───→here5.20───→6.1Pure mind is not yet release: now meditate.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here5.20───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalH

The grammar of single-pointednessapproach

───→here5.20───→7.14Undivided love crosses the great mist.

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handbetween

5.18Ring finger. Samadrishti. 'Vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane gavi hastini, shuni ch───→here5.20───→9.22Pinky finger. Shraddha, faith. Gaurav lands shraddha with the Sushma Swaraj six-

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidbetween

5.5'Yat sankhyaih prapyate sthanam tad yogair api gamyate.' The place reached by sa───→here5.20───→6.46'Tapasvibhyo'dhiko yogi jnanibhyo'pi mato'dhikah, karmibhyash chadhiko yogi tasm

Śabda · lemmas (13 unique · 16 occurrences)

प्राप्य prāp ×2 — to obtain (pra- + √āp 'reach') · conv
ब्रह्म·ब्रह्मणि brahman ×2 — Brahman (the Absolute); also: the Veda; sacred utterance · compound / locative neuter singular noun · also at 1.1, 2.72, 3.14, 3.15, 4.21, 4.24 +40
स्थितः √sthā — to stand, remain (verbal root) · nominative masculine singular participle noun
प्रहृष्येत् pra-√hṛṣ — (pra- + hṛṣ: to be glad) · present optative 3rd person singular verb
प्रियम् priya — dear, beloved · accusative neuter singular noun

show all 13

न na ×2 — not (negation particle)
उद्विजेत् ud-√vij — to be agitated, distressed (ud- + √vij) · present optative 3rd person singular verb
च ca — and; (homonym: also the consonant ca)
अप्रियम् apriya — (a- + priya: dear) · accusative neuter singular noun
स्थिर sthira — firm, steady, fixed · compound
बुद्धिः buddhi — intellect, intelligence, discriminating faculty · nominative masculine singular noun
असंमूढः asaṃmūḍha — undeluded (a- + sam- + mūḍha, from √muh) · nominative masculine singular noun
विद् vid — to know; to find (verbal root) · nominative masculine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01If equanimity toward pleasant and unpleasant is a cognitive achievement (Śaṅkara: no second thing exists to disturb) rather than an emotional suppression, what does that imply about the relationship between philosophical insight and psychological health?
02Madhusūdana distinguishes three stages — conviction, nididhyāsana, realization — and says intellectual certainty alone does not produce equanimity; what does that imply for modern mindfulness and cognitive-reframing practices that treat insight as sufficient?

show all 7

03Rāmānuja grounds equanimity in prior karma-vāsanā and the teacher's transmission rather than in autonomous effort; does this make the practice more or less accessible than Śaṅkara's jñāna-mārga account?
04Vallabha pairs this verse with 5.21 and locates sukha (happiness) in the ātman rather than in Brahman-as-abstract-principle; how does relocating the source of happiness from a metaphysical absolute to an experiential interiority change the practice?
05Śrīdhara's lakṣaṇa-framing (this verse as diagnostic marker rather than prescription) suggests equanimity is evidence of brahma-prāpti, not the cause — what follows for how a practitioner should evaluate their own progress?
06Madhva's sparse commentary implicitly refuses to elaborate what needs no elaboration for the committed devotee; is theological minimalism itself a teaching about how doctrine-dense commentary can obscure direct surrender?
07All six schools agree on the behavioral surface (no elation, no agitation) but differ radically on the mechanism; what does that level of surface convergence with deep divergence suggest about the epistemic status of Gītā commentarial tradition as evidence for practice?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When a professional receives unexpected praise or a performance review that stings, the Advaita application is not suppression but perspective-shift: ask whose praise or criticism this actually is. If the body-mind complex is not the ātman, commendation lands on a persona, not on what you are. The practice is momentary recognition — not denial of the event, but refusal to let it reconfigure the center of gravity.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

In a care-giving relationship — parenting, nursing, mentoring — pleasant days (a child's success, a patient's recovery) and unpleasant ones (failure, relapse) generate powerful emotional pulls from prācīna-vāsanā. Rāmānuja's application is to re-attribute both outcomes to Bhagavān's arrangement and to remain in kainkarya-mode (service mode) regardless of outcome-valence; the steadiness comes not from detachment from the person but from transferring attachment from outcomes to the act of dedicated service.

show all 6

Dvaita

In competitive or adversarial settings — litigation, sport, negotiation — the Dvaita application is to recognize that wins and losses are instruments in Hari's hands, not measures of the jīva's worth. The practitioner keeps performing with full effort (paratantra, as a dependent of the Lord) while releasing the personal ledger of credit and blame. This is not indifference but a precise re-routing of ego-investment.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's application is most available in creative work or devotional practice: when a piece of music, a poem, or a prayer arrives with unexpected ease and beauty, the sādhaka of Puṣṭi-mārga receives it as Kṛṣṇa's prasāda (gift) rather than personal accomplishment, preventing the elation that sets up the next disappointment. The inner sukha (delight) is already present; the pleasant event is simply a reminder, not the source.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's lakṣaṇa lens becomes a daily self-audit: after any emotionally charged event — a difficult conversation, a financial surprise — the practitioner simply notes whether elation or dejection arose sharply. If they did, no shame; that is diagnostic data indicating where brahma-vid knowledge has not yet taken root. The verse becomes a calibration tool rather than a demand for instant equanimity.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's three-stage map applies directly to contemplative or therapeutic work: intellectual understanding of impermanence or non-self (śravaṇa-manana-phala) is not enough to prevent reactive patterns (viparīta-bhāvanā); sustained practice — whether structured meditation, journaling, or devotional repetition — is nididhyāsana that gradually clears the residual contrary impressions. The practitioner does not wait to be a jivanmukta before starting; they adopt the jivanmukta's posture through deliberate effort and trust that the practice itself dissolves the gap.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 5, Verse 20: Krishna to Arjuna — Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga