BG 5.7 — Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga — Sūtrakṛt-Gītā

Bhagavad Gītā 5.7Chapter 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · Tāta · anuṣṭubh

योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रियः ।

सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते ॥

yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ

sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā kurvann api na lipyate

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

meaning

Yoked to yoga, pure in mind, master of body and sense, seeing one's own self in all beings, a person acts and yet is not stained.

ekras · bhāṣya

Five epithets in sequence, then the closing claim: kurvann api na lipyate. Doing, and yet not adhering. Each epithet is a station. Yoga-yukta — yoked through the discipline. Vishuddha-atma — the inner instrument cleansed of rajas and tamas. Vijita-atma — the body subdued. Jita-indriya — the senses brought under. And the fifth, the longest: sarva-bhuta-atma-bhuta-atma — the one whose atman has become the atman that is the atman of all beings.

Madhusudana traces these as ascending stations along a single path: each previous station produces the next, and each is what makes the next genuinely available.

Ramanuja softens the architecture. The yogi engaged in shastriya karma as worship of the Paramapurusha naturally arrives at vishuddha-manas, and from that purity flows mastery — first the mind made tractable by the joy of habitual service, then the senses following, then the decisive vision of atman recognized as uniformly present in all sentient beings, all related to Bhagavan.

Madhva reads the fifth epithet quite differently. Sarva-bhuta-atma-bhuta-atma is not a predicate of the yogi at all; it is a predicate of Parameshvara alone — Hari is the inner atman of all beings, the one who draws each jiva toward himself. The yogi's na lipyate is not from monistic identity but from dependent proximity to Hari, who alone bears that universal predicate.

Vallabha catches a third register: these epithets describe not a sadhaka's gradual conquest but the natural condition of one whom Bhagavan has already seized — trigunatita by Krishna's own prasada. Three readings; one verse; the same non-staining.

Context

where

Chapter 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna · vocative Tāta

preceded by — BG 5.6

Renunciation without yoga is hard to achieve and brings only suffering, but the muni who is yoked through disciplined action reaches Brahman swiftly.

What's going on

Yoked to yoga, pure in mind, master of body and sense, seeing one's own self in all beings, a person acts and yet is not stained.

Sūtras through this verse (63)

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downbetween

3.4Mere not-doing is not renunciation at all.───→here5.7───→5.13Lay down all acts in mind; sit at ease, body free.

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

5.1Every clause tagged jñāna or karma.───→here5.7───→7.1First hexad ends, middle hexad opens.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

4.23Clinging to anything is what binds you.───→here5.7───→5.12Drop the wish for fruit, not the fruit itself.

show all 63

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirestation · anchor

───→here5.7───→

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

3.4Naishkarmya is not just non-doing───→here5.7───→5.13Nine-gated city, all karma laid down

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youbetween

5.2Each path bears fruit by its own working.───→here5.7───→18.66The combined-path view named and dismantled.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentbetween

5.6Renunciation is hard without yoga first.───→here5.7───→18.41Each order's work is born of its own nature.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

4.18See not-doing in doing, doing in not-doing.───→here5.7───→5.13Body-self confusion is the only error.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldbetween

4.18The post-knowledge actor does no action at all.───→here5.7───→5.8I do nothing at all, says the knower.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedbetween

2.72Standing in this state, one reaches Brahman..───→here5.7───→5.13Nine-gated city: body remains, doership does not.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here5.7───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalI

The lover and the knower are one personapproach

───→here5.7───→7.16Of the four devotees, the knower is dearest.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulestation

───→here5.7───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

4.14Acts without clinging───→here5.7───→5.14Two tiers of rulership

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closebetween

3.27Action is the modes'; the soul only seems to act.───→here5.7───→5.14The soul rules the inert; the Lord rules the soul.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

4.14He acts but does not cling to the act.───→here5.7───→5.14The Lord rules the modes; the soul rules the body.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsbetween

5.1Renouncing isn't quitting the householder's life.───→here5.7───→6.1The renouncer and yogi are one person, two names.

MadhvaclassicalT8

Direct vision — the only proximate causebetween

2.59The taste fades only when the source is seen.───→here5.7───→5.16Mediated knowing is just the first step.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

5.6Renunciation needs the path───→here5.7───→5.10Lotus-leaf in water

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentbetween · v2

2.58Tortoise withdrawing───→here5.7───→5.27Senses excluded

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvabetween · v2

3.27Modes act, ego claims───→here5.7───→5.13Nine-gated city

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementbetween · other

3.37Kāma is the enemy───→here5.7───→5.23Endure the urge

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledbetween

5.1Two saṃnyāsas: fruit and means.───→here5.7───→6.46Yogin vs. jñānin: not synonyms.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsbetween

5.1Recap-then-question becomes the rule.───→here5.7───→7.1Lord answers a question Arjuna did not ask.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

5.1Body-residue karma vs. fruit-bearing karma.───→here5.7───→18.1Tyāga and saṃnyāsa named distinct.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.───→here5.7───→5.13All actions renounced by mind alone.

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

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

5.1Two chapters settled action and knowing.───→here5.7───→7.1First six unfold 'you,' middle six unfold 'that.'

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsbetween

5.1Not combined, not optional; distributed by fitness.───→here5.7───→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.───→here5.7───→6.1Renouncing too lives by purity of mind.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

5.1Neither combined, nor optionally substituted.───→here5.7───→5.13The knower's body acts; the knower does not.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionbetween

3.43Use intellect to slay the enemy within.───→here5.7───→5.12Renounce the wish for fruit, not the fruit.

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingbetween

2.48Yoga itself is just sameness of mind.───→here5.7───→5.18See a sage, a cow, a dog as one.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

5.4Insight and practice are not two paths.───→here5.7───→6.46The lover outranks every other yogi.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursbetween

3.27The modes act, but ego claims the deed.───→here5.7───→5.8The knower thinks, 'I do nothing at all.'

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here5.7───→

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here5.7───→6.10Solitary seat

Ekrasmodernbhakti

Bhakti — devotion pathapproach · v2

───→here5.7───→7.16Four kinds of bhakta

ĀnandagiriclassicalI

Bhakti carries jñāna, never parallelapproach

───→here5.7───→7.1Upāsya and tat-pada in apposition. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalJ

Prakṛti is never autonomousapproach

───→here5.7───→7.4Two-fold prakṛti is the Lord's own power.

MadhusūdanaclassicalE

Devotion is how knowing actually arrivesapproach

───→here5.7───→7.1The chapter elaborates the prior bhajana-line.

MadhusūdanaclassicalF

Every middle chapter opens with a bow to the teacherapproach

───→here5.7───→7.1A bow to the bliss-cloud, Nanda's son, opens seven.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here5.7───→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.───→here5.7───→6.1The renouncer and yogi are the same person.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketbetween

2.12From here to 18.66: one Krishna-utterance.───→here5.7───→5.16Knowledge dispels what mā śucaḥ will close.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

5.5The fruit of either is one and the same.───→here5.7───→6.1The renouncer and yogi are one figure.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefbetween

2.11First grief — chapter-1 cowardice — closed.───→here5.7───→5.16Knowledge-darkness cleared — not yet refuge.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedbetween

5.1Arjuna asks the wrong question. first.───→here5.7───→6.1Real renouncing keeps the act alive.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

5.1Single-verse prelude sets sannyāsa-yoga eka.───→here5.7───→6.1Prelude binds yoga to puṣṭi-bhakti.

VallabhaclassicalE

Three paths, one teaching orderbetween

5.5Where one path goes, the other reaches too.───→here5.7───→6.1The two paths are one through fruit-renouncing act.

RāmānujaclassicalA

World as the Lord's body (antaryāmin)approach

───→here5.7───→7.4Two natures of the Lord: matter and selves.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionapproach

───→here5.7───→7.17I am dearest to him.

RāmānujaclassicalF

Two prakṛtis · jīva as eternal aṃśaapproach

───→here5.7───→7.4Lower nature: matter.

RāmānujaclassicalJ

Śeṣa-śeṣī · pati-vrata simileapproach

───→here5.7───→7.18He is My self; I cannot hold without him.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalB

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

───→here5.7───→7.14Those who take refuge cross the māyā.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalI

9.24 — the standing citation for ārādhyaapproach

───→here5.7───→7.21Deity-worship: His self-arrangement of grace.

VallabhaclassicalB

Grace alone — the technical markapproach

───→here5.7───→7.18The wise one is Myself, by grace alone.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here5.7───→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.───→here5.7───→8.7Without a clean mind, steady remembrance fails.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spinebetween

5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?───→here5.7───→6.1Pure mind is not yet release: now meditate.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here5.7───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalH

The grammar of single-pointednessapproach

───→here5.7───→7.14Undivided love crosses the great mist.

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handbetween

3.27Palm, kartala. Akartritva, non-doership. 'Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani s───→here5.7───→5.18Ring finger. Samadrishti. 'Vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane gavi hastini, shuni ch

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidbetween

5.5'Yat sankhyaih prapyate sthanam tad yogair api gamyate.' The place reached by sa───→here5.7───→6.46'Tapasvibhyo'dhiko yogi jnanibhyo'pi mato'dhikah, karmibhyash chadhiko yogi tasm

Śabda · lemmas (13 unique · 17 occurrences)

लिप्यते √lip — to smear, anoint, taint, stain (verbal root) · present indicative pass 3rd person singular verb
विशुद्ध vi-√śudh — to be pure, purified (vi- + √śudh) · compound participle (compound member)
विजित √viji — (vi- + ji: to conquer) · compound participle (compound member)
कुर्वन् √kṛ — to do, make (verbal root) · nominative masculine singular present participle verb

show all 13

आत्मा·आत्म ātman ×4 — the Self, soul; one's own self · nominative masculine singular noun / compound
भूत √bhū ×2 — to be, become; the earth (verbal root / noun) · compound / compound participle (compound member)
योग yoga — yoga; union, discipline, application · compound masculine (compound member)
युक्तः √yuj — to yoke, join, engage in (verbal root) · nominative masculine singular participle noun
जित √ji — to conquer, win (verbal root) · compound participle (compound member)
इन्द्रियः indriya — sense, sense-organ; the eleven indriyas (5 jñānendriyas + 5 karmendriyas + manas) · nominative masculine singular noun
सर्व sarva — all, entire · compound
अपि api — also, even, although
न na — not (negation particle)

Praśna · so what (7)

01If na lipyate (non-binding) requires the ātman-of-all-beings vision, is this verse a description of a saint or a prescription for a practitioner — and does it matter which?
02Śaṅkara and Madhva give opposite readings of sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā — one as identity, one as Paramēśvara's exclusive predicate. Which reading is demanded by the sandhi-structure of the compound, and can grammar alone decide the doctrinal dispute?

show all 7

03Rāmānuja argues karma-yoga produces liberation more swiftly (śaighrya) than jñāna-yoga: does his reading of this verse commit the Gītā to a developmental model — karma → bhakti → ātman-vision — that the other schools reject?
04Madhusūdana's tridaṇḍī parallel (Manu cited inline) treats vāk, manas, kāya as three sub-disciplines of jitēndriya. Does this cross-śāstra annotation strengthen or dilute the verse's own logic?
05Vallabha's brevity is itself an interpretive act: elaboration would re-introduce the doer. What does this tell us about how Puṣṭi-mārga uses silence as commentary?
06Śrīdhara's framing as ākṣepa-samādhāna (objection-answer) positions 5.7 as defensive rather than descriptive. Does the surrounding context of BG 5 support this reading?
07All six schools agree on na lipyate as the verse's conclusion but disagree entirely on why. Is this verse structurally an aphorism that requires a school-lens to carry any payload — i.e., an instance of bounded polysemy by design?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

Before a high-stakes meeting or decision, pause and ask: who is the one who will be blamed if this fails? Notice that the person locatable for blame is a construct assembled from memory and habit — the vijitātmā practice is to act from the role without fusing the ātman to the outcome. You fulfill the function; the function does not define you.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Treat every task in your day as śāstrīya seva (scripted service) — not metaphorically, but by asking whose agenda this action is actually in service of. Rāmānuja's reading says the mind purifies itself through the joy of habitual surrender: begin small, with one recurring task you explicitly dedicate as kainkarya, and notice whether resistance to that task diminishes over weeks.

show all 6

Dvaita

When you feel like you've achieved something important, Madhva's reading is a corrective: the ātman-of-all-beings is Hari, not you. The practical move is to keep a sharp distinction between proximity to the source and identity with it — stay close, serve faithfully, do not collapse the distance that makes the relationship real. Gratitude rather than pride is the appropriate affect.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's reading inverts the usual self-improvement frame entirely: you do not conquer the guṇas by discipline, Kṛṣṇa's prasāda removes them. The practical implication is to stop treating non-attachment as a project you manage. Instead, show up, offer the action, and let go of the outcome — not as a technique but as an act of trust in what has already been given.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's graduated chain — yoga → viśuddha-citta → vijitātmā → jitēndriya → sarva-bhūtātmā vision → na lipyate — reads as a natural causal sequence. The practical entry-point is the first link: identify one practice (japa, seva, prāṇāyāma, sustained study) and stabilise it. Śrīdhara implies that the rest of the sequence follows without needing to be separately engineered.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's tridaṇḍī frame — discipline of speech, mind, and body as a single integrated practice — maps onto any professional context where you manage communication, attention, and behavior under pressure. His key move: the three are not independent habits but one discipline appearing in three domains. Find the place where your speech, mind, and action are most misaligned, and treat that as the whole practice, not a partial one.

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 7: Krishna to Arjuna — Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga