BG 5.29 — Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 5.29Chapter 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

भोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् ।

सुहृदं सर्वभूतानां ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिमृच्छति ॥

bhoktāraṃ yajña-tapasāṃ sarva-loka-maheśvaram

suhṛdaṃ sarva-bhūtānāṃ jñātvā māṃ śāntim ṛcchati

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

meaning

Knowing Krishna as the one who receives every sacrifice and austerity, as the sovereign lord of all worlds, and as the unconditional friend of every living being, you reach peace.

ekras · bhāṣya

Three predicates of Krishna in tight succession; the closing verb is shantim richchhati, the seeker reaches peace. Three knowings; one peace.

Madhusudana synthesizes both streams of the panel here. He preserves Shankara's definition of shanti as sarva-samsara-uparati — total cessation of transmigration — yet describes the Lord as purna-sachchidananda-eka-rasa, undivided Being-Consciousness-Bliss, and as sarvatma, the Self of all. He parses bhokta with the dual root bhuj — enjoyment and protection — so the term means both the receiver of the offering and the protector of the one who offers.

Shankara holds the three predicates with characteristic precision. Bhokta: the Lord receives every yajna and tapas in the dual role of kartri and devata — as the doer behind the doing, as the deity to whom the offering is addressed. Maheshvara: the supreme Ishvara over all worlds, including Hiranyagarbha. Suhrid: the unconditional benefactor — pratyupakara-nirapeksha — the friend who expects nothing in return — dwelling in the heart of all beings. The yogin whose mind has been thoroughly stilled, samahita-chitta, attains shanti by knowing Me thus.

Vallabha and Shridhara both answer the same standing objection: can mere indriya-samyama alone bring liberation? No. Only through jnana of Bhagavan's mahatmya does shanti come.

Vallabha reads the three predicates as the three kandas of the Veda: bhokta as the intent of karma-kanda, maheshvara as the intent of upasana-kanda, suhrid as the intent of jnana-kanda. The verse closes the chapter and quietly opens the next.

Context

where

Chapter 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 5.28

The sage who has reined in senses, mind, and intellect, who aims only at liberation and has shed desire, fear, and anger, is always already free.

What's going on

Knowing Krishna as the one who receives every sacrifice and austerity, as the sovereign lord of all worlds, and as the unconditional friend of every living being, you reach peace.

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.───→here5.29───→6.1The fire-keeper is renouncer only in a soft sense.

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

5.1Every clause tagged jñāna or karma.───→here5.29───→7.1First hexad ends, middle hexad opens.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionbetween

5.26With desire gone, the goal stands on all sides.───→here5.29───→6.24Renounce every desire born of will.

show all 63

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingstation · anchor

───→here5.29───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedstation · anchor

───→here5.29───→

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)station · anchor

───→here5.29───→

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

5.13Nine-gated city, all karma laid down───→here5.29───→6.1Soft sense of renouncer

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youbetween

5.2Each path bears fruit by its own working.───→here5.29───→18.66The combined-path view named and dismantled.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentbetween

5.6Renunciation is hard without yoga first.───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→13.2One Self lights every body as one sun lights all.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalI

The lover and the knower are one personapproach

───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

5.14Two tiers of rulership───→here5.29───→9.9Like one detached, not actually

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

5.7'Self of all beings' just means the Lord.───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→9.9He sits like one detached, not actually detached.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsbetween

5.1Renouncing isn't quitting the householder's life.───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→6.20'Self' here is not soul but the Lord within.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)station

───→here5.29───→

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

5.12Peace of the released───→here5.29───→18.46Work as worship

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentbetween · v2

5.28Senses, mind, buddhi held───→here5.29───→6.4Renounced in resolve

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvabetween · v2

5.14Lord neither acts nor causes───→here5.29───→13.20Prakriti causes, puruṣa enjoys

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementbetween · other

5.26Already-released sage───→here5.29───→16.21Triple gate of hell

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledbetween

5.1Two saṃnyāsas: fruit and means.───→here5.29───→6.46Yogin vs. jñānin: not synonyms.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsbetween

5.1Recap-then-question becomes the rule.───→here5.29───→7.1Lord answers a question Arjuna did not ask.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

5.1Body-residue karma vs. fruit-bearing karma.───→here5.29───→18.1Tyāga and saṃnyāsa named distinct.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

5.13All actions renounced by mind alone.───→here5.29───→18.1Tyāga = renouncing the relationship.

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

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

5.1Two chapters settled action and knowing.───→here5.29───→7.1First six unfold 'you,' middle six unfold 'that.'

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsbetween

5.1Not combined, not optional; distributed by fitness.───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→6.1Calling a karma-yogi 'renouncer' is only a courtesy.

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingbetween

5.19A mind in equality has already won.───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→6.46The lover outranks every other yogi.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursbetween

5.8The knower thinks, 'I do nothing at all.'───→here5.29───→6.3Body, senses, and mind: none of them yours.

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here5.29───→6.10Solitary seat

Ekrasmodernbhakti

Bhakti — devotion pathapproach · v2

───→here5.29───→7.16Four kinds of bhakta

ĀnandagiriclassicalI

Bhakti carries jñāna, never parallelapproach

───→here5.29───→7.1Upāsya and tat-pada in apposition. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalJ

Prakṛti is never autonomousapproach

───→here5.29───→7.4Two-fold prakṛti is the Lord's own power.

MadhusūdanaclassicalE

Devotion is how knowing actually arrivesapproach

───→here5.29───→7.1The chapter elaborates the prior bhajana-line.

MadhusūdanaclassicalF

Every middle chapter opens with a bow to the teacherapproach

───→here5.29───→7.1A bow to the bliss-cloud, Nanda's son, opens seven.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→6.1The renouncer and yogi are the same person.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketbetween

5.16Knowledge dispels what mā śucaḥ will close.───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→6.1The renouncer and yogi are one figure.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefbetween

5.16Knowledge-darkness cleared — not yet refuge.───→here5.29───→16.5Daivī-asuric grief closed mid-text.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedbetween

5.1Arjuna asks the wrong question. first.───→here5.29───→6.1Real renouncing keeps the act alive.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

5.1Single-verse prelude sets sannyāsa-yoga eka.───→here5.29───→6.1Prelude binds yoga to puṣṭi-bhakti.

VallabhaclassicalE

Three paths, one teaching orderbetween

5.5Where one path goes, the other reaches too.───→here5.29───→6.1The two paths are one through fruit-renouncing act.

RāmānujaclassicalA

World as the Lord's body (antaryāmin)approach

───→here5.29───→7.4Two natures of the Lord: matter and selves.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionapproach

───→here5.29───→7.17I am dearest to him.

RāmānujaclassicalF

Two prakṛtis · jīva as eternal aṃśaapproach

───→here5.29───→7.4Lower nature: matter.

RāmānujaclassicalJ

Śeṣa-śeṣī · pati-vrata simileapproach

───→here5.29───→7.18He is My self; I cannot hold without him.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalB

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

───→here5.29───→7.14Those who take refuge cross the māyā.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalI

9.24 — the standing citation for ārādhyaapproach

───→here5.29───→7.21Deity-worship: His self-arrangement of grace.

VallabhaclassicalB

Grace alone — the technical markapproach

───→here5.29───→7.18The wise one is Myself, by grace alone.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here5.29───→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.───→here5.29───→8.7Without a clean mind, steady remembrance fails.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spinebetween

5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?───→here5.29───→6.1Pure mind is not yet release: now meditate.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here5.29───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalH

The grammar of single-pointednessapproach

───→here5.29───→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───→here5.29───→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───→here5.29───→6.46'Tapasvibhyo'dhiko yogi jnanibhyo'pi mato'dhikah, karmibhyash chadhiko yogi tasm

Śabda · lemmas (13 unique · 14 occurrences)

ज्ञात्वा jñā — to know (verbal root) · conv
ऋच्छति √ṛch — to go, attain (verbal root) · present indicative 3rd person singular verb
शान्तिम् śānti — peace, tranquillity (from √śam) · accusative feminine singular noun

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सर्व sarva ×2 — all, entire · compound
भोक्तारम् bhoktṛ — enjoyer, experiencer (from √bhuj) · accusative masculine singular noun
यज्ञ yajña — sacrifice, worship, ritual offering · compound
तपसाम् tapas — austerity, ascetic heat, spiritual discipline · genitive neuter plural noun
लोक loka — world, realm; people · compound
महा mahat — great, large; the cosmic intellect (mahattattva) · compound
ईश्वरम् īśvara — the Lord, controller, God · accusative masculine singular noun
सुहृदम् suhṛd — (su- + hṛd: heart) · accusative masculine singular noun
भूतानाम् bhūta — being, creature; element; past, gone · genitive neuter plural noun
माम् mad — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · accusative singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01If śānti (peace) is produced by jñāna of Bhagavān's triple character — Enjoyer, Sovereign, Friend — must all three be known simultaneously, or is partial knowledge sufficient? What does the verse's structure (tripartite compound + jñātvā as aorist gerund) imply?
02Śaṅkara reads bhoktā as both kartā (agent of ritual) and devatā (recipient of offering). Does this collapse the distinction between the worshipper and the worshipped, and if so how does Dvaita's insistence on eternal bheda (difference) remain tenable?

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03Rāmānuja's gloss reads śānti as sukha (joy in action) rather than cessation. Does this open a genuine doctrinal split between Advaita's liberation-from-saṃsāra and Viśiṣṭādvaita's liberation-in-service?
04Vallabha maps the three epithets onto the three kāṇḍas of the Veda (karma / upāsanā / jñāna). Does this make the verse a condensed syllabus of Vedic learning, and what does it imply for who is qualified (adhikārin) to receive its peace?
05Śrīdhara adds mat-prasādena (by My grace) to the causal chain. What is the structural difference between peace as the outcome of jñāna (Śaṅkara) and peace as the gift of grace that follows jñāna (Śrīdhara)?
06The verse ends Chapter 5. Taken as a closing verse (phalādhyāya-samāpti), how does 5.29 function as a retroactive reframe of the entire sāṅkhya-yoga dialectic that opened the chapter at 5.1?
07Madhva's sparse gloss names the entire verse as ध्येya (object of meditation). If the verse is fundamentally a dhyāna-mantra rather than a jñāna-proposition, how does that affect how it should be transmitted — recitation vs. analysis?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

Before beginning any daily work — a meeting, a project, a meal prepared for others — pause and recognise that you are not the ultimate kartā (doer): the same Nārāyaṇa who is the inner witness (sarvapratyaya-sākṣin) of every thought is also the bhoktā of the work's fruit. This shifts the act from ego-performance to Vedāntic offering without requiring formal ritual. The accumulating effect over weeks is what Śaṅkara calls samāhita-citta — a mind that has stopped agitating over outcomes because it has ceded ownership to the Witness.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Treat every relationship in your professional or domestic life as kainkarya (service to the Lord present in that person). Rāmānuja's gloss 'suhṛdām ārādhanāya sarve pravartante' — all beings act for the worship of the Friend — means that your colleague, your parent, your student each carries the Lord's suhṛt (friendship) inside them. Act toward them accordingly: not from duty-as-burden but from the ease (sukha) that comes from knowing you are serving the Maheśvara (supreme Sovereign) within the relation.

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Dvaita

In daily pūjā (worship) or any conscious act of dedication, hold firmly the distinction: I am the worshipper (upāsaka), Hari is the worshipped (upāsya) — the two never merge. When you feel spiritually uncertain or discouraged, return to this clarity: the peace promised in 5.29 is not self-realisation but right-relational knowing (dhyāna on the Enjoyer who is eternally other). Use the verse as a dhyāna-sūtra — three qualities, one object — to steady the mind in correct orientation.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's three-register reading suggests a daily inventory: in your karma (external acts), do you offer them as yajña to Kṛṣṇa the Enjoyer? In your upāsanā (inner worship), do you hold Him as Maheśvara of every circumstance — including the difficult ones? In your jñāna (understanding), do you recognise Him as the ātmā (self) of every being you encounter? Running this three-part check — even briefly at day's end — is the puṣṭi-mārga version of the verse's integrative knowing.

Bhakti

When you feel that your efforts (tapas, sustained difficult work) go unrecognised or unreciprocated, Śrīdhara's reading offers a reframe: Bhagavān as bhoktā is the one who truly receives and as pālaka is the one who truly protects the fruit. The pratupakāra-nirapekṣa (return-gift-independent) quality of the Lord's suhṛt means friendship without ledger-keeping. Bring this to any relationship where you are expending effort for someone who cannot fully reciprocate: parent caring for an ageing child, teacher serving an indifferent student — mat-prasādena, grace flows regardless.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's synthesis resolves the tension many practitioners feel between intellectual study (jñāna-mārga) and devotional feeling (bhakti-mārga). In practice: begin your study session by invoking Kṛṣṇa as pūrṇa-saccidānanda — full, complete, of one flavour — then proceed analytically. The emotional warmth of bhakti and the precision of Advaita analysis are not competing modes; they are two lenses on the same knowing. When the analysis feels dry, remember the Friend (suhṛt); when the devotion feels unanchored, remember the Witness (sākṣin). The verse authorises both moves simultaneously.

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 29: Krishna to Arjuna — Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga