Shloka

ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति |
निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ||५-३||

Transliteration

jñeyaḥ sa nityasaṃnyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati .
nirdvandvo hi mahābāho sukhaṃ bandhātpramucyate ||5-3||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

5.3. That person may be considered a man of permanent renunciation, who neither hates nor desires. For, O mighty-armed ! he who is free from the pairs [of opposites] is easily released from bondage [of action].

Shri Purohit Swami

5.3 He is a true ascetic who never desires or dislikes, who is uninfluenced by the opposites and is easily freed from bondage.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

5.3 Jneyah etc. Therefore he alone is all the time man-of-renunciation, by whom both desire and hatred have been renounced from his mind. Because his intellect has come out of the pairs of anger, delusion and others, he is released just easily.

Sri Ramanuja

5.3 That Karma Yogin, who, being satisfied with the experience of the self implied in Karma Yoga, does not desire anything different therefrom and conseently does not hate anything, and who, because of this, resignedly endures the pairs of opposites - he should be understood as ever given to renunciation, i.e., even devoted to Jnana Yoga. Such a one therefore is freed from bondage because of his being firmly devoted to Karma Yoga which is easy to practise.

The independence of Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga from each other as means for attainment of the self is now declared.

Sri Shankaracharya

5.3 For, O mighty-armed one, he who is free from duality becomes easily freed from bondage. That performer of Karma-yoga, yah, who; na dvesti, does not hate anything; and na kanksati, does not crave; jneyah, should be known; as nitya-sannyasi, a man of constant [A man of constant renunciation: He is a man of renunciation ever before the realization of the actionless Self.] renunciation. The meaning is that he who continues to be like this in the midst of sorrow, happiness and their sources should be known as a man of constant renunciation, even though engaged in actions. Hi, for; mahabaho, O mighty-armed one; nirdvandvah, one who is free from duality; pramucyate, becomes freed; sukham, easily, without trouble; bandhat, from bondage. It is reasonable that in the case of renunciation and Karma-yoga, which are opposed to each other and can be undertaken by different persons, there should be opposition even between their results; but it canot be that both of them surely lead to Liberation. When such a estion arises, this is the answer stated:

Swami Adidevananda

5.3 He who neither hates nor desires and is beyond the pairs of opposites is to be understood as an ever-renouncer. Hence, he is easily set free from bondage, O Arjuna.

Swami Gambirananda

5.3 He who does not hate and does not crave should be known as a man of constant renunciation.

Swami Sivananda

5.3 He should be known as a perpertual Sannyasi who neither hates nor desires; for, free from the pairs of opposites, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he is easily set free from bondage.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

5.3 ज्ञेयः should be known? सः he? नित्यसंन्यासी perpetual ascetic? यः who? न not? द्वेष्टि hates? न not? काङ्क्षति desires? निर्द्वन्द्वः one free from the pairs of opposites? हि verily? महाबाहो O mightyarmed? सुखम् easily? बन्धात् from bondage? प्रमुच्यते is set free.Commentary A man does not become a Sannyasi by merely giving up actions because of laziness or ignorance or some family arrel or calamity or unemployment. A true Sannyasi is not a hypocritical coward.The Karma Yogi who neither hates pain and the objects which give him pain? nor desires pleasure and the objects that give him pleasure? who has neither attachment nor aversion to any senseobject and who has risen above the pairs of heat and cold? joy and sorrow? success and failure? victory and defeat? gain and loss? praise and censure? honour and dishonour? should be known as a perpetual Sannyasi though he is ever engaged in action.One need not have taken Sannyasa formally but if he has the above mental attitutde? he is a perpetual Sannyasi. Mere ochrecoloured robe cannot make one a Sannyasi. What is wanted is a pure heart with true renunciation of egoism and desires. Physical renunciation of objects is no renunciation at all. (Cf.VI.1)