BG-18.2 — Kṛṣṇa Defines Sannyāsa and Tyāga

BG-18.2

श्रीभगवानुवाच । काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं संन्यासं कवयो विदुः । सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस्त्यागं विचक्षणाः ॥२॥

"The Blessed Lord said: The wise know SANNYĀSA to be the laying-down of desire-prompted works; the discerning declare TYĀGA to be the abandonment of the fruit of all action."

Chapter 18 opens with Arjuna asking Kṛṣṇa to tell him, severally, the truth of sannyāsa (renunciation) and tyāga (relinquishment). BG-18.2 is the answer: two precise, asymmetric definitions. Sannyāsa is the renunciation of a CLASS of actions — the kāmya-karma, the optional rites undertaken for a wished-for result. Tyāga is the renunciation not of action but of its FRUIT — and of the fruit of EVERY action, while the obligatory act itself is kept. This is the niṣkāma-karma of BG 2.47 raised into formal doctrine. Jñāneśvar's thirty-seven ovis turn the two-line sloka into a complete short treatise on action, working through four movements: what kāmya-karma is and why it binds (so renounce it, as one vomits poison); what nitya/naimittika karma is and why it must NOT be renounced; the proof that these obligatory acts do bear fruit which must nonetheless be cast off at the root; and the synthesis — that this fruit-renunciation IS tyāga, that from it self-knowledge ripens of itself, and that mis-grasped renunciation is wrong medicine turned to poison.

Ovi 18.98

Original (Marathi): कां कामनेचेनि दळवाडें । जें उभारावया घडे । अश्वमेधादिक फुडे । याग जेथ ॥९८॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (Kṛṣṇa's reply, श्रीभगवानुवाच-framed; the kāmanā-survey continues directly to Arjuna)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
कां कामनेचेनि दळवाडें	by the force / heaped-up mass of desire (kāmanā)
जें उभारावया घडे	which comes to be raised up / undertaken
अश्वमेधादिक फुडे	the horse-sacrifice and the like, clearly
याग जेथ	the sacrifices, where (such desire drives)

Literal translation

English: Where, by the sheer force of desire, things come to be undertaken — the aśvamedha and such sacrifices, plainly.

मराठी (आधुनिक): जिथे केवळ कामनेच्या जोरावर जे उभारलं जातं — अश्वमेधासारखे यज्ञ, अगदी स्पष्टपणे.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. दळवाडें ("force / heaped mass") is a single intensive noun for the desire-impulse, not a sustained image.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi. This is the opening of a scholastic kāmya-karma definition; no esoteric frame is active.

Cross-references

Internal: Opens the cluster; chains forward to 18.99 (further kāmya-instances).
Tukaram parallel: Abhang 67 — वृत्ति भूमि राज्य द्रव्य उपार्जिती ("those who pursue position, land, kingdom, wealth"). The aśvamedha is precisely the rite for sovereignty (राज्य); Tukaram's verdict that such fruit-acquisition has देव नाहीं (no God in it) names the same desire-motivated ritual.
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — काम्यानां कर्मणां ("of desire-prompted works"); the kāmanā-root and the aśvamedha-instance render the opening of the first definiendum.

Modern application

When the engine under a "good work" is a wished-for outcome. You launch the program, fund the scholarship, build the wing — and underneath is the result you want it to buy you (status, a legacy, leverage). The act is large; the दळवाडें driving it is desire.
When you scale ritual or effort in proportion to what you want from it. The bigger the wished-for prize, the grander the rite — aśvamedha-logic. The size of the undertaking is measuring the size of the craving.
When public merit is a transaction. The endowment whose real ledger entry is "what this gets me." Jñāneśvar is about to call this poison.

Sādhanā

Today, take one "good" thing you are doing and finish this sentence honestly on paper: "I am doing this because I want ______." If a wished-for result names itself, you have found the kāmanā at the root. Don't stop the act; just see the root.

Arc

18.98 names the desire-root and the paradigm kāmya-rite; 18.99 catalogues the rest — wells, gardens, endowments, vratas.

Ovi 18.99

Original (Marathi): वापी कूप आराम । अग्रहारें हन महाग्राम । आणीकही नाना संभ्रम । व्रतांचे ते ॥९९॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (continuing the kāmya-rite catalog)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
वापी कूप आराम	step-wells, wells, pleasure-gardens
अग्रहारें हन महाग्राम	agrahāra brahmin-land-grants, indeed great-villages
आणीकही नाना संभ्रम	and many other elaborate / festive undertakings
व्रतांचे ते	those of the vratas (vowed observances)

Literal translation

English: Step-wells, wells, pleasure-gardens; agrahāra land-grants, even great villages; and many other elaborate undertakings — those of the vratas.

मराठी (आधुनिक): बारवा, विहिरी, बागा; अग्रहार, अगदी मोठमोठी गावं दान देणं; आणि आणखीही पुष्कळ डामडौलाची व्रतं.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. This is an enumerative catalog of iṣṭāpūrta works, not an image.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Continues 18.98's kāmya-catalog; chains to 18.100 (their common desire-root).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — काम्यानां कर्मणां; the वापी-कूप-आराम-अग्रहार catalog names the classical iṣṭāpūrta (public-merit) works, the desire-prompted optional rites.

Modern application

When charitable "giving" is itemized like an achievement list. The wells dug, the gardens endowed, the villages gifted — recited the way a résumé recites wins. The catalog itself is the tell.
When the variety of your good deeds is the point. आणीकही नाना — "and many more besides." The breadth of the portfolio of merit becomes a source of pride.
When vows and observances become elaborate productions (संभ्रम). The fast, the pilgrimage, the vrata scaled up into a spectacle — pomp standing in for the inward turn.

Sādhanā

Today, if you keep any mental "list" of your good deeds or observances, write three of them down — then beside each, write the result you'd be disappointed not to get from it. Notice how many have one.

Arc

18.99 completes the kāmya-catalog; 18.100 names their single root (desire) and the mechanism by which they bind the doer.

Ovi 18.100

Original (Marathi): ऐसें इष्टापूर्त सकळ । जया कामना एक मूळ । जें केलें भोगवी फळ । बांधोनियां ॥१००॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
ऐसें इष्टापूर्त सकळ	all such iṣṭāpūrta (sacrificial-and-public-merit) works
जया कामना एक मूळ	whose one root is desire (kāmanā)
जें केलें भोगवी फळ	which, once done, makes one consume the fruit
बांधोनियां	having bound (the doer)

Literal translation

English: All such iṣṭāpūrta works, whose single root is desire — which, once done, make one consume their fruit, having bound him.

मराठी (आधुनिक): अशी सगळी इष्टापूर्त कर्मं, ज्यांचं एकच मूळ कामना आहे — जी एकदा केली की बांधून टाकून फळ भोगायला लावतात.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. बांधोनियां ("having bound") is the doctrinal binding-verb, illustrated by images only from 18.101 onward.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Chains to 18.101-105, which illustrate the binding/consuming claim.
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — काम्यानां ("desire-prompted"), here given its defining mechanism (बांधोनियां, the binding); and BG 2.47 (कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन) — the niṣkāma-karma sloka on which the whole binding-by-fruit doctrine rests; a different sloka from this cluster's own 18.2, verified on holy-bhagavad-gita.org.

Modern application

When one craving turns out to be the single root under many "different" projects. कामना एक मूळ — the varied portfolio (career moves, side ventures, public stances) traces back to one wish. Seeing the single root is the first freedom.
When a choice, once made, conscripts you into eating its consequences. The deal you signed for the upside now obliges years of servicing it — भोगवी फळ बांधोनियां, it binds and feeds you its fruit whether you still want it or not.
When the reward you chased becomes the leash. The promotion taken for status now owns your calendar. The fruit consumes the consumer.

Sādhanā

Today, list three current commitments and ask of each: what single wish is the root here? If two or three share a root, write that one wish on a line by itself and look at it.

Arc

18.100 states the binding-claim; 18.101 illustrates its inescapability — once at the village of the body, the festivities of birth-and-death cannot be declined.

Ovi 18.101

Original (Marathi): देहाचिया गांवा अलिया । जन्ममृत्यूचिया सोहळिया । ना म्हणों नये धनंजया । जियापरी ॥१०१॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (the धनंजया vocative anchors the address to Arjuna)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
देहाचिया गांवा अलिया	having come to the village of the body
जन्ममृत्यूचिया सोहळिया	to the festivities of birth-and-death
ना म्हणों नये धनंजया	one cannot say "no," O Dhanamjaya
जियापरी	in just that manner

Literal translation

English: Just as, having come to the village of the body, one cannot say "no" to the festivities of birth-and-death, O Dhanamjaya —

मराठी (आधुनिक): देहाच्या गावात एकदा आल्यावर, जन्म-मृत्यूच्या सोहळ्यांना नाही म्हणता येत नाही, हे धनंजया, ज्या रीतीने —

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Arriving at "the village of the body" (देहाचिया गांवा अलिया)	Taking embodiment / entering into a course of action	Signing on to any undertaking — once you are in, you are in its world
The "festivities of birth-and-death" you cannot decline	The unavoidable consequences (fruit) that attend the chosen course	The obligations, costs, and consequences that come bundled with the thing you accepted
"Cannot say no" (ना म्हणों नये)	The non-negotiable bondedness of fruit to its action	You don't get to keep the upside and refuse the package it arrives in

Metaphor-family: body-as-village / embodiment-as-festival. The image renders the inescapability of fruit-consumption: enter the village (the act), and you are committed to its whole festival (the fruit).

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi. "Village of the body" is a samsāra-embodiment image, not a cakra/kuṇḍalinī referent.

Cross-references

Internal: Parallel-image to 18.102 (forehead-writing, skin-color) — both render non-negotiable givenness.
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — the binding-by-fruit doctrine (बांधोनियां), amplified into the village-festival image; wholly Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When you accepted the role and now cannot opt out of its duties. You said yes to the title, the parenthood, the citizenship — and the "festivities" (the 2 a.m. calls, the obligations, the losses) are not optional add-ons. You came to the village.
When people want the membership without the bundled costs. The startup equity without the all-nighters; the relationship's intimacy without its exposure. ना म्हणों नये — you can't decline the festival once you're in the village.
When a consequence arrives that you never separately agreed to. It came bundled with a choice you did make. The body's village includes its birth and its death.

Sādhanā

Today, name one "festivity" — an obligation or cost — you resent, and trace it back to the "village" you chose to enter. Say: "I accepted this when I accepted that." Notice whether the resentment loosens.

Arc

18.101 gives the inescapability image; 18.102 reinforces it with the un-erasable forehead-writing and skin-color.

Ovi 18.102

Original (Marathi): का ललाटींचें लिहिलें । न मोडे गा कांहीं केलें । काळेगोरेपण धुतलें । फिटों नेणे ॥१०२॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (गा address-particle continues the direct address)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
का ललाटींचें लिहिलें	or the writing on the forehead (fate)
न मोडे गा कांहीं केलें	is not broken by anything one does, indeed
काळेगोरेपण धुतलें	the black-or-fair complexion, even washed
फिटों नेणे	does not know how to come off

Literal translation

English: Or as the writing on the forehead is not undone by anything one does, and the dark-or-fair of the skin, washed though it be, does not come off —

मराठी (आधुनिक): किंवा कपाळीचं लिहिलेलं काही केल्याने मोडत नाही, आणि कातडीचा काळा-गोरेपणा धुतला तरी निघत नाही —

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Forehead-writing (ललाटींचें लिहिलें) not broken by anything done	The fixed givenness of the fruit once the action is committed	The terms you already locked in — no later effort rewrites them
Skin-color not washing off (काळेगोरेपण... फिटों नेणे)	Intrinsic, non-removable consequence	What is constitutive of a thing cannot be rinsed out of it later

Metaphor-family: the un-erasable (fate-writing / skin-color). Twin images of non-negotiable givenness, paired with 18.101's village-festival.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Parallel-image to 18.101; chains to 18.103 (debt).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — binding-by-fruit doctrine amplified; the forehead-writing and skin-color images are Jñāneśvar's, not in the Sanskrit.

Modern application

When no amount of later effort rewrites a fixed term. The interest rate you locked, the precedent you set, the promise on record — न मोडे गा कांहीं केलें, nothing you do now un-writes it.
When a consequence is constitutive, not cosmetic. You cannot wash it off because it is of the thing, like color of skin — the reputation baked into a track record, the trust-debt baked into a betrayal.
When you keep scrubbing at something that won't come off. The energy spent trying to erase a given would be better spent meeting it. फिटों नेणे — it does not know how to come off.

Sādhanā

Today, identify one "given" you keep trying to wash off (a past choice, a fixed term, a fact about your situation). Stop scrubbing for one day. Ask instead: "How do I act well with this, since it will not come off?"

Arc

18.102 gives the un-erasable images; 18.103 applies them — the kāmya-doer sits held-fast to the fruit, like a debtor until the debt is repaid.

Ovi 18.103

Original (Marathi): केलें काम्य कर्म तैसें । फळ भोगावया धरणें बैसे । न फेडितां ऋण जैसें । वोसंडीना ॥१०३॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
केलें काम्य कर्म तैसें	the kāmya-karma so done
फळ भोगावया धरणें बैसे	makes one sit held-fast to consume the fruit
न फेडितां ऋण जैसें	like a debt, until repaid
वोसंडीना	does not overflow / does not let go

Literal translation

English: The kāmya-karma so performed sits one down, held fast, to consume its fruit — like a debt that, until it is repaid, does not release you.

मराठी (आधुनिक): अशी केलेली काम्य कर्मं फळ भोगायला धरून बसवतात — न फेडलेलं कर्ज जसं सोडत नाही, तसं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
A debt that, until repaid, will not release (न फेडितां ऋण... वोसंडीना)	The karmic obligation that holds the doer until its fruit is fully consumed	The loan that owns you until the last payment — the obligation that won't discharge itself early
Being "made to sit" to consume the fruit (धरणें बैसे)	The doer compelled, not free, with respect to the fruit	Conscripted into servicing the consequence of your own choice

Metaphor-family: debt-as-bondage. The kāmya-fruit is a debt held against the doer.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Chains to 18.104 (binding even of accidental action).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — kāmya-binds doctrine rendered with the debt-image; Jñāneśvar's amplification.

Modern application

When a choice has put you on a payment plan you can't prepay out of. The mortgage of consequences — न फेडितां... वोसंडीना — runs its full term whether or not you still want the thing it bought.
When you are "made to sit" with a result you'd rather walk away from. धरणें बैसे — the project, the role, the commitment holds you in your seat until its fruit is fully metabolized.
When the cost of an old want is still being deducted today. The debt of a past kāmanā keeps drawing down the account. Naming it as a debt (not a fresh problem) clarifies it.

Sādhanā

Today, pick one ongoing "cost" in your life and reframe it once, on paper, as: "This is the unpaid balance of ______ (the want I once acted on)." Sit with the reframe for one minute.

Arc

18.103 binds the deliberate doer; 18.104 extends the binding to accidental action — struck even while not fighting.

Ovi 18.104

Original (Marathi): कां कामनाही न करितां । अवसांत घडे पंडुसुता । तरी वायकांडें न झुंजतां । लागे जैसें ॥१०४॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (the पंडुसुता vocative anchors the address to Arjuna)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
कां कामनाही न करितां	or even without forming any desire
अवसांत घडे पंडुसुता	if it happens by chance, O son of Pāṇḍu
तरी वायकांडें न झुंजतां	then, as in a stray skirmish, without fighting
लागे जैसें	one is struck, just so

Literal translation

English: Or even without desiring it, if the act happens by chance, O son of Pāṇḍu — then, as in a stray melee one is struck even without fighting, just so (the fruit attaches).

मराठी (आधुनिक): किंवा कामना न करताही, योगायोगाने जर घडलं, हे पंडुसुता — तर भांडणात न लढताही जसा फटका बसतो, अगदी तसं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Struck in a stray skirmish "without fighting" (वायकांडें न झुंजतां लागे)	Fruit accrues even from unintended / accidental action	The bystander hit by a fallout he never signed up for; effects attach to the act, not the intention

Metaphor-family: the accidental blow. Even undesired action carries fruit.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Chains to 18.105 (homely accidental-effect images).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — fruit-binding extended to unintended action; the skirmish-blow image is Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When a consequence lands although you "didn't mean to." Intent doesn't insulate you from effect — वायकांडें न झुंजतां लागे, you can be struck without having fought. The careless word still wounds; the absent-minded omission still costs.
When you're caught in fallout from something you only brushed against. Proximity to an action can carry its fruit even without your willing it.
When "but I didn't intend it" is doing too much work. The teaching gently removes intention as a shield against consequence — fruit attaches to the act.

Sādhanā

Today, recall one consequence you've been excusing with "I didn't mean it." Without self-blame, complete: "Intended or not, the effect was ______." Let the effect be real, separate from your intent.

Arc

18.104 binds even accidental action; 18.105 illustrates with jaggery-on-the-tongue and ash-that-burns.

Ovi 18.105

Original (Marathi): गूळ नेणतां तोंडीं । घातला देचि गोडी । आगी मानूनि राखोंडी । चेपिला पोळी ॥१०५॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
गूळ नेणतां तोंडीं	jaggery, unknowingly, in the mouth
घातला देचि गोडी	placed, still gives sweetness
आगी मानूनि राखोंडी	(live) ash taken for cold
चेपिला पोळी	when pressed, burns

Literal translation

English: Jaggery put on the tongue unawares still gives its sweetness; live ash mistaken for cool, when pressed, still burns.

मराठी (आधुनिक): नकळत तोंडात घातलेला गूळसुद्धा गोडी देतोच; थंड समजून दाबलेली निखाऱ्याची राख चटका देतेच.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Jaggery sweetens even when placed unknowingly	The fruit of action operates regardless of the doer's awareness or intent	The good effect lands whether or not you "meant" it — and so does the harm
Ash mistaken for cool still burns when pressed	Consequence is intrinsic to the act, not to one's belief about it	Misjudging something as harmless does not make it harmless

Metaphor-family: intrinsic-effect pair (jaggery / ash). Effect inheres in the act, not in the doer's knowing.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Chains to 18.106 (the doctrinal conclusion).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — automatic-fruit doctrine illustrated; both images Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When an effect lands regardless of what you believed about the cause. You thought the message was harmless; pressed, it burned. आगी मानूनि राखोंडी — belief in its coolness didn't cool it.
When a small good still does its good unnoticed. Jaggery sweetens even unawares — the quiet kindness still lands. The teaching cuts both ways: effects are real before you notice them.
When "I didn't realize it was live" stops being an excuse. Misjudging the ash doesn't unburn the hand. Reality is indifferent to your estimate of it.

Sādhanā

Today, notice one moment when you assumed something was "harmless" or "no big deal." Test the assumption: ask one person whether it actually landed as harmless. Let the ash tell you whether it was live.

Arc

18.105 shows fruit is intrinsic to the act; 18.106 concludes — this binding-power is kāmya-karma's nature, so the mumukṣu should take no delight in it.

Ovi 18.106

Original (Marathi): काम्यकर्मी हें एक । सामर्थ्य आथी स्वाभाविक । म्हणौनि नको कौतुक । मुमुक्षु एथ ॥१०६॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (the address to the मुमुक्षु, the liberation-seeker, frames the counsel)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
काम्यकर्मी हें एक	in kāmya-karma there is this one (power)
सामर्थ्य आथी स्वाभाविक	a natural, intrinsic capacity (to bind by fruit)
म्हणौनि नको कौतुक	therefore let there be no delight / curiosity
मुमुक्षु एथ	for the seeker-of-liberation, here

Literal translation

English: In kāmya-karma there is this one intrinsic power (to bind by its fruit); therefore let the seeker of liberation take no delight in it here.

मराठी (आधुनिक): काम्य कर्मात ही एक स्वाभाविक शक्ती असते (फळाने बांधण्याची); म्हणून मुमुक्षूने इथे रमू नये, कौतुक करू नये.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. The point is stated directly: kāmya-karma's binding power is स्वाभाविक (intrinsic), so the seeker disengages.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Chains to 18.107 (the poison-vomit imperative).
Tukaram parallels:
Abhang 90 — तुका म्हणे चुकलें वर्म । केला अवघा चि अधर्म ("the secret is missed; all of it is made adharma"). Tukaram's verdict that desire/ego-driven works are spiritually self-defeating parallels 18.106's disqualification of kāmya-karma for the mumukṣu — the very thing that "works" (binds by fruit) is what the liberation-seeker must refuse.
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — काम्यानां, evaluated: the binding-power names exactly why the seeker renounces it. The मुमुक्षु-addressee establishes the soteriological frame.

Modern application

When the very effectiveness of a thing is the reason to refuse it. The strategy that reliably gets you the status, the manipulation that reliably gets the yes — its स्वाभाविक power to deliver the fruit is precisely the hook. नको कौतुक — don't be charmed by how well it works.
When "but it works!" is the temptation. Kāmya-karma works — that's the problem for one who wants freedom, not results. Watch for being seduced by efficacy.
When you're a "seeker" in one area but still collecting binding fruit in another. The mumukṣu-frame is specific: if your aim is liberation, the calculus on fruit-bearing action changes.

Sādhanā

Today, name one tactic in your life that "works" to get you something you want — and ask the mumukṣu-question: "Does this bind me to a fruit I'd be freer without?" Just ask; no decision required yet.

Arc

18.106 disqualifies kāmya-karma for the seeker; 18.107 issues the imperative — renounce it as one vomits poison.

Ovi 18.107

Original (Marathi): किंबहुना पार्था ऐसें । जें काम्य कर्म गा असे । तें त्यजिजे विष जैसें । वोकूनियां ॥१०७॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (the पार्था vocative anchors the address to Arjuna)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
किंबहुना पार्था ऐसें	in short, O Pārtha, such
जें काम्य कर्म गा असे	kāmya-karma as there is
तें त्यजिजे विष जैसें	renounce it, as poison
वोकूनियां	by vomiting (it out)

Literal translation

English: In short, O Pārtha, whatever kāmya-karma there is — renounce it the way one vomits out poison.

मराठी (आधुनिक): थोडक्यात, हे पार्था, जे जे काम्य कर्म आहे — ते विष ओकून टाकावं तसं त्यागावं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Vomiting out poison (विष जैसें वोकूनियां)	The total, revulsion-driven renunciation of kāmya-karma — not reluctant setting-aside but active expulsion	Spitting out something the body has recognized as toxic — not a calm decision but a whole-system rejection

Metaphor-family: poison-vomit (recurs at 18.125, where the FRUIT of obligatory acts is cast off वांताचे वानी, in the manner of vomit). This is the iconic Marathi rendering of the Sanskrit न्यास (laying-down).

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Parallel-image to 18.125 (वांताचे वानी, fruit cast off vomit-fashion); chains to 18.108 (naming it sannyāsa).
Tukaram parallel: Abhang 67 — तुका म्हणे फळ चिंतिती आदरें । लाघव हे चार शिंदळीचे ("those who earnestly contemplate the fruit — this is the charlatanism of the harlot"). The same total-rejection register: desire-prompted ritual is not merely lower but to be actively expelled.
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — न्यासं (the laying-down of kāmya-karma) rendered as the poison-vomit imperative; the पार्था vocative anchors the krishna-to-arjuna voice.

Modern application

When a "set it aside calmly" won't do — it has to be spat out. Some attachments are not weaned but vomited: the habit your system has recognized as toxic, the kāmanā you finally feel revulsion toward. The strength of 18.107 is that revulsion, not equanimity, is the right response here.
When you've intellectually agreed something is bad but haven't expelled it. विष... वोकूनियां — the body that has truly registered poison does not negotiate with it.
When half-renouncing keeps the toxin in the system. A swallowed poison "mostly given up" still works on you. The image demands completeness.

Sādhanā

Today, identify one fruit-driven habit you have "mostly" given up but not fully. For the next 24 hours, treat it as poison already in the mouth — spit it out once, completely, rather than negotiating the dose.

Arc

18.107 issues the poison-vomit imperative; 18.108 names that renunciation — the all-seer inwardly calls it SANNYĀSA — completing the first definition.

Ovi 18.108

Original (Marathi): मग तया त्यागातें जगीं । संन्यासु ऐसया भंगीं । बोलिजे अंतरंगीं । सर्वद्रष्टा ॥१०८॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
मग तया त्यागातें जगीं	then that renunciation, in the world
संन्यासु ऐसया भंगीं	as "sannyāsa," in this fashion
बोलिजे अंतरंगीं	is called, inwardly
सर्वद्रष्टा	by the all-seer

Literal translation

English: Then that renunciation is called, in the world, "sannyāsa," in this manner — inwardly, by the all-seer.

मराठी (आधुनिक): मग त्या त्यागाला जगात 'संन्यास' असं म्हटलं जातं — अंतरंगात, सर्वद्रष्ट्याकडून.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. This is the definitional naming-move.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi. सर्वद्रष्टा ("all-seer") here renders the kavi/seer authority-class of the sloka, not an esoteric inner-seeing faculty.

Cross-references

Internal: Delivers the first definiendum; chains to 18.109 (what the renunciation uproots).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — संन्यासं कवयो विदुः ("the wise know it as sannyāsa"); सर्वद्रष्टा renders the kavi/seer authority-class.

Modern application

When you finally have the right name for a renunciation you've made. Naming matters: "this is sannyāsa" — the deliberate laying-down of fruit-driven striving — turns a vague disengagement into a recognized stance.
When the inward seer, not the crowd, certifies the act. बोलिजे अंतरंगीं — it is named inwardly. The renunciation is validated by clear inner seeing, not by public approval.
When you distinguish renouncing kāmya-action from renouncing all action. This precision (sannyāsa = laying down the desire-prompted class) prevents the over-renunciation 18.131-133 will warn against.

Sādhanā

Today, take one fruit-driven pursuit you have actually let go of, and name it precisely to yourself: "This I have laid down — this is my sannyāsa, here." Notice that naming it clearly steadies it.

Arc

18.108 names the renunciation sannyāsa; 18.109 specifies that it uproots desire itself, as renouncing wealth drives off fear.

Ovi 18.109

Original (Marathi): हें काम्य कर्म सांडणें । तें कामनेतेंचि उपडणें । द्रव्यत्यागें दवडणें । भय जैसें ॥१०९॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
हें काम्य कर्म सांडणें	this abandoning of kāmya-karma
तें कामनेतेंचि उपडणें	is the very uprooting of desire
द्रव्यत्यागें दवडणें	as by renouncing wealth, one drives off
भय जैसें	fear (of its loss), just so

Literal translation

English: This abandoning of kāmya-karma is the very uprooting of desire — just as, by renouncing wealth, one drives off the fear (of losing it).

मराठी (आधुनिक): हे काम्य कर्म सोडणं म्हणजे कामनेलाच उपटून टाकणं — संपत्ती सोडल्याने जसं (तिच्या नाशाचं) भय निघून जातं, तसं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Renouncing wealth drives off the fear of losing it (द्रव्यत्यागें दवडणें भय)	Renouncing the kāmya-act uproots the desire that drove it — remove the holding, remove the anxiety bound to it	Giving up the thing you were clutching dissolves the fear of its loss; the renunciation reaches the root, not just the branch

Metaphor-family: wealth-renunciation-removes-fear. The point: sannyāsa targets the desire-root, not merely the outer rite.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Closes the kāmya/sannyāsa block; foreshadows 18.110 (pivot to naimittika).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — न्यासं interpreted: renouncing the rite means uprooting the desire; the wealth-fear image is Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When letting go of the pursuit also lets go of the dread attached to it. द्रव्यत्यागें... भय — drop the thing you were grasping and the fear of losing it leaves with it. The relief of finally not-wanting.
When you treat a symptom and the anxiety persists because the root remains. Sannyāsa works at the root (कामनेतेंचि उपडणें). Pruning the behavior while keeping the craving leaves the fear intact.
When security comes not from holding more but from needing less. Renouncing the wealth, not accumulating it, is what dispels the fear — a counter-intuitive freedom.

Sādhanā

Today, identify one thing you're afraid of losing. Ask: "What desire is this fear the shadow of?" Then, in imagination only, set the thing down for sixty seconds and notice whether the fear loosens its grip when the wanting does.

Arc

18.109 closes the sannyāsa block by reaching the desire-root; 18.110 turns to the second class — naimittika, occasion-prompted rites — which must NOT be renounced.

Ovi 18.110

Original (Marathi): आणि सोमसूर्यग्रहणें । येऊनि करविती पार्वणें । का मातापितरमरणें । अंकित जे दिवस ॥११०॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
आणि सोमसूर्यग्रहणें	and the lunar and solar eclipses
येऊनि करविती पार्वणें	when they come, cause the pārvaṇa-rites to be done
का मातापितरमरणें	or the deaths of mother and father
अंकित जे दिवस	the days marked (obligatory) by them

Literal translation

English: And the lunar and solar eclipses, when they come, compel the pārvaṇa-rites; or the deaths of mother and father — the days they mark as obligatory.

मराठी (आधुनिक): आणि चंद्र-सूर्यग्रहणं आल्यावर पार्वण-कर्मं करवून घेतात; किंवा माता-पित्याच्या मृत्यूंनी ठरून दिलेले (श्राद्धाचे) दिवस.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. This is the definitional enumeration of naimittika-triggers.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Opens the naimittika-definition; chains to 18.111 (third trigger + class-naming).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — the contrast-class naimittika, elaborated by Jñāneśvar (not in the bare Sanskrit) to set up the asymmetry: kāmya is renounced, naimittika is retained.

Modern application

When an occasion, not a wish, summons a duty. The eclipse comes; the rite follows. The bereavement comes; the obligations follow. These are not desire-driven — they are occasioned, and so they stand on different footing from the kāmya you renounced.
When you wrongly want to "renounce" duties that aren't yours to renounce. The crisis-response, the funeral, the obligation triggered by an event — refusing these is not detachment but dereliction. The cluster is carefully marking what stays.
When life's events impose non-negotiable response. अंकित जे दिवस — the days marked by an event are not optional. Mature action distinguishes these from elective striving.

Sādhanā

Today, name one duty in your life that an event (not your desire) has placed on you — a caregiving, a response to someone's loss. Notice it is naimittika: not to be renounced. Recommit to it for today.

Arc

18.110 gives two naimittika-triggers; 18.111 adds the guest's arrival and names the class explicitly.

Ovi 18.111

Original (Marathi): अथवा अतिथी हन पावे । हें ऐसैसें पडे जैं करावें । तैं तें कर्म जाणावें । नौमित्तिक गा ॥१११॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (गा address-particle continues the address to Arjuna)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
अथवा अतिथी हन पावे	or when a guest arrives
हें ऐसैसें पडे जैं करावें	whatever thus falls to be done
तैं तें कर्म जाणावें	then know that work
नौमित्तिक गा	as naimittika, indeed

Literal translation

English: Or when a guest arrives — whatever thus falls to be done on such an occasion, know that work to be naimittika.

मराठी (आधुनिक): किंवा अतिथी आला असता — अशा प्रसंगी जे जे करावं लागतं, ते कर्म नैमित्तिक समजावं.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Names the naimittika class; chains to 18.112 (occasion-as-activator images).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — naimittika completed; the occasion-trigger (nimitta) defines the class.

Modern application

When someone's arrival creates an immediate, occasioned duty. The guest at the door, the colleague in crisis walking into your office — अतिथी पावे, and what the moment asks of you is not optional self-chosen striving but occasioned obligation.
When you learn to recognize a duty by its trigger, not your mood. "Do I feel like it?" is the wrong question for naimittika. The occasion, not the inclination, decides.
When hospitality and response are duties, not favors. The teaching elevates the guest-response to a named category of obligation.

Sādhanā

Today, when someone arrives at your door, calls unexpectedly, or interrupts with a real need, treat the interruption as naimittika — an occasioned duty — and meet it fully once, without resenting that it wasn't on your plan.

Arc

18.111 names naimittika by its trigger; 18.112 illustrates that the occasion merely activates a latent capacity, with seasonal images.

Ovi 18.112

Original (Marathi): वार्षिया क्षोमे गगन । वसंतें दुणावे वन । देहा श्रृंगारी यौवन । दशा जैसी ॥११२॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
वार्षिया क्षोमे गगन	by the rains, the sky surges / is stirred
वसंतें दुणावे वन	by spring, the forest doubles (in lushness)
देहा श्रृंगारी यौवन	youth adorns the body
दशा जैसी	as a (life-)stage, just so

Literal translation

English: As the rainy season makes the sky surge, as spring doubles the forest, as the stage of youth adorns the body —

मराठी (आधुनिक): पावसाळ्याने आकाश दाटतं, वसंताने वन दुप्पट बहरतं, यौवनाची अवस्था देहाला शृंगारते — तसं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Rains stirring the sky, spring doubling the forest, youth adorning the body	The occasion (nimitta) does not create the duty but draws out a capacity already latent in the qualified person	The opportunity that activates a talent you already had — the moment doesn't install the capacity, it elicits it

Metaphor-family: seasonal occasion-activator (recurs at 18.113 with moonstone/lotus). The occasion unfolds the pre-existing.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Chains to 18.113 (moonstone, lotus — completing the activator-series).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — naimittika occasion-as-activator; the three seasonal images are wholly Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When the right moment merely draws out what you already are. The crisis didn't make you capable; it elicited a capacity already there — वसंतें दुणावे वन. Occasions reveal more than they create.
When you credit (or blame) the occasion for what was latent in you. The "spring" gets the credit; the forest had the lushness. Useful for staying grounded when circumstances flatter you.
When a duty surfaces that you were always equipped for. The naimittika moment finds you already qualified — the response was in the legs, waiting (cf. 18.116).

Sādhanā

Today, recall one occasion that "brought out" something in you (courage, skill, patience). Name it correctly: "The moment didn't give me that — it drew it out." Locate the latent capacity as already yours.

Arc

18.112 gives seasonal activators; 18.113 completes them with moonstone and lotus and draws the conclusion — what is latent merely spreads.

Ovi 18.113

Original (Marathi): का सोमकांतु सोमें पघळें । सूर्यें फांकती कमळें । एथ असे तेंचि पाल्हाळे । आन नये ॥११३॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
का सोमकांतु सोमें पघळें	or the moonstone melts at the moon
सूर्यें फांकती कमळें	lotuses open / spread at the sun
एथ असे तेंचि पाल्हाळे	here, what already is merely spreads out
आन नये	nothing other comes

Literal translation

English: Or as the moonstone melts at the moon, as lotuses open at the sun — here, what already exists merely spreads out; nothing new comes.

मराठी (आधुनिक): किंवा चंद्रकांत मणी चंद्राने पाझरतो, कमळं सूर्याने उमलतात — इथे जे आहे तेच पसरतं, नवीन काही येत नाही.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Moonstone melts at the moon, lotus opens at the sun	The occasion elicits a latent property; nothing external is added	The trigger that releases what was already stored — the stimulus reveals, it does not supply
"What already is merely spreads out" (असे तेंचि पाल्हाळे)	Naimittika is nitya unfolded by occasion — same substance, occasion-differentiated	The same underlying duty, simply activated into a particular form by the moment

Metaphor-family: celestial occasion-activator (with 18.112). Conclusion: nothing new is added; the latent merely unfolds.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Completes the activator-series; chains to 18.114 (naimittika = nitya-under-occasion).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — occasion-activator conclusion; the moonstone/lotus images are Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When a stimulus reveals rather than installs. The moonstone had the melt in it; the moon only called it forth. Your response to the moment was stored, not manufactured by it.
When you stop expecting the occasion to add what isn't there. आन नये — nothing other comes. If the capacity wasn't latent, the moment won't supply it; cultivate the latency in advance.
When "the same thing, differently triggered" clarifies a duty. Recognizing naimittika as nitya-unfolded keeps you from treating an occasioned duty as a wholly new burden.

Sādhanā

Today, when something "brings out" a reaction in you (good or bad), pause and ask: "This was already in me; the moment only spread it out." Use the recognition to take responsibility for what unfolded.

Arc

18.113 concludes the occasion only unfolds the latent; 18.114 applies it — daily nitya-work, under an occasion's rule, rises in name to naimittika.

Ovi 18.114

Original (Marathi): तैसें नित्य जें का कर्म । तेंचि निमित्ताचे लाहे नियम । एथ उंचावे तेणें नाम । नैमित्तिक होय ॥११४॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
तैसें नित्य जें का कर्म	so the very nitya (daily) work
तेंचि निमित्ताचे लाहे नियम	it takes on the rule of an occasion
एथ उंचावे तेणें नाम	here it rises in name thereby
नैमित्तिक होय	becomes "naimittika"

Literal translation

English: So the very nitya-work, when it takes on the rule of an occasion, rises in name by that and becomes naimittika.

मराठी (आधुनिक): तसं नित्य कर्मच जेव्हा निमित्ताचा नियम घेतं, तेव्हा त्या नावाने उंचावून ते नैमित्तिक होतं.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. The claim (naimittika = nitya-under-occasion) is stated directly.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Reduces naimittika to nitya-under-occasion; chains to 18.115 (defining nitya proper).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — Jñāneśvar's scholastic clarification collapsing naimittika into nitya-activated-by-nimitta.

Modern application

When the "special" duty is just the ordinary duty under a particular occasion. The crisis-response is your everyday diligence, named upward by the moment. Seeing the continuity makes the special duty less alien.
When a job's "exceptional" demand is really its baseline, occasion-triggered. उंचावे तेणें नाम — the name rises, the substance is the same daily competence.
When you realize you've been preparing all along for the occasioned call. The nitya you kept up is the naimittika you can now meet.

Sādhanā

Today, take one "special" task you're treating as exceptional and ask: "Isn't this just my ordinary duty, called up by this occasion?" Let the reframe lower the dread.

Arc

18.114 reduces naimittika to nitya-under-occasion; 18.115 defines nitya proper — the thrice-daily duty that adds nothing extra, like sight in the eye.

Ovi 18.115

Original (Marathi): आणि सायंप्रातर्मध्यान्हीं । जें कां करणीय प्रतिदिनीं । परी दृष्टि जैसी लोचनीं । अधिक नोहे ॥११५॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
आणि सायंप्रातर्मध्यान्हीं	and at evening, morning, midday
जें कां करणीय प्रतिदिनीं	what is to be done every day (the sandhyā)
परी दृष्टि जैसी लोचनीं	but as sight is in the eye
अधिक नोहे	it is nothing extra

Literal translation

English: And what is to be done every day at evening, morning, and midday (the sandhyā) — but, like sight in the eye, it is nothing extra.

मराठी (आधुनिक): आणि सायं-प्रातः-मध्यान्ही जे रोज करायचं (संध्यादी) — पण डोळ्यातल्या दृष्टीसारखं, ते वेगळं-अधिक काही नाही.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Sight inhering in the eye, "nothing extra" (दृष्टि जैसी लोचनीं अधिक नोहे)	Nitya-karma as the inalienable, non-additional function of the qualified person — not an added task but a constitutive activity	The breathing you don't "schedule" — the baseline practice that is simply part of being what you are, not an item on the to-do list

Metaphor-family: inherence triad (sight / gait-light 18.116 / sandalwood-fragrance 18.117). Nitya-karma inheres; it is not superadded.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: First of the inherence-triad; chains to 18.116 (gait, lamp-light).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — Jñāneśvar's definition of nitya-karma; the sight-in-the-eye image is his.

Modern application

When a practice is so constitutive it isn't even an "extra." The daily sandhyā, like sight in the eye — the baseline discipline that is simply part of being who you are, not a discretionary add-on you might skip.
When you wrongly treat the non-negotiable baseline as optional. Sight is not something the eye "decides" to do. Reframe your true nitya (the daily practice that constitutes your integrity) as inherent, not elective.
When you over-credit yourself for doing the baseline. अधिक नोहे — it's nothing extra. Doing the daily duty is not a special achievement; it's the floor.

Sādhanā

Today, identify one practice that should be as inherent to you as sight to the eye (a daily honesty, a daily attention). Do it once without counting it as an accomplishment — as simply what you are.

Arc

18.115 gives the first inherence-image (sight); 18.116 adds gait-in-legs and light-in-lamp.

Ovi 18.116

Original (Marathi): कां नापादितां गती । चरणीं जैसी आथी । नातरी ते दीप्ती । दीपबिंबीं ॥११६॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
कां नापादितां गती	or, without being fetched, gait
चरणीं जैसी आथी	is already in the legs
नातरी ते दीप्ती	or else that light
दीपबिंबीं	in the lamp-flame

Literal translation

English: Or as gait, without being fetched, is already in the legs; or else as the light is in the lamp-flame —

मराठी (आधुनिक): किंवा न आणताही चालण्याची शक्ती जशी पायांत असते; नाहीतर ज्योतीतला प्रकाश जसा —

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Gait already in the legs without being fetched (नापादितां गती चरणीं आथी)	Nitya-karma intrinsic to the qualified one, not acquired from outside	The competence already in you that needs no importing — it walks when you walk
Light already in the lamp-flame (दीप्ती दीपबिंबीं)	The function inseparable from the thing — the duty inseparable from the qualified person	The glow that isn't added to the flame but is the flame's own nature

Metaphor-family: inherence triad (with 18.115 sight, 18.117 fragrance). Intrinsic, not superadded.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi. The lamp-light is an inherence-illustration, not a yogic inner-light (jyoti-dhyāna) referent.

Cross-references

Internal: Middle of the inherence-triad; chains to 18.117 (sandalwood-fragrance + adhikāra).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — nitya-inherence continued; both images Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When a capacity walks with you, unfetched. नापादितां गती — you don't go get it; it's in the legs. The practiced skill that shows up the moment it's needed because it's intrinsic now.
When light and flame can't be pried apart. Your true daily duty isn't bolted onto you; it's the flame's own glow. Stop experiencing it as an imposition separate from your nature.
When you look for "outside" what you already carry. The teaching keeps redirecting to the intrinsic: the resource is in the legs, in the flame, in the eye.

Sādhanā

Today, name one skill or virtue that is now so practiced it's "in the legs." Trust it once without rehearsing — let it walk when you walk, unfetched.

Arc

18.116 gives gait and lamp-light; 18.117 closes the triad with sandalwood-fragrance and names it the form of one's adhikāra.

Ovi 18.117

Original (Marathi): वासु नेदितां जैसे । चंदनीं सौरभ्य असे । अधिकाराचे तैसें । रूपचि जें ॥११७॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
वासु नेदितां जैसे	as, without giving (adding) scent
चंदनीं सौरभ्य असे	fragrance is in sandalwood
अधिकाराचे तैसें	such is, of one's qualification (adhikāra)
रूपचि जें	the very form

Literal translation

English: As fragrance, without being placed there, is in sandalwood — such is the very form of one's qualification (adhikāra).

मराठी (आधुनिक): सुगंध न घालताही जसा चंदनात असतो — तसंच अधिकाराचं स्वरूपच ते (नित्य कर्म) आहे.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Fragrance in sandalwood, not placed there (वासु नेदितां चंदनीं सौरभ्य)	Nitya-karma as the intrinsic expression of the qualified one's adhikāra — it is the form of being qualified	Integrity that isn't applied like cologne but is the wood's own scent — the duty that is what being-this-person means

Metaphor-family: inherence triad (closes it). Nitya-karma is the very रूप (form) of one's adhikāra.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Closes the inherence-triad; chains to 18.118 (section summary).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — nitya-as-form-of-adhikāra; the sandalwood-fragrance image is Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When your duty is the scent of the wood, not perfume sprayed on. अधिकाराचे रूपचि — the daily practice is the form of being who you are. The doctor's care, the teacher's attention: not added to the role but the role's own fragrance.
When you stop performing the duty and start emanating it. Sandalwood doesn't "do" fragrance; it is fragrant. The mature practitioner's nitya is expression, not effort.
When "qualification" means a way of being, not a credential held. Adhikāra here is not a certificate but a constitution — and the duty is its natural emanation.

Sādhanā

Today, pick the one duty most central to your role and ask: "Am I spraying this on, or is it the wood's own scent?" Do it once as emanation — as simply what your being-this-person smells like.

Arc

18.117 closes the inherence-images; 18.118 sums up — that is nitya-karma; both nitya and naimittika have now been shown to Arjuna.

Ovi 18.118

Original (Marathi): नित्य कर्म ऐसें जनीं । पार्था बोलिजे तें मानीं । एवं नित्य नैमित्तिक दोन्हीं । दाविलीं तुज ॥११८॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (the पार्था vocative and तुज "to you" anchor the address to Arjuna)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
नित्य कर्म ऐसें जनीं	such is nitya-karma, in the world
पार्था बोलिजे तें मानीं	O Pārtha, what is so called — take it so
एवं नित्य नैमित्तिक दोन्हीं	thus both nitya and naimittika
दाविलीं तुज	have been shown to you

Literal translation

English: Such, O Pārtha, is what is called nitya-karma in the world — take it so. Thus both nitya and naimittika have been shown to you.

मराठी (आधुनिक): हे पार्था, असं जगात नित्य कर्म म्हणतात, ते तसं मान. अशा रीतीने नित्य आणि नैमित्तिक दोन्ही तुला दाखवली.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. This is the scholastic section-summary.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Closes the nitya/naimittika definitions; chains to 18.119 (the barrenness-objection).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — section summary; the पार्था + तुज markers anchor the krishna-to-arjuna voice.

Modern application

When you pause to consolidate before the harder turn. Kṛṣṇa marks the ground covered ("both have been shown") before the difficult claim that even good fruit must be renounced. Naming what's settled steadies the next step.
When clear categories prevent later confusion. Having cleanly separated kāmya (renounce), naimittika and nitya (retain), the reader is now protected against the over-renunciation error.
When teaching means checkpointing. दाविलीं तुज — "shown to you." Good instruction confirms receipt before advancing.

Sādhanā

Today, before tackling the hard part of any task, take thirty seconds to name what you've already settled: "These are clear. Now the harder question is ______." Notice the steadiness it lends.

Arc

18.118 closes the definitions; 18.119 raises the objection that nitya/naimittika are "barren," which 18.120 will overturn.

Ovi 18.119

Original (Marathi): हेंचि नित्य नैमित्तिक । अनुष्ठेय आवश्यक । म्हणौनि म्हणोंं पाहती एक । वांझ ययातें ॥११९॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (voicing a pūrvapakṣa / objection to rebut)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
हेंचि नित्य नैमित्तिक	these very nitya-naimittika
अनुष्ठेय आवश्यक	being obligatory and necessary
म्हणौनि म्हणोंं पाहती एक	therefore some incline to call
वांझ ययातें	these "barren" (fruitless)

Literal translation

English: These very nitya-naimittika acts, being obligatory and necessary — some therefore incline to call them "barren" (fruitless).

मराठी (आधुनिक): हीच नित्य-नैमित्तिक कर्मं, अनुष्ठेय व आवश्यक असल्यामुळे — म्हणून काहीजण यांना 'वांझ' (निष्फळ) म्हणू पाहतात.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. वांझ ("barren") is the objection's term, not an unfolded image.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: States the pūrvapakṣa; 18.120 contradicts-and-revises it.
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — the "obligatory acts are fruitless" objection Jñāneśvar voices to answer.

Modern application

When you dismiss the obligatory as "pointless because mandatory." "It's required, so it does nothing for me" — the वांझ-objection. The teaching is about to show the obligatory act bears real fruit precisely in the doing.
When you devalue baseline duties because no prize is attached. No bonus, no glory — so "barren"? The cluster rejects this calculus.
When "I have to" drains the meaning out of a thing. The objection mistakes obligation for emptiness; 18.120-122 will restore its fruit.

Sādhanā

Today, name one obligatory duty you've privately written off as "barren." Suspend the verdict for one day; do it attentively and watch for the fruit (the steadiness, the trust earned, the purification) the next ovis describe.

Arc

18.119 voices the barrenness-objection; 18.120 overturns it — like eating, the obligatory act yields its fruit of itself.

Ovi 18.120

Original (Marathi): परी भोजनीं जैसें होये । तृप्ति लाहे भूक जाये । तैसे नित्यनैमित्तिकीं आहे । सर्वांगीं फळ ॥१२०॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
परी भोजनीं जैसें होये	but as it happens in eating
तृप्ति लाहे भूक जाये	satisfaction is gained, hunger departs
तैसे नित्यनैमित्तिकीं आहे	so in nitya-naimittika there is
सर्वांगीं फळ	fruit, in every limb (wholly)

Literal translation

English: But just as, in eating, satisfaction is gained and hunger departs — so in nitya-naimittika there is fruit, in every limb.

मराठी (आधुनिक): पण जेवणात जसं होतं — तृप्ती मिळते, भूक जाते — तसं नित्य-नैमित्तिकात सर्वांगी फळ असतं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Eating yields satisfaction and removes hunger of itself (तृप्ति लाहे भूक जाये)	Nitya-naimittika bears real fruit intrinsically — not as an external prize but as the act's own completion	The meal that nourishes whether or not you ate it "for" nourishment — the practice whose benefit is built into the doing

Metaphor-family: eating-satisfies. The fruit is intrinsic and "in every limb" (सर्वांगी).

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Rebuts 18.119; chains to 18.121 (forge-fire purification).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — rebuttal of the barrenness-objection; the eating-satisfies image is Jñāneśvar's, establishing that obligatory acts DO bear fruit (which must then itself be renounced).

Modern application

When the benefit is built into the doing, not bolted on as a reward. Eating nourishes intrinsically; the honest day's work steadies you intrinsically. सर्वांगी फळ — whole-body fruit, not a separate payout.
When you discover the obligatory act quietly fed you. The duty you called barren turns out to have removed a hunger (for integrity, for order). The fruit was in the act all along.
When you stop needing an external prize because the act itself completes. The meal doesn't need a medal; neither does the daily practice.

Sādhanā

Today, after one obligatory task, pause for ten seconds and name the intrinsic fruit: "That fed something — it removed a hunger for ______." Let the built-in nourishment register before you look for any external reward.

Arc

18.120 affirms the fruit; 18.121 specifies it — like the insect in the forge-fire, the act purifies and raises the doer's lustre.

Ovi 18.121

Original (Marathi): कीड आगिठां पडे । तरी मळु तुटे वानी चढे । यया कर्मा तया सांगडें । फळ जाणावें ॥१२१॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
कीड आगिठां पडे	(when) an insect / impure metal falls in the forge-fire
तरी मळु तुटे वानी चढे	its dross is cut away, its lustre rises
यया कर्मा तया सांगडें	of this karma, comparable to that
फळ जाणावें	know the fruit (to be)

Literal translation

English: As (impure matter) falling in the forge-fire has its dross cut away and its lustre raised — know the fruit of this karma to be comparable to that.

मराठी (आधुनिक): भट्टीच्या आगीत पडल्यावर जसं मळ तुटतो आणि तेज चढतं — तसंच या (नित्य-नैमित्तिक) कर्माचं फळ समजावं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Impure matter in the forge-fire: dross cut, lustre raised (मळु तुटे वानी चढे)	Nitya-naimittika's fruit is purification — sin/impurity burned off, the doer's quality brightened	The discipline that doesn't reward you with a prize but refines you — burns off the dross, raises the shine

Metaphor-family: purifying-fire (forge). Distinct from the binding-fruit of kāmya-karma; this fruit is refinement.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi. The forge-fire is a metallurgical purification image, not a kuṇḍalinī inner-fire referent; reading agni-yoga here would be a fabrication.

Cross-references

Internal: Chains to 18.122 (unpacking: sin melts, qualification brightens, sad-gati).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — purificatory fruit specified; the forge-fire image is Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When the discipline refines you rather than paying you. The daily practice's fruit is not a prize but a purification — मळु तुटे वानी चढे, dross off, shine up. The early-morning rigor that burns off the lethargy.
When hardship in a duty is doing metallurgical work. The forge is not punishing the metal; it's refining it. Reframe a demanding obligation as the fire that raises your lustre.
When you look for the wrong kind of fruit and miss the real one. You wanted reward; you got refinement — and refinement was the better fruit.

Sādhanā

Today, take one demanding duty and name the dross it's burning off you (impatience, sloppiness, fear). Do it once consciously as a forge: "This is cutting that dross."

Arc

18.121 names the purificatory fruit; 18.122 unpacks it — sin melts, qualification brightens, sad-gati comes within reach.

Ovi 18.122

Original (Marathi): जे प्रत्यवाय तंव गळे । स्वाधिकार बहुवें उजळे । तेथ हातोफळिया मिळे । सद्गतीसी ॥१२२॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
जे प्रत्यवाय तंव गळे	for sin / fault (pratyavāya) melts away
स्वाधिकार बहुवें उजळे	one's own qualification brightens greatly
तेथ हातोफळिया मिळे	there, within hand's-reach, one attains
सद्गतीसी	the good destination (sad-gati)

Literal translation

English: For fault melts away, one's own qualification brightens greatly, and there one comes within hand's-reach of the good destination.

मराठी (आधुनिक): कारण पाप गळतं, स्वतःचा अधिकार खूप उजळतो, आणि तिथे सद्गती हाताशीच मिळते.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. हातोफळिया ("within hand's-reach") is a compressed idiom of nearness, not an unfolded image.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Unpacks 18.121; 18.123 contradicts-and-revises (this rich fruit too must be renounced).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — the positive fruit (sin-removal + qualification-brightening + nearness to sad-gati) specified by Jñāneśvar.

Modern application

When faithful duty quietly clears your record and raises your standing. प्रत्यवाय गळे, स्वाधिकार उजळे — the consistent doing dissolves old faults and brightens your real qualification, bringing the good outcome within reach.
When "within hand's-reach" replaces "someday far off." हातोफळिया मिळे — the good destination is not remote; the daily act brings it near. Encouragement to keep the baseline.
When you almost stop just short of the fruit that was nearly in hand. The teaching says it's close — don't abandon the obligatory act right before its fruit ripens (which is exactly why 18.123's renunciation must be deliberate, not careless).

Sādhanā

Today, name one good outcome that faithful daily duty has brought "within hand's-reach" for you. Resist the urge to grab it; just acknowledge its nearness as the fruit of the act — setting up the harder practice of letting even this fruit go.

Arc

18.122 names the rich, near fruit; 18.123 makes the decisive turn — even this must be renounced at the root, like the nakṣatra cut at its base.

Ovi 18.123

Original (Marathi): येवढेवरी ढिसाळ । नित्यनैमित्तिकीं आहे फळ । परी तें त्यजिजे मूळ । नक्षत्रीं जैसें ॥१२३॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
येवढेवरी ढिसाळ	so abundant / copious (to this extent)
नित्यनैमित्तिकीं आहे फळ	is the fruit in nitya-naimittika
परी तें त्यजिजे मूळ	yet it must be renounced, at the root
नक्षत्रीं जैसें	as with the nakṣatra (asterism / its base-rite)

Literal translation

English: Copious as the fruit in nitya-naimittika is, yet it must be renounced at the root — as with the nakṣatra.

मराठी (आधुनिक): एवढं भरपूर फळ नित्य-नैमित्तिकात असलं, तरी ते मुळासकट त्यागावं — नक्षत्रासारखं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Renouncing the fruit "at the root" (त्यजिजे मूळ)	Phala-tyāga must reach the source, not merely trim the visible fruit	Cancelling a craving at its origin, not just declining the payout once

Metaphor-family: root-severance. The renunciation reaches the source. (The nक्षत्रीं reference is to a base/source — the rare phrasing is rendered by best-attested reading; the doctrinal force, "renounce at the root," is clear.)

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: The pivot to the second definiens; chains to 18.124 (the manner — creeper drops ripe fruit).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं ("the abandonment of the fruit of all action"); the root-severance image renders that even the rich fruit of obligatory acts is cut at its source.

Modern application

When the abundance of a good fruit is exactly the test. येवढेवरी ढिसाळ फळ — the fruit here is plentiful and clean (sad-gati, standing, purity) — and still it must be released at the root. Renouncing a bad fruit is easy; renouncing a good one is the real tyāga.
When you must give up not just the reward but the wanting of it. त्यजिजे मूळ — cut at the root, not the branch. Declining the prize once while still craving it is not phala-tyāga.
When spiritual "merit" itself becomes the last attachment. Even the fruit of righteous duty — the good standing, the earned grace — is a holding to release.

Sādhanā

Today, identify one good fruit of your faithful effort that you're attached to (recognition for integrity, spiritual "progress"). Practice releasing it at the root: "I do this duty; I let go of even its good fruit." Say it once and mean it.

Arc

18.123 commands root-renunciation; 18.124 gives its manner — the creeper drops its ripe fruit untouched, of its own accord.

Ovi 18.124

Original (Marathi): लता पिके आघवी । तंव च्यूत बांधे पालवीं । मग हात न लावित माधवीं । सोडूनि घाली ॥१२४॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
लता पिके आघवी	the creeper ripens fully
तंव च्यूत बांधे पालवीं	meanwhile the fruit forms on the shoots
मग हात न लावित माधवीं	then, without laying a hand, the mādhavī-creeper
सोडूनि घाली	lets it drop / releases it

Literal translation

English: The creeper ripens fully, its fruit forming on the shoots; then, without laying a hand, the mādhavī-creeper lets it drop.

मराठी (आधुनिक): वेल पूर्ण पिकते, फळ फांद्यांवर धरतं; मग हात न लावता माधवी-वेल ते सोडून देते.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
The creeper drops its own ripe fruit "without laying a hand" (हात न लावित... सोडूनि घाली)	Fruit-renunciation as natural, effortless release — not a violent discarding but a letting-fall once ripe	Opening the hand and letting the thing drop of its own weight — non-grasping rather than throwing-away

Metaphor-family: creeper-drops-ripe-fruit. Phala-tyāga is release, not violence.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Gives the manner of renunciation; chains to 18.125 (the plain precept).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — सर्वकर्मफलत्याग illustrated as effortless letting-fall; the creeper image is Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When letting go is opening the hand, not flinging. हात न लावित सोडूनि घाली — the creeper doesn't throw the fruit; it stops holding it. True renunciation is releasing the grip, not a dramatic discarding.
When you wait for the fruit to ripen before you release it. You don't rip off the green fruit; you let the ripe one fall. Phala-tyāga is timed and natural — do the act fully, then release its outcome when it comes.
When non-grasping replaces effortful renunciation. The struggle to "give up" is itself a grasping. The creeper models effortlessness.

Sādhanā

Today, take one outcome you're clutching and physically enact the image: hold a small object in your fist, then simply open your hand and let it drop — "without laying a hand." Let the body teach the mind what release feels like.

Arc

18.124 gives the effortless manner; 18.125 states the precept plainly — keep the act, cast off all the fruit, vomit-fashion.

Ovi 18.125

Original (Marathi): तैसी नोलांडितां कर्मरेखा । चित्त दीजे नित्यनैमित्तिका । पाठीं फळा कीजे अशेखा । वांताचे वानी ॥१२५॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
तैसी नोलांडितां कर्मरेखा	so, without crossing the line of (prescribed) karma
चित्त दीजे नित्यनैमित्तिका	give the mind to nitya-naimittika
पाठीं फळा कीजे अशेखा	afterward, make all the fruit
वांताचे वानी	in the manner of what is vomited (cast off)

Literal translation

English: So, without crossing the line of prescribed karma, give the mind to nitya-naimittika; and afterward cast off all the fruit, in the manner of something vomited.

मराठी (आधुनिक): तसं कर्मरेषा न ओलांडता नित्य-नैमित्तिकाला चित्त द्यावं; मग सगळं फळ ओकलेल्यासारखं टाकून द्यावं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Not crossing the karma-line (नोलांडितां कर्मरेखा)	Stay within prescribed obligatory action — do not transgress or abandon it	Keep doing the duty; don't step outside the lane of what you're obliged to do
Casting off all fruit "vomit-fashion" (फळा... वांताचे वानी)	Total renunciation of the fruit — complete, revulsion-clean expulsion (recalling 18.107's poison-vomit)	Spitting out the outcome-attachment entirely, keeping nothing back

Metaphor-family: poison-vomit (recurs from 18.107; there the kāmya-act, here the fruit of obligatory acts). The precept: retain the act, expel the fruit completely.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Parallel-image to 18.107 (vomit); chains to 18.126 (naming this tyāga).
Tukaram parallels:
Abhang 64 — कर्मफळ म्हणुनी इच्छूं नये काम ("do not desire action because of its expected karma-fruit"). The same niṣkāma structure: keep the living act, sever the fruit-desire. Tukaram delivers it through sensory images (don't crush the flower for fragrance, don't eat the loved child); 18.125 states it as a direct precept.
Source citations:
Bhagavad Gītā 18.6 (एतान्यपि तु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च — कर्तव्यानीति) — paraphrased: perform the obligatory acts while abandoning attachment and fruit. A different sloka from this cluster's own 18.2; verified on holy-bhagavad-gita.org.
Bhagavad Gītā 18.5 (यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत्) — echoed in the "do not cross the karma-line" half: the obligatory act must not be abandoned. Different sloka from 18.2; verified on holy-bhagavad-gita.org.

Modern application

When you must keep doing the work while completely releasing the outcome. नोलांडितां कर्मरेखा... फळा कीजे अशेखा — stay fully in the duty's lane, and cast off the result entirely. The clinician who treats with total care and surrenders the prognosis.
When "all the fruit" means all — no quiet reserve kept back. अशेखा, वांताचे वानी — completely, vomit-fashion. Half-renouncing the outcome (keeping a private hope) isn't the practice.
When the discipline is two-sided: don't abandon the act, don't keep the fruit. Both errors are ruled out at once — neither dereliction nor attachment.

Sādhanā

Today, choose one task you'll do anyway and do it at full effort while writing, before you start, the outcome you're releasing: "I will do this fully; I cast off entirely the result ______." Then do the work and don't check for the result for the rest of the day.

Arc

18.125 states the precept (act kept, fruit cast off); 18.126 names it — this fruit-renunciation the knowing-ones call TYĀGA, completing the sloka's second definition.

Ovi 18.126

Original (Marathi): यया कर्म फळत्यागातें । त्यागु म्हणती पैं जाणते । एवं त्याग संन्यास तूतें । परीसविले ॥१२६॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (the तूतें "to you" anchors the address to Arjuna)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
यया कर्म फळत्यागातें	this abandonment of action-fruit
त्यागु म्हणती पैं जाणते	the knowing-ones (jñānin) call "tyāga"
एवं त्याग संन्यास तूतें	thus tyāga and sannyāsa, to you
परीसविले	have been caused to be heard / explained

Literal translation

English: This abandonment of action-fruit, the knowing-ones call "tyāga." Thus tyāga and sannyāsa have been explained to you.

मराठी (आधुनिक): या कर्मफळ-त्यागाला जाणते 'त्याग' म्हणतात. अशा रीतीने त्याग आणि संन्यास तुला सांगितले.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. This is the second definitional naming-move, completing the pair.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Delivers the second definiendum, pairing with 18.108 (sannyāsa); chains to 18.127 (synthesis).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस्त्यागं विचक्षणाः ("the discerning declare the abandonment of all-action-fruit to be tyāga"); जाणते renders vicakṣaṇāḥ; तूतें anchors the krishna-to-arjuna voice.

Modern application

When you finally have both terms clear. Sannyāsa = lay down the desire-driven striving; tyāga = keep the duty, drop the fruit. Two distinct disciplines, now named — the clarity itself is freeing.
When "renunciation" stops meaning "do nothing." The knowing-ones (जाणते) define tyāga as fruit-renunciation, not action-renunciation. Correcting the popular misreading.
When you can self-locate: which discipline does this situation call for? Some pursuits call for sannyāsa (drop the kāmya act entirely); some for tyāga (keep the act, release the fruit). Naming lets you choose rightly.

Sādhanā

Today, take one current striving and classify it out loud: "Is this a sannyāsa case (lay the whole pursuit down) or a tyāga case (keep doing it, release the outcome)?" Let the right category guide your next move.

Arc

18.126 completes the definitions; 18.127 draws the synthesis — genuine sannyāsa lets neither kāmya bind nor niṣiddha survive.

Ovi 18.127

Original (Marathi): हा संन्यासु जैं संभवे । तैं काम्य बाधूं न पावे । निषिद्ध तंव स्वभावें । निषेधें गेलें ॥१२७॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
हा संन्यासु जैं संभवे	when this sannyāsa arises
तैं काम्य बाधूं न पावे	then kāmya cannot bind
निषिद्ध तंव स्वभावें	the forbidden (niṣiddha), by its very nature
निषेधें गेलें	has departed through prohibition

Literal translation

English: When this sannyāsa arises, kāmya cannot bind; and the forbidden, by its very nature, has already departed through prohibition.

मराठी (आधुनिक): हा संन्यास जेव्हा घडतो, तेव्हा काम्य कर्म बाधू शकत नाही; आणि निषिद्ध तर स्वभावतःच निषेधाने आधीच निघून गेलेलं असतं.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. The synthesis is stated as doctrine.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Draws the synthesis; chains to 18.128 (the nitya-remainder persists fruit-shed).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — Jñāneśvar's synthesis: genuine sannyāsa neutralizes kāmya (renounced) and niṣiddha (already prohibited).

Modern application

When the right inner stance makes whole categories of temptation simply inoperative. Once the kāmya-renouncing stance is real, desire-driven striving "cannot bind" — it loses its hook. And the plainly-forbidden was never in play. The clean field that remains is just the obligatory.
When you stop having to fight what's already excluded. The निषिद्ध is gone "by its very nature." Energy spent re-litigating the obviously-wrong is wasted; it's already off the table.
When clarity dissolves a struggle instead of winning it. काम्य बाधूं न पावे — not "I resisted the binding" but "it could not bind." The stance, not the willpower, does the work.

Sādhanā

Today, notice one temptation you keep effortfully resisting. Test whether, from a clear renouncing stance, it simply "cannot bind" — whether seeing it as already-renounced removes its hook more cleanly than fighting it.

Arc

18.127 clears kāmya and niṣiddha; 18.128 handles the remainder — nitya persists fruit-shed, like the body when the head is bowed.

Ovi 18.128

Original (Marathi): आणि नित्यादिक जें असे । तें येणें फलत्यागें नसे । शिर लोटलिया जैसें । येर आंग ॥१२८॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
आणि नित्यादिक जें असे	and the nitya and the rest that remain
तें येणें फलत्यागें नसे	do not vanish by this fruit-renunciation
शिर लोटलिया जैसें	as, when the head is bowed down
येर आंग	the rest of the body (remains)

Literal translation

English: And the nitya and the rest do not vanish by this fruit-renunciation — as, when the head is bowed, the rest of the body still remains.

मराठी (आधुनिक): आणि नित्यादिक जे असतं, ते या फलत्यागाने नाहीसं होत नाही — डोकं लवलं तरी जसं उरलेलं शरीर (तसंच) असतं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
When the head bows, the rest of the body remains (शिर लोटलिया... येर आंग)	Fruit-renunciation sheds only the fruit (the "head"), not the obligatory act (the "body") which stands	Cutting the outcome doesn't cut the work — drop the result and the practice itself remains intact and standing

Metaphor-family: bowed-head-body. Renunciation is partial-by-design: fruit off, act on.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Chains to 18.129 (the ātma-jñāna harvest).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citations:
Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — phala-tyāga sheds the fruit, not the act; the bowed-head-body image is Jñāneśvar's.
Bhagavad Gītā 18.5 (यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यम्) — echoed: nitya/naimittika do not perish under fruit-renunciation. Different sloka from 18.2; verified on holy-bhagavad-gita.org.

Modern application

When releasing the outcome leaves the work fully standing. शिर लोटलिया... येर आंग — the head bows, the body stands. You drop the result; the practice doesn't collapse with it. The fear that "without the goal I'll stop doing it" is answered here.
When you worry that detachment means dropping the duty. It doesn't. Only the fruit-head bows; the act-body remains upright and active.
When you keep the discipline alive after the prize is gone. The retiree who keeps the craft for the craft; the duty that outlasts its reward — body standing, head bowed.

Sādhanā

Today, take one practice whose external reward has faded and notice it can still stand without the reward — "head bowed, body standing." Do it once today purely as the standing body, no head.

Arc

18.128 keeps the act standing fruit-shed; 18.129 names the harvest — from such quieted karma, ātma-jñāna comes of itself.

Ovi 18.129

Original (Marathi): मग सस्य फळपाकांत । तैसें निमालिया कर्मजात । आत्मज्ञान गिंवसीत । अपैसें ये ॥१२९॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
मग सस्य फळपाकांत	then, as a crop (comes) to the ripeness of its fruit-cooking
तैसें निमालिया कर्मजात	so when the mass of karma is thus quieted / spent
आत्मज्ञान गिंवसीत	self-knowledge, seeking (it out)
अपैसें ये	comes of its own accord

Literal translation

English: Then, as a crop comes to the ripeness of its fruiting, so when the mass of karma is thus quieted, self-knowledge comes seeking, of its own accord.

मराठी (आधुनिक): मग पीक जसं फळपाकाला येतं, तसं कर्मसमूह शांत झाल्यावर आत्मज्ञान आपणहूनच शोधत येतं.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
A crop ripening to its fruit-cooking (सस्य फळपाकांत)	Fruit-renounced action maturing of itself into its true harvest	The long discipline whose real yield ripens on its own schedule, not by being grabbed at
Self-knowledge "comes seeking, of its own accord" (आत्मज्ञान गिंवसीत अपैसें ये)	Ātma-jñāna is not seized but arrives spontaneously once karma is quieted	The realization that finds you once the striving-for-it stops — sought-for it eludes, surrendered-to it comes

Metaphor-family: ripening-crop. The soteriological payoff: jñāna as spontaneous fruit of fruit-renounced action.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi. Ātma-jñāna here is the philosophical fruit of niṣkāma-karma, not a specified kuṇḍalinī/brahmarandhra attainment; no esoteric mechanism is named.

Cross-references

Internal: Chains to 18.130 (the two, rightly practiced, clinch realization).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — ātma-jñāna as spontaneous fruit of phala-tyāga; the ripening-crop image is Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When the realization arrives only after you stop grabbing for it. आत्मज्ञान... अपैसें ये — it comes of its own accord. The insight, the peace, the clarity that shows up precisely when you've quit chasing it and just done the work.
When you trust the harvest to its own ripening. सस्य फळपाकांत — you don't cook the crop early. The fruit of long fidelity matures on its schedule, not your impatience.
When quieting the striving is the precondition, not laziness. निमालिया कर्मजात — the karma is quieted (fruit-renounced), not abandoned. The stillness that lets knowledge come is earned by faithful, fruit-released action.

Sādhanā

Today, pick one understanding you've been straining to force (about yourself, a decision, a relationship). Stop reaching for it for 24 hours; do your ordinary duties fruit-released and let the insight "come seeking" on its own.

Arc

18.129 makes jñāna the spontaneous fruit; 18.130 affirms that the two disciplines, rightly practiced, bind the victor's-cloth in self-knowledge.

Ovi 18.130

Original (Marathi): ऐसिया निगुती दोनी । त्याग संन्यास अनुष्ठानीं । पडले गा आत्मज्ञानीं । बांधती पाटु ॥१३०॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna (गा address-particle continues the address to Arjuna)

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
ऐसिया निगुती दोनी	these two, by this exact / careful method
त्याग संन्यास अनुष्ठानीं	tyāga and sannyāsa, in practice
पडले गा आत्मज्ञानीं	once set, indeed, in self-knowledge
बांधती पाटु	bind the victor's-cloth (pāṭu)

Literal translation

English: These two — tyāga and sannyāsa — practiced by this exact method, once set in self-knowledge, bind the victor's cloth.

मराठी (आधुनिक): अशा नेमक्या रीतीने त्याग आणि संन्यास या दोन्ही अनुष्ठानात, आत्मज्ञानात स्थिरावल्या की विजयाचा पाटु बांधतात.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Binding the victor's cloth / turban (बांधती पाटु)	Rightly-practiced tyāga and sannyāsa clinch realization — a secured, crowned attainment	Tying on the victory-sash — the disciplines, done by the exact method, secure the win of self-knowledge

Metaphor-family: victor's-cloth (pāṭu). Right practice secures realization. (निगुती — "the exact/careful method" — is load-bearing, setting up the failure-case at 18.131.)

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Affirms the right method; 18.131 contradicts-and-revises (the wrong method).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — the payoff of correctly-practiced tyāga/sannyāsa; निगुती (exact method) is load-bearing.

Modern application

When method, not just effort, is what secures the result. ऐसिया निगुती — by this exact method. Tyāga and sannyāsa done precisely (right scope, right release) clinch realization; done carelessly (next ovi) they backfire.
When "doing the practice" isn't enough without doing it rightly. The victor's cloth is bound by the exact method. Diligence plus precision.
When you treat a discipline as winnable by craft, not just sincerity. The pāṭu is tied on — a deliberate, skilled act. Realization here is the fruit of skillful, not merely earnest, practice.

Sādhanā

Today, take one practice you do sincerely but imprecisely, and sharpen one detail of its method (the exact scope, the exact thing released). Do it once with that precision and notice the difference exactness makes.

Arc

18.130 affirms the right method clinches realization; 18.131 turns to the failure-case — renunciation done "by the fistful" entangles instead of freeing.

Ovi 18.131

Original (Marathi): नातरी हे निगुती चुके । मग त्यागु कीजे हाततुकें । तैं कांहीं न त्यजे अधिकें । गोंवींचि पडे ॥१३१॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
नातरी हे निगुती चुके	but if this exact method is missed
मग त्यागु कीजे हाततुकें	and renunciation is done by-the-fistful (crudely)
तैं कांहीं न त्यजे अधिकें	then nothing more is rightly renounced
गोंवींचि पडे	one only falls into entanglement

Literal translation

English: But if this exact method is missed and renunciation is done by the fistful (crudely), then nothing more is rightly renounced — one only falls into entanglement.

मराठी (आधुनिक): पण ही नेमकी रीत चुकली आणि त्याग हातगुठ्याने (ओबडधोबड) केला, तर काही अधिक नीट त्यागलं जात नाही — उलट गुंत्यातच पडतो.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Renunciation done "by the fistful" (त्यागु कीजे हाततुकें)	Undiscerning, crude renunciation that grabs at giving-up without knowing what should be given up	Throwing things out by the armful without checking what they are — clearing by force, not by judgment
"Falling into entanglement" (गोंवींचि पडे)	The result of crude renunciation: deeper bondage, not freedom	The "decluttering" that leaves a worse mess — the impulsive quitting that creates new problems

Metaphor-family: fistful-crude-renunciation. The failure-mode of mis-scoped tyāga.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: The failure-case answering 18.130; chains to 18.132 (wrong-medicine, refused-food).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — the failure-case of undiscerning renunciation; the हाततुकें (by-the-fistful) image is Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When "I'm just going to quit everything" makes things worse. त्यागु कीजे हाततुकें — renunciation by the fistful. The impulsive renouncer who drops obligations along with attachments and ends up more entangled (गोंवींचि पडे), not freer.
When crude "letting go" abandons what you were supposed to keep. Renouncing your duties (nitya) instead of your fruit-craving is the fistful error — it renounces the wrong thing.
When the gesture of giving-up substitutes for the discernment of giving-up-rightly. Dramatic renunciation that skips the careful method backfires.

Sādhanā

Today, if you're tempted to "just drop" something wholesale, pause and ask the discerning question first: "What exactly should be released here — the act, or only the fruit?" Refuse the fistful; make one precise cut instead.

Arc

18.131 names the fistful-failure; 18.132 sharpens it — wrong renunciation is medicine-without-diagnosis turned to poison, food refused while hunger kills.

Ovi 18.132

Original (Marathi): जें औषध व्याधी अनोळख । तें घेतलिया परतें विख । कां अन्न न मानितां भूक । मारी ना काय ? ॥१३२॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
जें औषध व्याधी अनोळख	medicine (taken) without knowing the disease
तें घेतलिया परतें विख	when taken, turns instead to poison
कां अन्न न मानितां भूक	or, food refused while hunger (remains)
मारी ना काय	does it not kill?

Literal translation

English: Medicine taken without knowing the disease turns instead to poison; or food refused while hunger remains — does it not kill?

मराठी (आधुनिक): रोग न ओळखता घेतलेलं औषध उलट विष होतं; किंवा भूक असताना अन्न नाकारलं — तर ते मारत नाही का?

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Medicine without diagnosis becomes poison (औषध व्याधी अनोळख... परतें विख)	Renunciation applied without discernment harms instead of healing	The "treatment" applied to the wrong problem that makes the patient worse — the indiscriminate fix that injures
Food refused while hunger persists kills (अन्न न मानितां भूक मारी)	Renouncing what should be retained (the nourishing nitya-act) is self-destructive	The fasting that becomes starvation — giving up the thing you actually needed

Metaphor-family: wrong-medicine / refused-food. Mis-directed renunciation as active self-harm.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Sharpens 18.131; chains to 18.133 (the rule against over-renunciation).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — harm of mis-directed renunciation; both images Jñāneśvar's.

Modern application

When a "remedy" applied without understanding makes it worse. औषध व्याधी अनोळख — medicine without diagnosis. The blanket renunciation (quit the job, cut off the person) applied to the wrong problem turns to poison.
When refusing what nourishes you is mistaken for discipline. अन्न न मानितां भूक मारी — refusing food while hungry kills. Giving up rest, connection, or the sustaining duty in the name of "renunciation" is self-harm, not virtue.
When you starve yourself of the obligatory act. The nitya-karma you wrongly renounced was the food you needed; refusing it doesn't purify, it kills.

Sādhanā

Today, examine one thing you've given up "for discipline" and ask honestly: "Was this poison I needed to expel, or food I needed to eat?" If it was food — a sustaining duty or connection — take one bite of it back today.

Arc

18.132 shows wrong renunciation harms; 18.133 draws the rule — do not subject to renunciation what is not to-be-renounced.

Ovi 18.133

Original (Marathi): म्हणौनि त्याज्य जें नोहे । तेथ त्यागातें न सुवावें । त्याज्यालागीं नोहावें । लोभापर ॥१३३॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
म्हणौनि त्याज्य जें नोहे	therefore, what is not to-be-renounced
तेथ त्यागातें न सुवावें	there, do not apply renunciation
त्याज्यालागीं नोहावें	do not become, toward renouncing
लोभापर	greedy / over-eager

Literal translation

English: Therefore, what is not to-be-renounced — do not subject it to renunciation; do not become greedy (over-eager) about renouncing.

मराठी (आधुनिक): म्हणून जे त्याज्य नाही, तिथे त्याग लावू नये; त्यागण्याबाबत लोभी-अतिउत्सुक होऊ नये.

Metaphor-unfold

No extended metaphor in this ovi. The rule is stated directly; लोभापर ("greedy/over-eager about renouncing") is a striking phrase but not an unfolded image.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi.

Cross-references

Internal: Fixes the scope-rule; chains to 18.134 (the closing on vītarāga).
Tukaram parallel: (none specific to this ovi)
Source citation: Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — the precise scope of tyāga: it falls on kāmya-karma and on the fruit of all karma, never on the obligatory act itself.

Modern application

When you catch yourself "greedy to renounce." लोभापर — over-eager about giving-up. Renunciation can become its own ego-project, an appetite for dramatic letting-go that overreaches onto things you should keep.
When austerity tips into self-deprivation. The rule: don't apply renunciation where it doesn't belong. Keep the sustaining duties; the renunciation is for the fruit-craving, not the life.
When "minimalism" or "detachment" becomes a compulsion. The healthiest renouncer is not greedy to renounce — which is itself a subtle attachment, to the identity of one who gives up.

Sādhanā

Today, notice if any part of you is eager to renounce (to look detached, to feel pure through giving-up). Name it: "This is लोभापर — greed to renounce." Keep one good thing you were about to dramatically give up.

Arc

18.133 fixes the rule against over-renunciation; 18.134 closes the cluster — to the mis-grasper even total renunciation is a burden, while the vītarāga sees no second anywhere.

Ovi 18.134

Original (Marathi): चुकलिया त्यागाचें वेझें । केला सर्वत्यागुही होय वोझें । न देखती सर्वत्र दुजें । वीतराग ते ॥१३४॥ Voice: krishna-to-arjuna

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
चुकलिया त्यागाचें वेझें	the measure / weighing of renunciation being missed
केला सर्वत्यागुही होय वोझें	even a total renunciation undertaken becomes a burden
न देखती सर्वत्र दुजें	they see no second anywhere
वीतराग ते	those desireless ones (vītarāga)

Literal translation

English: When the measure of renunciation is missed, even a total renunciation undertaken becomes a burden; (whereas) the desireless ones see no second anywhere.

मराठी (आधुनिक): त्यागाचं माप चुकलं की, केलेला सर्वत्यागही ओझं होतो; तर वीतराग सर्वत्र दुजेपणा पाहत नाहीत.

Metaphor-unfold

Literal image	Philosophical referent	Modern equivalent
Even total renunciation becoming "a burden" (सर्वत्यागुही होय वोझें)	Renunciation mis-measured turns into a weight — the more you give up wrongly, the heavier it gets	The maximal "letting go" that becomes its own crushing project — quantity of renunciation with no wisdom = added weight
The vītarāga "see no second anywhere" (न देखती सर्वत्र दुजें)	True renunciation rests on desirelessness and non-dual vision, not on the volume of things given up	The freedom that comes from non-grasping perception itself, where there's no "other" to renounce or cling to

Metaphor-family: burden-of-mis-measured-renunciation / non-dual-seeing. Grounds tyāga in vītarāga, not in quantity.

Nāth-yogic layer

No Nāth-yogic referent in this ovi. "Seeing no second" (अद्वैत non-dual vision) here is the Vedāntic ground of desireless renunciation, not a specified kuṇḍalinī/samādhi mechanism; no esoteric referent is named.

Cross-references

Internal: Ring-companion to 18.98 — the cluster travels from kāmanā (desire) as binding-root to vītarāga (desirelessness) as the ground of true renunciation.
Tukaram parallels:
Abhang 90 — तप करूनि तीर्थाटन । वाढविला अभिमान ("having done austerity and pilgrimage, he only increased pride") and वांटिलें तें धन । केली अहंता जतन ("wealth was distributed, the I-am-the-giver was preserved"). 18.134's point — true renunciation is the vītarāga's no-second vision, not the quantity given up — parallels Tukaram's verdict that outwardly-total renunciation/charity preserving ego is worthless; desirelessness, not the volume of the gesture, is the criterion.
Source citations:
Bhagavad Gītā 18.2 — grounding true tyāga in vītarāga desirelessness and non-dual vision (the bridge to the chapter's deeper sannyāsa-mokṣa teaching).
Bhagavad Gītā 2.47 (कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन) — echoed: the desirelessness grounding tyāga returns to the foundational niṣkāma-karma sloka. Different sloka from 18.2; verified on holy-bhagavad-gita.org.

Modern application

When "I gave up everything" has become a heavy badge. चुकलिया... सर्वत्यागुही होय वोझें — renunciation mis-measured is a burden, and the more you renounce wrongly the heavier it weighs. The martyr's exhausting tally of sacrifices.
When real freedom turns out to be about seeing, not subtracting. न देखती सर्वत्र दुजें — the vītarāga see no second. The liberation is in a non-grasping perception, not in how long your list of renunciations is.
When the desirelessness, not the deprivation, is the point. You can own little and grasp everything, or hold much and grasp nothing. The criterion is vītarāga — the absence of craving — not the absence of things.

Sādhanā

Today, instead of subtracting one more thing, practice the vītarāga move once: with something right in front of you, notice it without reaching for it or pushing it away — "no second here, nothing to grasp or renounce." One minute of non-grasping seeing, no renunciation-tally required.

Arc

18.134 closes the cluster by grounding all renunciation in desirelessness and non-dual vision — completing the arc from kāmanā (18.98) to vītarāga; the next śloka (BG-18.3) opens the survey of conflicting opinions on what should be renounced, which this cluster's careful nitya/naimittika-retained, fruit-renounced doctrine is positioned to adjudicate.

Cluster summary

Core teaching: BG-18.2 is Kṛṣṇa's answer to Arjuna's request (BG-18.1) to distinguish sannyāsa and tyāga. The wise (kavayaḥ) call the laying-down of desire-prompted (kāmya) rites SANNYĀSA; the discerning (vicakṣaṇāḥ) call the abandonment of the FRUIT of ALL action TYĀGA. The asymmetry is the doctrine: sannyāsa renounces a class of action (the optional, fruit-seeking rites), while tyāga renounces the fruit of every action — the obligatory nitya/naimittika acts themselves being retained. Jñāneśvar's thirty-seven ovis build this into a short treatise: kāmya-karma binds the doer to consume its fruit (village-of-the-body festival, debt-unpaid, jaggery-and-ash) and so must be vomited like poison (18.107); nitya/naimittika are inalienable as sight-to-the-eye and fragrance-to-sandalwood and must NOT be renounced (18.110-118); they bear real, purifying fruit (eating-satisfies, forge-fire), yet even that fruit is dropped at the root like the creeper's ripe fruit let fall (18.123-125) — and THIS fruit-renunciation IS tyāga, from which ātma-jñāna ripens of itself (18.129). The cluster closes by warning against crude, by-the-fistful over-renunciation (wrong medicine become poison) and grounding all true renunciation in the vītarāga's desireless, no-second vision (18.134).

Chapter arc position: This is the foundational definition-cluster of adhyāya 18 (mokṣa-sannyāsa-yoga), the Gītā's concluding chapter. By cleanly separating kāmya (renounce), nitya/naimittika (retain), and the fruit of all action (renounce), it lays the doctrinal floor for the chapter's long teaching on action, renunciation, the three guṇas of tyāga, and the final surrender. The whole exposition is the niṣkāma-karma of BG 2.47 ("your right is to action alone, never to its fruits") formalized into scholastic doctrine, voiced throughout krishna-to-arjuna and anchored to the vocatives धनंजया, पंडुसुता, and पार्था.

Connects to BG-18.3: त्याज्यं दोषवदित्येके कर्म प्राहुर्मनीषिणः — यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यमिति चापरे — the next sloka opens a survey of conflicting authorities on what should be renounced: some say all action is to be abandoned as faulty, others that sacrifice, gift, and austerity must not be abandoned. This cluster's careful doctrine — obligatory acts retained, all fruit renounced — is precisely the position Kṛṣṇa will deploy in BG-18.4-6 to adjudicate that dispute.