A declaration · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Right action should not be abandoned just because it feels difficult.”
Abandoning prescribed action is not right. Giving it up in confusion is called tamasic.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyof the prescribed · indeed · renunciation · of action · not · from confusion · of that · abandonment · tamasic · is called
You should not give up the work that is properly yours to do. If you drop it out of confusion, that is a dark and dull kind of renunciation.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Moksha Sanyasa Yoga" (Liberation through Renunciation).
Verse 7 sits in Chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sanyasa Yoga, "Liberation through Renunciation". The chapter has 78 verses in total.
You are about to quit a hard conversation because it feels uncomfortable, not because it is wrong. The urge to escape can look noble, but confusion is not wisdom.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts the mind from avoiding responsibility to testing whether the urge to quit is clear or merely fearful.
What this verse means
You should not give up the work that is properly yours to do. If you drop it out of confusion, that is a dark and dull kind of renunciation.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna is still trapped between action and refusal. Krishna now sharpens the teaching: some duties cannot be discarded just because they feel heavy. This verse defines confused renunciation as a failure of understanding.
Why this verse still matters
You are about to quit a hard conversation because it feels uncomfortable, not because it is wrong. The urge to escape can look noble, but confusion is not wisdom.
“Relief comes from knowing that clarity, not escape, is the real test of renunciation.”
Explore related themes: renunciation (14 verses), dharma (14 verses), tyaga (14 verses)