Bhagavad-gītā 5.13
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
सर्वकर्माणि मनसा संन्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी। नवद्वारे पुरे देही नैव कुर्वन्न कारयन्।।5.13।।
sarva-karmāṇi manasā sannyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśhī nava-dvāre pure dehī naiva kurvan na kārayan
The subduer (of the senses), having renounced all actions by discrimination, rests happily in the city of the nine gates, neither acting, nor causing (others) to act.
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| sarva | all |
| karmāṇi | activities |
| manasā | by the mind |
| sannyasya | having renounced |
| āste | remains |
| sukham | happily |
| vaśhī | the self-controlled |
| nava-dvāre | of nine gates |
| pure | in the city |
| dehī | the embodied being |
| na | never |
| eva | certainly |
| kurvan | doing anything |
| na | not |
| kārayan | causing to be done |
Use the word map to follow the relation among sarva (all), nava-dvāre (of nine gates), and kārayan (causing to be done). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to renunciation within responsible work. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 5.13.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Compare renunciation of work with renunciation of attachment and examine the chapter’s account of inner freedom.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
The subduer (of the senses), having renounced all actions by discrimination, rests happily in the city of the nine gates, neither acting, nor causing (others) to act
- 2
sarva: all
- 3
nava-dvāre: of nine gates
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 5.13, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 5.13 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 5.13 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 5.13 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 5.13, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
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