Complete learning edition. The Sanskrit source remains separate from attributed word meanings, translation, explanation and commentary witnesses. Diagrams and memory aids are study tools, not replacements for the source text.
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
Look, link, cover, teach
Look
Picture inner renunciation.
Link
Use the line starts: sarva-karmāṇi manasā / nava-dvāre pure.
Cover
Hide the verse and rebuild one line at a time.
Teach
Explain the flow to another person without looking.
Circle repeated sounds, names, or grammatical endings before consulting a meaning.
Read one line aloud, cover it, and reconstruct as much as you can from memory.
Compare with a checked edition and record the source before adding any translation.
Build meaning without hiding the work
Compare renunciation of work with renunciation of attachment and examine the chapter’s account of inner freedom.
Mark forms you want to investigate
These are visual tokens, not a reviewed sandhi split. Select repeated forms, endings, compounds, particles or speaker markers; verify segmentation with the Sanskrit tools or a checked edition.
Three questions for this verse
- 1
What is renounced?
- 2
What action continues?
- 3
Which result or condition follows?
Rewrite a false action-versus-renunciation binary using this verse.
Attempt before comparison
Make revision visible
Assessment: read aloud, explain the verse’s role in its chapter, identify one source boundary, answer one question and schedule a return.
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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.
Use an authorized edition