यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत् ।यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम् ॥
yajñadānatapaḥkarma na tyājyaṃ kāryam eva tat |yajño dānaṃ tapaś caiva pāvanāni manīṣiṇām ||
- यज्ञदानतपःकर्म · yajñadānatapaḥkarma
- acts of sacrifice, giving, and austerity
- न · na
- not
- त्याज्यम् · tyājyam
- to be abandoned
- कार्यम् · kāryam
- to be performed
- एव · eva
- indeed, certainly
- तत् · tat
- that
- यज्ञः · yajñaḥ
- sacrifice
- दानम् · dānam
- giving, charity
- तपः · tapaḥ
- austerity
- पावनानि · pāvanāni
- purifiers
- मनीषिणाम् · manīṣiṇām
- of the wise
“Acts of sacrifice, giving, and austerity are not to be abandoned — they must indeed be performed, for sacrifice, giving, and austerity purify even the wise.”
— Original plain-language translation
Krishna sides with the second school of 18.3: the purifying disciplines stay. Even the advanced need practices that cleanse self-interest — renunciation never means abandoning what purifies. Compare 4.28–4.30, where many forms of sacrifice are praised as paths to knowledge.
— Reader's notes (original)