Arjuna said: O mighty-armed one, I desire to know the truth of renunciation (sannyasa) and of relinquishment (tyaga) separately, O Hrishikesha, O slayer of Keshi.

Arjuna opens the final chapter with a precise philosophical question that has been implicit throughout the entire Gita: what is the difference between sannyasa — the complete renunciation of action itself — and tyaga — the relinquishment of the fruits of action? This distinction is not academic. It determines whether a person living in the world, performing duties, raising a family, fighting battles, can truly walk a spiritual path — or whether liberation requires physical withdrawal from all activity. Arjuna addresses Krishna with three names here: Mahābāhu (mighty-armed), Hrishikesha (master of the senses), and Keshinishudana (slayer of the demon Keshi). Each name is chosen with care — the question is about action and its renunciation, and it is posed to the one who is simultaneously the greatest actor in the cosmos and its supreme master.