The Supreme Lord said: The sages know sannyasa as the giving up of action motivated by desire. The wise call tyaga the relinquishment of the fruits of all actions.

Krishna opens his final discourse by defining his terms with precision. Sannyasa, as understood by the sages (kavayo), means giving up kāmya-karma — actions performed out of personal desire for specific results: the desire for wealth, pleasure, prestige, or even heaven. Tyāga, as understood by the wise (vicakṣaṇāḥ), means something broader and more radical: giving up the fruits of all actions — not just the obviously self-motivated ones, but every action, including duties performed in one's given role. These two definitions are not contradictory but complementary. Sannyasa purifies the motivation for action; tyāga purifies the relationship to results. Together they describe the inner architecture of the liberated actor — one who acts out of dharma rather than desire, and who releases outcomes to God rather than clutching them as personal property.