Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18
Moksha Sannyasa Yoga — మోక్ష సన్యాస యోగం
78 verses · The Yoga of Liberation through Renunciation
The longest and concluding chapter. Krishna summarizes the entire Gita's teaching. He distinguishes types of renunciation (sannyasa) and abandonment (tyaga). He discusses the dharmas of the four varnas (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra) according to their nature-given qualities. He concludes with the supreme teaching — the Charama Shloka (verse 66): "Abandon all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone." Arjuna's doubts are dispelled. He chooses to fight.
Key Verse
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज — Abandon all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone.
Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja
సర్వ ధర్మాలను విడిచిపెట్టి, నన్ను మాత్రమే శరణు పొందు
Spiritual Lesson
The Charama Shloka (final supreme verse) — the entire Bhagavad Gita distilled to one verse. The path of total surrender to the Divine.
Where Chapter 18 sits in the Bhagavad Gita
Moksha Sannyasa Yoga is the 18th of the Bhagavad Gita's eighteen chapters and runs to 78 verses. It is the longest of the eighteen; the shortest are Chapter 12 and Chapter 15 at 20 verses. Its name is written మోక్ష సన్యాస యోగం in Telugu, and in English it is given as the Yoga of Liberation through Renunciation.
It follows Chapter 17, Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga, the Three Types of Faith, and closes the dialogue; after it the text returns to Sanjaya narrating on the battlefield. The eighteen chapters are one continuous conversation rather than eighteen separate readings, so a chapter read on its own carries the argument of the one before it. All eighteen chapters are listed here.
Questions about Chapter 18
How many verses are in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18?
Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyasa Yoga, has 78 verses. Chapter lengths across the Gita are uneven, and this page publishes the count for this chapter alone rather than a running total, because editions differ over how one chapter is numbered.
What does Moksha Sannyasa Yoga mean?
In English it is given as the Yoga of Liberation through Renunciation. The name is written మోక్ష సన్యాస యోగం in Telugu. Chapter names in the Gita describe what the chapter is about rather than acting as titles a reader has to decode.
Which chapter comes before and after Chapter 18?
Before: Chapter 17, Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga — The Three Types of Faith. After: Nothing comes after it — Chapter 18 is the last of the eighteen. It closes the dialogue, and the text then returns to Sanjaya narrating on the battlefield.