Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 1

श्री भगवानुवाच | अनाश्रितः कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति यः | स संन्यासी च योगी च न निराग्निर्न चाक्रियः ||

śrī bhagavān uvāca anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ sa saṁnyāsī ca yogī ca na nirāgnir na cākriyaḥ

The Blessed Lord said: He who performs his duty without depending on the fruits of action—he is a true renunciate and a true yogi, not he who has merely given up the sacred fire or abandoned action.

Krishna opens Chapter 6 by clarifying what true renunciation (saṁnyāsa) and yoga actually mean. Many people think renunciation means abandoning duties, rituals, or worldly action. But Krishna says: 'anāśritaḥ karma-phalam'—one who doesn't depend on fruits of action—'kāryaṁ karma karoti'—performs duty as duty. That person is both 'saṁnyāsī ca yogī ca'—true renunciate AND true yogi. The false renunciate is 'nirāgniḥ'—one who abandons sacred fire (rituals) or 'akriyaḥ'—one who abandons action. Real renunciation isn't about what you abandon externally—it's about inner detachment from results. You perform your duty (kāryaṁ karma) but don't depend on outcomes (anāśritaḥ karma-phalam). This sets up the chapter's core teaching: meditation and yoga require performing duties without attachment, not escaping from action.