Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 1
भगवद् गीता अध्याय 18 श्लोक 1

अर्जुन उवाच
संन्यासस्य महाबाहो तत्त्वमिच्छामि वेदितुम्।
त्यागस्य च हृषीकेश पृथक्केशिनिषूदन।।18.1।।



English Translation - Swami Gambirananda
18.1 Arjuna said  O mighty-armed Hrsikesa, O slayer of (the demon) Kesi, I want to know serverally the truth about sannyasa as also about tyaga.


English Translation of Ramanuja's Sanskrit Commentary
18.1 Arjuna said  Both Sannyasa and Tyaga as a means for release are enjoined in such Srutis:  Not by rituals, nor by progeny, nor by rituals, nor by progeny, nor by wealth but by Tyaga alone do some attain immortality ৷৷. (Ma. Na., 5.14). Ascertaining the truth about the Supreme Reality from a knowledge of Vedanta, and becoming purified in mind by the means of Sannyasa Yoga, these Yatis (ascetics), at the dissolution of their bodies, attain the Lord who is higher than the freed selves and become liberated from bondage (Man. U., 3.2.6). I want to know separately the truth, viz., whether Tyaga and Sannyasa are synonymous or not.

The import is this. Do these two terms Sannyasa and Tyaga have different meanings or do they signify the same thing?  If they signify different things, I want to know their different natures. If they are synonymous, their identical nature should be elucidated.

Then, in order to prove that the nature of both is identical and that it is such and such, the Lord explains, showing the disagreements among some disputants:


Transliteration Bhagavad Gita 18.1Arjuna Uvaacha:
Sannyaasasya mahaabaaho tattwamicchaami veditum;
Tyaagasya cha hrisheekesha prithak keshinishoodana.


Word Meanings Bhagavad Gita 18.1arjunaḥ uvācha—Arjun said; sanyāsasya—of renunciation of actions; mahā-bāho—mighty-armed one; tattvam—the truth; ichchhāmi—I wish; veditum—to understand; tyāgasya—of renunciation of desires for enjoying the fruits of actions; cha—and; hṛiṣhīkeśha—Krishna, the Lord of the senses; pṛithak—distinctively; keśhī-niṣhūdana—Krishna, the killer of the Keshi demon