Tyāga
Tyāga · tyāga, “giving up, renunciation”
Grammar: masculine noun, from the root tyaj (to leave, to give up): “giving up”.
Meaning: renunciation; giving up desires, possessions and attachment, above all in the form of sannyāsa.
In the scriptures: when Śrī Kṛshṇa told Uddhava to give up all attachment and wander the earth, Uddhava said: “Deva! You, the treasure-house of yoga, teach yoga; you yourself are the form of yoga who gives its fruit. You have taught me tyāga in the form of sannyāsa, which gives moksha. O Ananta, you have taught the giving up of desires. For those whose minds are attached to the enjoyment of sense-objects this renunciation is very hard; in my view, for those without bhakti in you it is not possible at all” (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 7).
When Parīkshit asked how a man may escape the narakas, Śuka answered that ātma-jñāna alone is the true prāyaścitta, and named the disciplines by which sādhakas who have viveka, knowledge of dharma and śraddhā destroy even a great pāpa of mind, speech and body, as fire burns a thicket of bamboo: tapas, brahmacarya, control of the mind and of the outer senses, tyāga, satya, outer and inner śauca, and the yamas and niyamas (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 6, Chapter 1).
Related terms: Sannyāsa · Vairāgya · Kāma · Tapas · Moksha
Sources
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 6, Chapter 1; Skandha 11, Chapter 7