In plain words
Learn from Me, mighty-armed one, these five causes for the accomplishment of all actions, declared in the Sāṅkhya, the Vedānta, in which all action comes to its end.
Word for word
Learn from Me, O mighty-armed one, these five causes, declared in the Sāṅkhya in which action ends, for the accomplishment of all actions.
पञ्चैतानि महाबाहो कारणानि निबोध मेसाङ्ख्ये कृतान्ते प्रोक्तानि सिद्धये सर्वकर्मणाम्
Other commentaries
The commentators
▸Bhagavadgītābhāṣyam
अतः परमार्थदर्शिनः एव अशेषकर्मसंन्यासित्वं सम्भवति, अविद्याध्यारोपितत्वात् आत्मनि क्रियाकारकफलानाम् ; न तु अज्ञस्य अधिष्ठानादीनि क्रियाकर्तृकारकाणि आत्मत्वेनैव पश्यतः अशेषकर्मसंन्यासः सम्भवति तदेतत् उत्तरैः श्लोकैः दर्शयति —
पञ्च एतानि वक्ष्यमाणानि हे महाबाहो, कारणानि निर्वर्तकानि । निबोध मे मम इति उत्तरत्र चेतःसमाधानार्थम् , वस्तुवैषम्यप्रदर्शनार्थं च । तानि च कारणानि ज्ञातव्यतया स्तौति — साङ्ख्ये ज्ञातव्याः पदार्थाः सङ्ख्यायन्ते यस्मिन् शास्त्रे तत् साङ्ख्यं वेदान्तः । कृतान्ते इति तस्यैव विशेषणम् । कृतम् इति कर्म उच्यते, तस्य अन्तः परिसमाप्तिः यत्र सः कृतान्तः, कर्मान्तः इत्येतत् । ‘यावानर्थ उदपाने’(भ. गी. २ । ४६) ‘सर्वं कर्माखिलं पार्थ ज्ञाने परिसमाप्यते’(भ. गी. ४ । ३३) इति आत्मज्ञाने सञ्जाते सर्वकर्मणां निवृत्तिं दर्शयति । अतः तस्मिन् आत्मज्ञानार्थे साङ्ख्ये कृतान्ते वेदान्ते प्रोक्तानि कथितानि सिद्धये निष्पत्त्यर्थं सर्वकर्मणाम् ॥ १३ ॥
In plain words
So it is only for the one who has truly seen the ultimate truth that complete renunciation of all action becomes possible — because it is only through ignorance that action, agency, and fruit ever get superimposed onto the Self in the first place. It is not so for the ignorant person, who sees the very substratum of action, its agent, and its instruments as his own real nature; for him, complete renunciation of all action simply isn't possible. This exact distinction is what the following verses now go on to show —
These five causes I am about to name, mighty-armed one, are what actually bring everything about. 'Learn from me' is said both to settle your mind for what follows, and to show you how differently these factors weigh. He praises these causes precisely by presenting them as things worth knowing — and 'Sāṅkhya' here means the scripture in which the knowable categories of reality are enumerated: that Sāṅkhya is the Vedānta itself. 'Kṛtānta' is simply another name for that same Vedānta — 'kṛta' means action, 'anta' means its end; so kṛtānta is where action comes to its end, the end of action, put plainly. As it's said: 'whatever use a small reservoir has' (Bhagavad Gītā 2.46), and 'all action, entirely, Pārtha, culminates in knowledge' (Bhagavad Gītā 4.33) — these show that once Self-knowledge has dawned, every action simply ceases. That is why, in this Vedānta whose whole purpose is Self-knowledge — called Sāṅkhya, called kṛtānta, called Vedānta — these five causes were declared: to bring the entire project of action to its completion.
Close to the Sanskrit
Therefore, only for the seer of the ultimate truth is the state of complete renunciation of all action possible, because of the superimposition upon the Self of action, agent-factors, and fruit, by ignorance; but not for the ignorant one, who sees the substratum and the rest, action, agent, and instrumental factors, precisely as his own nature — for him, the complete renunciation of all action is not possible. This very distinction he shows by the following verses —
These five, about to be stated, O mighty-armed one, are causes, effecting factors. 'Learn from me' is said for the sake of settling the mind further on, and for the sake of showing the disparity of the topics. And those causes he praises by presenting them as things to be known — 'Sāṅkhya' is that scripture in which the knowable categories are enumerated; that Sāṅkhya is the Vedānta. 'Kṛtānta' is a qualifier of that very Vedānta. 'Kṛta' is called action; its end, completion, is where it occurs — that is kṛtānta, the end of action, this much. 'Whatever use there is in a reservoir' (Bhagavad Gītā 2|46), 'all action entirely, O Pārtha, culminates in knowledge' (Bhagavad Gītā 4|33) — thus, when Self-knowledge has arisen, he shows the cessation of all actions. Therefore, in that Vedānta whose purpose is Self-knowledge — Sāṅkhya, kṛtānta, Vedānta — they were declared, stated, for the accomplishment, for the fulfillment, of all actions.