SanskritGita shlokas: the steady mind
At the end of the second chapter Arjuna asks a practical question: what does a wise person look like? How does such a one sit, speak and move? Krishna's answer is a portrait of the sthitaprajna, the person "whose understanding stands firm".
The verses chosen here describe that steadiness from several sides: bearing what comes and goes (2.14), treating gain and loss alike (2.38), being unshaken in sorrow and unexcited in joy (2.56), and the famous chain that shows how brooding on a desire ends in ruin (2.62 and 2.63). The last (2.70) gives the picture to remember: the ocean, which receives every river and stays the same.
The Sanskrit text is as transcribed on Sanskrit Wikisource (copied by program on 12 November 2026), and has not yet been compared with a printed edition; please check before reciting or printing. The meanings and notes are our own plain rendering. See About.
Bhagavad Gita 2.14
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः ।
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥
mātrāsparshāstu kaunteya shītoshnasukhaduhkhadāh.
āgamāpāyino'nityāstāmstitikshasva bhārata.
Hindiहे कुंतीपुत्र, इंद्रियों और विषयों के संपर्क से सर्दी-गर्मी और सुख-दुख होते हैं। ये आते-जाते रहते हैं और टिकते नहीं। हे भारत, इन्हें सहन करो।
EnglishO son of Kunti, the contacts of the senses with their objects bring cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They come and go and do not last. Bear them, O Bharata.
NoteOne word carries the lesson: "titikshasva", endure. Cold and heat are the example; the point is every passing comfort and discomfort.
Bhagavad Gita 2.38
सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ ।
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥
sukhaduhkhe same kritvā lābhālābhau jayājayau.
tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivam pāpamavāpsyasi.
Hindiसुख-दुख, लाभ-हानि और जीत-हार को समान समझकर युद्ध के लिए तैयार हो जाओ। इस प्रकार तुम्हें पाप नहीं लगेगा।
EnglishTreating pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat alike, make ready for the battle. In this way you will incur no sin.
NoteThree pairs of opposites in one line. The battle is Arjuna's; for the reader it stands for any hard duty that has to be faced.
Bhagavad Gita 2.56
दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः ।
वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते ॥
duhkheshvanudvignamanāh sukheshu vigatasprihah.
vītarāgabhayakrodhah sthitadhīrmuniruchyate.
Hindiजिसका मन दुखों में घबराता नहीं, सुखों की जिसे लालसा नहीं, और जो राग, भय और क्रोध से मुक्त है, वह स्थिर बुद्धि वाला मुनि कहलाता है।
EnglishOne whose mind is not shaken in sorrow, who does not hanker after pleasure, and who is free from passion, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady understanding.
NotePart of the answer to Arjuna's question, "What are the marks of a person of steady wisdom (sthitaprajna)?" These verses (2.55 to 2.72) were among Mahatma Gandhi's daily readings.
Bhagavad Gita 2.62
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते ।
सङ्गात्संजायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥
dhyāyato vishayānpumsah sangasteshūpajāyate.
sangātsanjāyate kāmah kāmātkrodho'bhijāyate.
Hindiविषयों का चिंतन करते रहने से मनुष्य की उनमें आसक्ति हो जाती है। आसक्ति से कामना पैदा होती है, और कामना से क्रोध पैदा होता है।
EnglishWhen a person dwells on the objects of the senses, attachment to them arises. From attachment springs desire, and from desire comes anger.
NoteThe first half of a chain of cause and effect that continues in the next verse. Read the two together.
Bhagavad Gita 2.63
क्रोधाद्भवति संमोहः संमोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः ।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद्बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥
krodhādbhavati sammohah sammohātsmritivibhramah.
smritibhramshādbuddhināsho buddhināshātpranashyati.
Hindiक्रोध से मूढ़ता आती है, मूढ़ता से स्मृति भटक जाती है, स्मृति के नष्ट होने से बुद्धि का नाश होता है, और बुद्धि के नाश से मनुष्य का पतन हो जाता है।
EnglishFrom anger comes delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from loss of memory, the ruin of understanding; and with understanding ruined, one perishes.
NoteThe whole ladder runs: brooding, attachment, desire, anger, delusion, loss of memory, loss of judgment, ruin. It is a remarkably exact description of how a person loses control.
Bhagavad Gita 2.70
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् ।
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥
āpūryamānamachalapratishtham samudramāpah pravishanti yadvat.
tadvatkāmā yam pravishanti sarve sa shāntimāpnoti na kāmakāmī.
Hindiजैसे चारों ओर से भरते हुए भी अचल रहने वाले समुद्र में नदियों के जल समा जाते हैं, वैसे ही जिसमें सब कामनाएँ समा जाती हैं, वही शांति पाता है; कामनाओं के पीछे भागने वाला नहीं।
EnglishAs the waters enter the ocean, which is ever being filled and yet stays unmoved, so the one into whom all desires enter attains peace; not the one who runs after desires.
NoteThe image of the sea that takes in every river without overflowing. Another long-metre verse.
How to study these verses
Read the Sanskrit aloud first, slowly, using the roman line only if you need it. Then read the meaning, and go back to the Sanskrit to see which words carry it. To understand the verse word by word, follow the four steps in how to read a shloka; the case endings and the small unchanging words will do most of the work. Learning one verse a week by heart is a good pace.