A core teaching · grounding in mood · a little context helps
“Clinging fades; the mind stays level.”
Freedom from attachment to sons, wife, home, and the like; and constant evenness of mind in desired and undesired events.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallynon-attachment · no clinging · in sons, wife, home, and such · always · and · evenness of mind · in the arrival of the desired and undesired
Do not cling to family and possessions, and keep your mind steady whether things go your way or not.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga" (Field and Knower of the Field).
Verse 10 sits in Chapter 13 of the Bhagavad Gita — Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga, "Field and Knower of the Field". The chapter has 35 verses in total.
You refresh your phone after a hard conversation, hoping for reassurance, then spiral when it does not come. This verse asks for a steadier center than approval, loss, or family pressure.
Did you like this verse?
It trains you to loosen possessiveness and keep the mind balanced through gain and setback.
What this verse means
Do not cling to family and possessions, and keep your mind steady whether things go your way or not.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna is frozen by grief and moral conflict. Krishna continues listing the qualities of clear seeing: not clinging to family and home, and remaining even-minded whether life brings what is wanted or not.
Why this verse still matters
You refresh your phone after a hard conversation, hoping for reassurance, then spiral when it does not come. This verse asks for a steadier center than approval, loss, or family pressure.
“You can love without gripping. Stability grows when approval and loss stop steering your mood.”
Explore related themes: kshetra kshetrajna (10 verses)