Sankhya Yoga · Verse 38

Bhagavad Gita 2.38

Equanimity frees action from the stain of panic and craving.

Wisdom translation, edited by Ankur Shukla. Commentary AI-drafted, human-reviewed. Reviewed June 2026. Methodology →

सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ ।
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
जयपराजय, लाभहानि और सुखदुःखको समान करके फिर युद्धमें लग जा । इस प्रकार युद्ध करनेसे तू पापको प्राप्त नहीं होगा ॥
English
Treat pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat alike. Then enter the battle; you will not incur wrongdoing.

What this verse means

Stay steady through pleasure and pain, success and failure. Act from that balance, and your action will not bind you.

Context & commentary

On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna is still frozen. Krishna pushes him one step further: do not let pleasure, pain, victory, or defeat shake your mind. From that steadiness, fight without staining yourself.

Why this verse still matters

You open the email that could end a friendship or save one. Your hands shake, but the decision still has to be made. This verse asks for balance before the next move.

The takeaway

Inner steadiness makes hard action possible without guilt or panic.

Word-by-word translation

सुखदुःखे (pleasure and pain) / समे (equal) / कृत्वा (having made) / लाभालाभौ (gain and loss) / जयाजयौ (victory and defeat) / ततः (then) / युद्धाय (for battle) / युज्यस्व (be engaged) / न (not) / एवम् (thus) / पापम् (wrongdoing) / अवाप्स्यसि (you will obtain)

Explore related themes: battlefield (20 verses), samatva (13 verses)

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