A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Steadiness remains when pleasure and pain lose their grip.”
The steady-minded sage is unshaken by sorrow, free from craving in joy, and beyond attachment, fear, and anger.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyin sorrows · mind not agitated · in pleasures · free from craving · gone beyond attachment, fear, and anger · steady-minded · sage · is called
A truly steady person stays calm in hardship, does not chase pleasure, and is free from attachment, fear, and anger.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Verse 56 sits in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, "The Yoga of Knowledge". The chapter has 72 verses in total.
You get a painful message, then a flattering one, then another setback. Your mood whiplashes with each ping. This verse points to a steadier way: let events pass through without letting them seize the mind.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts attention from chasing comfort to building inner steadiness that stays intact under praise, loss, and pressure.
What this verse means
A truly steady person stays calm in hardship, does not chase pleasure, and is free from attachment, fear, and anger.
Context & commentary
On the Kurukshetra battlefield, Arjuna has asked what a person of steady understanding looks like. Krishna answers with a portrait of inner balance: the sage is not shaken by pain, does not chase pleasure, and is no longer driven by attachment, fear, or anger.
Why this verse still matters
You get a painful message, then a flattering one, then another setback. Your mood whiplashes with each ping. This verse points to a steadier way: let events pass through without letting them seize the mind.
“You do not have to be ruled by every rise and fall. Calm can remain while life changes.”
Explore related themes: sattva (26 verses), equanimity (23 verses), attachment (20 verses)