Bhagavad Gita BG 12.18
Chapter 12, Verse 18 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः । शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥
samah shatrau ca mitre ca tatha mana-apamanayoh shitoshna-sukha-duhkheshu samah sanga-vivarjitah
Meaning
Equal toward enemy and friend, and in honor and dishonor, equal in cold and heat and in pleasure and pain, free from attachment —
Understanding
The verse describes equanimity (sama) across pairs of opposites: enemy and friend, honor and dishonor, cold and heat, pleasure and pain. Krishna names the source of this evenness as sanga-vivarjitah, freedom from attachment. Where there is no clinging to one side of a pair, the two sides stop pulling differently. The portrait is completed in 12.19.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| समः | samah | equal |
| शत्रौ | shatrau | toward an enemy |
| च | ca | and |
| मित्रे | mitre | toward a friend |
| तथा | tatha | likewise |
| मानापमानयोः | mana-apamanayoh | in honor and dishonor |
| शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु | shitoshna-sukha-duhkheshu | in cold and heat, pleasure and pain |
| सङ्गविवर्जितः | sanga-vivarjitah | free from attachment |