Bhagavad Gita BG 14.24
Chapter 14, Verse 24 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः । तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरः तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः ॥
sama-duhkha-sukhah sva-sthah sama-loshtha-shma-kancanah tulya-priya-apriyo dhirah tulya-ninda-atma-samstuhtih
Meaning
Equal in pleasure and pain; self-reliant (sva-stha); for whom a clod, a stone, and gold are the same; equal-minded toward pleasant and unpleasant; firm; equal in blame and praise —
Understanding
A portrait of equanimity: sama-duhkha-sukhah (equal in pain and pleasure — not suppressing experience but not being thrown by either). Sva-stha (sva = self, stha = established in — literally 'one who is established in the Self, self-reliant'). Sama-loshtha-ashma-kancanah (for whom a clod of earth, a stone, and gold are the same — the conventional value-hierarchy of matter is dissolved). Tulya-priya-apriyah (equal toward pleasant and unpleasant — events, people, outcomes). Dhirah (firm, steady — the quality of the wise). Tulya-ninda-atma-samstuhtih (equal in blame and praise — neither deflated by criticism nor inflated by praise). These are not attitudes to cultivate mechanically but the natural manifestations of established witness-consciousness.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| सवस्थः | sva-sthah | self-reliant, established in the Self (sva = own Self, stha = standing) |
| लोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः | loshtha-ashma-kancanah | for whom clod, stone, and gold are the same |
| तुल्यप्रियाप्रियः | tulya-priya-apriyah | equal toward pleasant and unpleasant |
| धीरः | dhirah | firm, steady, the wise one (dhira = one whose intelligence is firm) |
| निन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः | ninda-atma-samstuhtih | equal in blame (ninda) and praise (samstuhtih) |
| सम-दुःख-सुखः | sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ | equal in suffering and happiness |
| स्व-स्थः | sva-sthaḥ | established in oneself |
| सम | sama | equal |
| लोष्ठ-अश्म-काञ्चनः | loṣṭha-aśma-kāñcanaḥ | treating clod, stone and gold the same |
| तुल्य-प्रिय-अप्रियः | tulya-priya-apriyaḥ | of equal mind in pleasant and unpleasant |
| धीरः | dhīraḥ | steady, wise |
| तुल्य-निन्दा-आत्म-संस्तुतिः | tulya-nindā-ātma-saṃstutiḥ | equal in censure and praise |
📖 Learn "Portrait of the Gunatita and the Abode of Brahman" →