Bhagavad Gita BG 18.26
Chapter 18, Verse 26 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
मुक्तसङ्गोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वितः । सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योर्निर्विकारः कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥
mukta-sango 'naham-vadi dhrti-utsaha-samanvitah siddhy-asiddhyor nirvikara karta sattvika ucyate
Meaning
The doer who is free from attachment (mukta-sanga), without ego-assertion (anaham-vadi), endowed with resolve and enthusiasm (dhrti-utsaha-samanvitah), and unmoved (nirvikara) by success (siddhi) or failure (asiddhi) — is called sattvic.
Understanding
The sattvic karta (doer) is identified by four qualities forming a coherent portrait of ego-free agency. Mukta-sanga (liberated from attachment — not holding onto anything through the action). Anaham-vadi (without ego-assertion — literally 'not-I-speaker': does not claim 'I did this,' does not build identity around their agency). Dhrti-utsaha-samanvitah (endowed with BOTH dhrti = resolve/steadiness AND utsaha = enthusiasm/vigor): the sattvic doer is not passive but actively engaged — resolute and enthusiastic, yet without attachment. Siddhy-asiddhyor nirvikara (unmoved between success and siddhi and failure/asiddhi — not elated by victory, not crushed by defeat). This last quality integrates all the others: the real test of freedom from attachment and ego is equanimity in the face of both outcomes.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| मुक्तसङ्गः | mukta-sangah | free from attachment (mukta = liberated/free, sanga = attachment/clinging) |
| अनहंवादी | anaham-vadi | without ego-assertion, not-I-speaker (a = not, aham = I, vadi = speaker/claimer) |
| धृत्युत्साह | dhrti-utsaha | resolve/steadiness (dhrti) and enthusiasm/vigor (utsaha) |
| निर्विकारः | nirvikarah | without change/fluctuation, unmoved (nir = without, vikara = modification/agitation) |
| सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः | siddhy-asiddhyoh | in success and failure (siddhi = success/accomplishment, asiddhi = non-success/failure) |
| मुक्त-सङ्गः | mukta-saṅgaḥ | free from attachment |
| अनहं-वादी | anahaṃ-vādī | without false ego |
| धृति | dhṛti | determination |
| उत्साह | utsāha | enthusiasm |
| समन्वितः | samanvitaḥ | endowed with |
| सिद्धि-असिद्ध्योः | siddhi-asiddhyoḥ | in success and failure |
| निर्विकारः | nirvikāraḥ | unchanged, unperturbed |
| कर्ता | kartā | doer |
| सात्त्विकः | sāttvikaḥ | in goodness |
| उच्यते | ucyate | is called |
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