Bhagavad Gita BG 4.22
Chapter 4, Verse 22 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
यदृच्छालाभसन्तुष्टो द्वन्द्वातीतो विमत्सरः । समः सिद्धावसिद्धौ च कृत्वापि न निबध्यते ॥
yadrccha-labha-santushtah dvandvatito vimat sarah samah siddhav asiddhau ca krtvapi na nibadhyate
Meaning
Content with whatever comes by chance (without seeking), beyond the pairs of opposites, without envy, equal in success and failure — though acting, one is not bound.
Understanding
Four qualities that free the actor from bondage: (1) yadrccha-labha-santushtah — content (santushtah) with whatever comes by yadrccha (chance, without deliberate seeking — what life brings without scheming); (2) dvandvatita — beyond the dvandvas (pairs of opposites — hot-cold, honor-insult, gain-loss); (3) vimatsara — without matsara (envy — the painful comparison of one's fortune to another's); (4) samah siddhav asiddhau — equanimous (sama) in both success (siddhi) and failure (asiddhi). With these, krtvapi na nibadhyate — though acting, one is not bound.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| यदृच्छा | yadrccha | chance, what comes unsought |
| सन्तुष्टः | santushtah | content, satisfied |
| द्वन्द्वातीतः | dvandvatitah | beyond pairs of opposites |
| विमत्सरः | vimatsarah | without envy, free of jealousy |
| सिद्धौ असिद्धौ | siddhau asiddhau | in success and in failure |
| लाभ | lābha | gain / whatever comes of itself |
| समः | samāḥ | same / equal (in success and failure) |
| च | ca | and (conjunction) |
| कृत्वा | kṛtvā | having performed / after acting |
| अपि | api | even (even after acting, not bound) |
| न निबध्यते | na nibadhyate | is not bound / is not entangled |