Bhagavad Gita BG 5.20
Chapter 5, Verse 20 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम् । स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद् ब्रह्मणि स्थितः ॥
na prahrshyet priyam prapya nodvijet prapya capriyam sthira-buddhir asammudho brahma-vid brahmani sthitah
Meaning
Neither exulting on receiving the pleasant, nor shuddering on receiving the unpleasant — with steady intellect, undeluded — the knower of Brahman is established in Brahman.
Understanding
The behavioral signature of brahma-sthiti: na prahrshet priyam prapya (no elation on receiving the pleasant) and na udvijet apriyam prapya (no distress on receiving the unpleasant). Not suppression of natural feeling but the absence of the ego's desperate swing. This is sthira-buddhi (steady intellect) and asammudha (undeluded). Such a person is brahma-vid (knower of Brahman) — because only by actually knowing Brahman does this stability arise naturally.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| प्रहृष्येत् | prahrshet | exults, is elated, jumps for joy |
| उद्विजेत् | udvijet | is agitated, shudders, recoils |
| स्थिरबुद्धिः | sthira-buddhih | with steady intellect |
| असम्मूढः | asammudhah | undeluded, not confused |
| ब्रह्मविद् | brahma-vid | knower of Brahman |
| न | na | not (neither elated nor dejected) |
| प्रियम् | priyam | the pleasant / something dear |
| प्राप्य | prāpya | having obtained / upon receiving |
| च | ca | and / nor |
| अप्रियम् | apriyam | the unpleasant / something unwanted |
| ब्रह्मणि | brahmani | in Brahman / established in Brahman |
| स्थितः | sthitaḥ | established / situated / abiding |