Bhagavad Gita BG 5.23
Chapter 5, Verse 23 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात् । कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः ॥
shaktnotiihaiva yah sodhum prak sharira-vimokshanat kama-krodhod-bhavam vegam sa yuktah sa sukhi narah
Meaning
One who is able to withstand right here (before death), the force born of desire and anger — that person is a yogi, that person is happy.
Understanding
The test of yoga: can you, ihaiva (right here, in this body, before death), sodhum (withstand, hold steady against) the vegam (impulse, force, surge) born of kama-krodha (desire and anger — the twin forces that most destabilize the mind). Not elimination — sodhum (withstand, endure). One who can do this is yukta (a yogi) and sukhi (happy). Kama and krodha: desire pulls the mind toward objects; krodha arises when desire is thwarted. Together they are the primary force that shatters equanimity.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| सोढुम् | sodhum | to withstand, to endure, to hold steady against |
| प्राक् | prak | before, prior to |
| कामक्रोधोद्भवम् | kama-krodhod-bhavam | arising from desire and anger |
| वेगम् | vegam | force, impulse, surge |
| सुखी | sukhi | happy, joyful, content |
| शक्नोति | śaknoti | is able / can (withstand) |
| इहैव | ihaiva | here itself / even in this very life |
| यः | yaḥ | he who / one who |
| शरीरविमोक्षणात् | śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt | before release from the body / before death |
| सः | saḥ | he (that person is a yogi) |
| युक्तः | yuktaḥ | disciplined / a yogi / established |
| नरः | naraḥ | a person / a man |