Chapter 12, Verse 18
समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः | शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ||१२-१८||
samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ . śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅgavivarjitaḥ ||12-18||
Meaning
Swami Sivananda did not comment on this sloka
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna extends equanimity into the relationships and conditions that test us most. The dear devotee is the same toward an enemy and a friend (samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca), and the same in honour and dishonour (māna-apamānayoḥ) — neither flattered by praise nor crushed by insult. He is steady through cold and heat, pleasure and pain (śīta-uṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu), the natural dualities of embodied life.
The ground of this evenness is the closing phrase: saṅga-vivarjitaḥ, free from attachment. Because he clings to nothing as his own, the swinging pairs of opposites lose their power to disturb him. This is not indifference but a balanced openness, born of resting the heart in God rather than in the shifting conditions of the world.
💡 Key Takeaway
Stay even toward friend and foe, honour and insult, pleasure and pain, free from all attachment.
Related Verses
अर्जुन उवाच | एवं सततयुक्ता ये भक्तास्त्वां पर्युपासते | ये चाप्यक्षरमव्यक्तं तेषां के योगवित्तमाः ||१२-१||
arjuna uvāca . evaṃ satatayuktā ye bhaktāstvāṃ paryupāsate . ye cāpyakṣaramavyaktaṃ teṣāṃ ke yogavittamāḥ ||12-1||
12.1 Arjuna said Those devotees who, ever steadfast, thus worship Thee and those also who worship the imperishable and the unmanifested which of them are better versed in Yoga?
श्रीभगवानुवाच | मय्यावेश्य मनो ये मां नित्ययुक्ता उपासते | श्रद्धया परयोपेताः ते मे युक्ततमा मताः ||१२-२||
śrībhagavānuvāca . mayyāveśya mano ye māṃ nityayuktā upāsate . śraddhayā parayopetāḥ te me yuktatamā matāḥ ||12-2||
12.2 The Blessed Lord said Those who, fixing their mind on Me, worship Me, ever steadfast and endowed with supreme faith, are the best in Yoga in My opinion.
सन्नियम्येन्द्रियग्रामं सर्वत्र समबुद्धयः | ते प्राप्नुवन्ति मामेव सर्वभूतहिते रताः ||१२-४||
sanniyamyendriyagrāmaṃ sarvatra samabuddhayaḥ . te prāpnuvanti māmeva sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ ||12-4||
12.4 Having restrained all the senses, even-minded everywhere, intent on the welfare of all beings verily they also come unto Me.