Chapter 13, Verse 10
असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु | नित्यं च समचित्तत्वमिष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु ||१३-१०||
asaktiranabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putradāragṛhādiṣu . nityaṃ ca samacittatvamiṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu ||13-10||
Meaning
13.10 Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self with son, wife, home and the rest, and constant even-mindedness on the attainment of the desirable and the undesirable.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna refines detachment into a subtle distinction. Asakti is non-attachment to outcomes, while anabhishvanga is the deeper freedom from clinging identification — not defining ourselves through our spouse, children, or home. He is not advising coldness toward loved ones; he is warning against the bondage of treating them as extensions of the ego, which breeds anxiety, possessiveness, and grief.
The crown of this teaching is sama-chittatva, constant even-mindedness amid the desirable and the undesirable as life delivers them. Fortune and misfortune both visit the field; the wise meet each with the same composed heart. This equanimity is not indifference but a stable inner ground from which one can love and act more freely, precisely because one is no longer captive to gain and loss. To hold our dearest relationships with open hands is to love them without being enslaved by fear.
💡 Key Takeaway
Love your people and possessions with open hands, keeping an even mind through both fortune and loss.
Related Verses
इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं संघातश्चेतना धृतिः | एतत्क्षेत्रं समासेन सविकारमुदाहृतम् ||१३-७||
icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ saṃghātaścetanā dhṛtiḥ . etatkṣetraṃ samāsena savikāramudāhṛtam ||13-7||
13.7 Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the aggregate (the body), intelligence, fortitude the field has thus been briefly described with its modifications.
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम् | असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च ||१३-१५||
sarvendriyaguṇābhāsaṃ sarvendriyavivarjitam . asaktaṃ sarvabhṛccaiva nirguṇaṃ guṇabhoktṛ ca ||13-15||
13.15 Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without the senses; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of alities, yet their experiencer.
उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः | परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुषः परः ||१३-२३||
upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ . paramātmeti cāpyukto dehe.asminpuruṣaḥ paraḥ ||13-23||
13.23 The Supreme Soul in this body is also called the spectator, the permitter, the supporter, the enjoyer, the great Lord and the Supreme Self.