Chapter 14, Verse 24
समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः | तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः ||१४-२४||
samaduḥkhasukhaḥ svasthaḥ samaloṣṭāśmakāñcanaḥ . tulyapriyāpriyo dhīrastulyanindātmasaṃstutiḥ ||14-24||
Meaning
14.24 Who is the same in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, stone and gold are alike, who is the same to the dear and the unfriendly, who is firm, and to whom censure and praise are as one.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna continues the portrait with the practical equanimities of the guṇātīta. He is samaduḥkhasukha — even in pain and pleasure — and sva-stha, literally 'established in himself,' resting in his own true nature rather than in circumstances. To him a lump of clay, a stone, and a bar of gold hold equal value, for his worth does not depend on possessions. The pleasant and the unpleasant meet the same steady gaze, and praise and blame fall on him alike.
The key word is svastha — 'self-abiding,' the root of our word for health and wholeness. Because the sage's centre is within, the outer pairs of opposites lose their power to lift him up or cast him down. Most of us are pushed and pulled by gain and loss, flattery and criticism; the liberated soul has withdrawn the source of his stability from these outer things into the unshakeable Self. This is not numbness but freedom — a heart so settled in its own ground that no external tide can move it.
💡 Key Takeaway
True stability comes from being self-abiding, so that gain and loss, praise and blame, lose their power to move you.
Related Verses
रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत | रजः सत्त्वं तमश्चैव तमः सत्त्वं रजस्तथा ||१४-१०||
rajastamaścābhibhūya sattvaṃ bhavati bhārata . rajaḥ sattvaṃ tamaścaiva tamaḥ sattvaṃ rajastathā ||14-10||
14.10 Now Sattva arises (prevails), O Arjuna, having overpowered Rajas and Tamas; nor Rajas, having overpowered Sattva and Tamas; and now Tamas, having overpowered Sattva and Rajas.
गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् | जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते ||१४-२०||
guṇānetānatītya trīndehī dehasamudbhavān . janmamṛtyujarāduḥkhairvimukto.amṛtamaśnute ||14-20||
14.20 The embodied one having crossed beyond these three Gunas out of which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains to immortality.
श्रीभगवानुवाच | प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव | न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति ||१४-२२||
śrībhagavānuvāca . prakāśaṃ ca pravṛttiṃ ca mohameva ca pāṇḍava . na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati ||14-22||
14.22 The Blessed Lord said When light, activity and delusion are present, he hates them not, nor does he long for them when they are absent.