Chapter 2, Verse 48
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय | सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥४८॥
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā dhanañjaya | siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṃ yoga ucyate ||48||
Meaning
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
This verse is the practical companion to verse 47. If 47 tells us what to not do (attach to results), verse 48 tells us how to do action correctly: in a state of yoga — inner balance and equanimity.
The definition Krishna gives here is remarkable in its simplicity: 'yoga is equanimity' (samatvam yoga ucyate). We often think of yoga as a complex technical practice. But here, at the Gita's most philosophical depth, yoga is defined simply as balance — the steady, even quality of mind that is neither inflated by success nor deflated by failure.
This is not the equanimity of indifference. A person of samatva is fully engaged, brings their whole capability to the work, cares about what they are doing — but is not controlled by outcomes. The analogy is of a skilled craftsperson who brings precision and care to their work but does not stake their psychological wellbeing on whether the piece is praised or criticized.
Krishna also uses the phrase 'yoga-sthah' — 'established in yoga.' This suggests a state of being, not just a technique. Yoga is not something you do for an hour on a mat; it is a way of inhabiting your life — with steadiness, with awareness, with inner equanimity regardless of what the outer situation brings.
💡 Key Takeaway
Equanimity — being balanced in success and failure alike — is not just a nice quality; it is the very definition of yoga.
Related Verses
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते । क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ॥२-३॥
klaibyaṃ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayy upapadyate | kṣudraṃ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṃ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa ||2-3||
Do not yield to this unmanliness, O Partha. It does not befit you. Shake off this faint-heartedness and arise, O scorcher of enemies.
अर्जुन उवाच कथं भीष्ममहं सङ्ख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन । इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन ॥२-४॥
arjuna uvāca kathaṃ bhīṣmam ahaṃ saṅkhye droṇaṃ ca madhusūdana | iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāv arisūdana ||2-4||
Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, how can I counterattack with arrows in battle against Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship, O destroyer of enemies?
गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान् श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके । हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् ॥२-५॥
gurūn ahatvā hi mahānubhāvān śreyo bhoktum bhaikṣyam apīha loke | hatvārtha-kāmāṃs tu gurūn ihaiva bhuñjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān ||2-5||
It would be better to live in this world by begging than to slay these great-souled teachers. Even if they desire worldly gain, they are still my gurus, and if I kill them, every enjoyment here will be stained with their blood.