Chapter 2, Verse 54
अर्जुन उवाच । स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव । स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत व्रजेत किम् ॥
arjuna uvāca sthita-prajñasya kā bhāṣā samādhi-sthasya keśava sthita-dhīḥ kiṃ prabhāṣeta kim āsīta vrajeta kim
Meaning
Arjuna said: O Keshava, what is the description of one with steady wisdom who is established in samadhi? How does the steady-minded one speak? How does he sit? How does he walk?
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
With this verse, Arjuna asks perhaps the most practically important question in the Bhagavad Gita: What does a liberated person actually look like? The question 'kā bhāṣā' — what is the language or description — shows that Arjuna is not merely seeking abstract metaphysical information but wants recognizable, observable characteristics. He asks about speech, posture, and movement — the most concrete, embodied aspects of a person's life.
The term 'sthita-prajña' — one of steady wisdom — is introduced here for the first time and gives this entire section of the Gita its identity. 'Sthita' means stable, fixed, unmoving; 'prajña' means wisdom or insight. Together they describe someone whose inner knowing is so thoroughly integrated that it does not fluctuate with changing circumstances. This is not intellectual knowledge but the living embodiment of truth.
Arjuna's three-part question — how does he speak, sit, and walk — mirrors the three dimensions of human expression: verbal, stationary, and active. By asking about all three, he is asking: is this wisdom visible in every dimension of life? Krishna's answer in the following verses constitutes the Gita's most detailed portrait of a liberated human being, making this question and its response a timeless guide for spiritual aspiration.
💡 Key Takeaway
Arjuna's question about the sthitaprajna — how such a sage speaks, sits, and walks — opens the Gita's most detailed portrait of a liberated being.
Related Verses
भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां तयापहृतचेतसाम् । व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ न विधीयते ॥
bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṃ tayāpahṛta-cetasām | vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate ||
For those whose minds are carried away by attachment to enjoyment and power, the resolute and single-pointed intelligence cannot be established in deep meditative absorption. When the mind is fundamentally oriented toward securing pleasant experiences, it lacks the settled stillness required for genuine spiritual wisdom to arise.
दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय । बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणाः फलहेतवः ॥
dūreṇa hy avaraṃ karma buddhi-yogād dhanañjaya buddhau śaraṇam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ
O Dhananjaya, keep all inferior works far away from the yoga of intelligence. Seek refuge in divine intelligence. Those who are motivated by the fruits of their action are misers.
बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते । तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् ॥
buddhi-yukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛta-duṣkṛte tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam
One who is endowed with the yoga of intelligence abandons both good and evil deeds even in this life. Therefore, strive for yoga — yoga is skill in action.