Chapter 2, Verse 57
यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम् । नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥
yaḥ sarvatrānabhi-snehas tat tat prāpya śubhāśubham nābhinandati na dveṣṭi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
Meaning
One who is without undue affection anywhere, who neither rejoices nor hates upon obtaining good or evil — the wisdom of such a person is firmly established.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
This verse presents one of the most elegant tests of steady wisdom: the response to good fortune and misfortune. The ordinary human pattern is predictable — we rejoice when things go well and despise or recoil from what seems unfavorable. The sthitaprajna, however, receives both with equanimity. The word 'anabhi-snehaḥ' indicates not a cold indifference but a freedom from the sticky, clingy quality of attachment that distorts our perception of events.
The verse does not say the wise person is emotionless or robotic. It says they do not 'abhinandati' — a word suggesting the gushing over-enthusiasm with which we typically greet favorable outcomes — and they do not 'dveṣṭi,' meaning actively harbor aversion or hatred toward what is unpleasant. There is a middle way between forced positivity and reactive negativity, and that middle way is the hallmark of established wisdom.
This quality of 'sarvatra anabhi-snehaḥ' — everywhere free from excessive attachment — is an inner orientation that affects every relationship and every experience. It does not mean the wise person withdraws from the world or stops caring; rather, their caring is clean, present, and unconditional, not colored by personal stakes in specific outcomes. This is the love that transcends preference — a hallmark of genuine spiritual maturity.
💡 Key Takeaway
Steady wisdom is recognized by equanimity toward both good and evil — neither grasping at the pleasant nor recoiling from the unpleasant.
Related Verses
सञ्जय उवाच | तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् | विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः ॥१॥
sañjaya uvāca | taṃ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam aśrupūrṇākulekṣaṇam | viṣīdantam idaṃ vākyam uvāca madhusūdanaḥ ||1||
Sanjaya said: To him who was thus overcome with pity and grief, whose eyes were filled with tears and who was despondent, Madhusudana (Krishna) spoke the following words.
न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद् यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् । अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् ॥२-८॥
na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād yac chokam ucchoṣaṇam indriyāṇām | avāpya bhūmāv asapatnam ṛddhaṃ rājyaṃ surāṇām api cādhipatyam ||2-8||
I do not see what will remove this grief which is drying up my senses, even if I were to obtain an unrivaled and prosperous kingdom on earth or even lordship over the gods.
तमुवाच हृषीकेशः प्रहसन्निव भारत । सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वचः ॥२-१०॥
tam uvāca hṛṣīkeśaḥ prahasann iva bhārata | senayor ubhayor madhye viṣīdantam idaṃ vacaḥ ||2-10||
O descendant of Bharata, Hrishikesha, smiling gently, spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna between the two armies.