Chapter 4, Verse 22
यदृच्छालाभसन्तुष्टो द्वन्द्वातीतो विमत्सरः | समः सिद्धावसिद्धौ च कृत्वापि न निबध्यते ||४-२२||
yadṛcchālābhasantuṣṭo dvandvātīto vimatsaraḥ . samaḥ siddhāvasiddhau ca kṛtvāpi na nibadhyate ||4-22||
Meaning
4.22 Content with what comes to him without effort, free from the pairs of opposites and envy, even-minded in success and failure, though acting, he is not bound.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna deepens the portrait of the free soul with practical, recognizable traits. He is content with yadṛcchā-lābha — whatever comes unsought, of its own accord — rather than restlessly chasing more. He has risen above the dvandvas, the pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain, gain and loss, that keep most minds swinging. And he is vimatsara — free of the corroding envy that compares and resents.
Most telling is samaḥ siddhāv asiddhau ca — equanimity in success and failure alike. Because his peace is not pinned to outcomes, neither triumph elates nor defeat crushes him. Such a person, kṛtvā api na nibadhyate — even while acting, is never bound. This is the lived signature of freedom: not withdrawal from life's events, but a steady inner balance that no external swing can disturb.
💡 Key Takeaway
Stay content with what comes, free of comparison, and even-minded in success or failure — then no action can bind you.
Related Verses
वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिताः | बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागताः ||४-१०||
vītarāgabhayakrodhā manmayā māmupāśritāḥ . bahavo jñānatapasā pūtā madbhāvamāgatāḥ ||4-10||
4.10 Freed from attachment, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the fire of knowledge, many have attained to My Being.
न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्मफले स्पृहा | इति मां योऽभिजानाति कर्मभिर्न स बध्यते ||४-१४||
na māṃ karmāṇi limpanti na me karmaphale spṛhā . iti māṃ yo.abhijānāti karmabhirna sa badhyate ||4-14||
4.14 Actions do not taint Me, nor have I a desire for the fruit of actions. He who knows Me thus is not bound by actions.
यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः | ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पण्डितं बुधाः ||४-१९||
yasya sarve samārambhāḥ kāmasaṅkalpavarjitāḥ . jñānāgnidagdhakarmāṇaṃ tamāhuḥ paṇḍitaṃ budhāḥ ||4-19||
4.19 He whose undertakings are all devoid of desires and (selfish) purposes and whose actions have been burnt by the fire of knowledge, him the wise call a sage.