Balance virtue with equanimity in public response.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
अहिंसा समता तुष्टिस्तपो दानं यशोऽयशः |भवन्ति भावा भूतानां मत्त एव पृथग्विधाः ||१०-५||
ahiṃsā samatā tuṣṭistapo dānaṃ yaśo.ayaśaḥ . bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṃ matta eva pṛthagvidhāḥ ||10-5||
Use this verse when praise or criticism affects you.
Meaning
Non-violence, equality, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and infamy, all these different states of beings arise from Me.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Virtue, discipline and life situations all exist within Krishna’s order.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna includes both praised and difficult states. The seeker learns to cultivate virtues while remaining balanced in fame and infamy. This is especially useful for creators, leaders and public-facing roles.
Read the traditional commentary
Continuing the catalogue begun in the previous verse, Krishna lists further qualities — ahiṃsā (non-violence), samatā (equanimity), tuṣṭi (contentment), tapas (austerity), dāna (giving) — and then makes the decisive statement: all these manifold states of beings (bhāvāḥ ... pṛthagvidhāḥ) arise from Me alone, matta eva.
The word matta — 'from Me' — is emphatic. The diversity of human character is not random; it is a divine outpouring. For the seeker this reframes self-improvement: cultivating virtue is not merely a private effort of willpower but an alignment with the very source from which virtue flows. When we practise non-violence or contentment, we are tuning ourselves to the divine current already running through all of creation.
In daily life
Do good without being controlled by praise or blame.
A founder must act ethically whether praised by users or criticized publicly.
Try this today
Do one good action without seeking recognition.
I choose virtue beyond praise and blame.Reflect
Do praise and blame control my choices?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘भवन्ति भावाः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on contentment, in other chapters
- Verse 2.70Peace comes not from satisfying all desires but from developing such inner fullness that desires can arise and pass without disturbing your center.
- Verse 4.22Stay content with what comes, free of comparison, and even-minded in success or failure — then no action can bind you.
- Verse 6.8True fulfillment comes from inner realization, not possessions — to the awakened, gold and a clod of earth hold equal pull.
- Verse 12.19Treat praise and blame alike, rest content and unattached, steady in mind and full of devotion.
Swipe left for 10.6 · Lineage begins in the Divine.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 10.5
Who says Bhagavad Gita 10.5, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 10.5, in Chapter 10, Vibhuti Yoga (Vibhuti Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 10.5 mean?
Non-violence, equality, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and infamy, all these different states of beings arise from Me. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 10.5 for daily life?
Do good without being controlled by praise or blame. A founder must act ethically whether praised by users or criticized publicly.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 10.5 mean?
अहिंसा — non-injury; समता — equanimity; तुष्टिः — contentment; तपः — austerity; दानं — charity / beneficence.
Where does verse 10.5 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 5 of 42 in Chapter 10, Vibhuti Yoga. The next verse is 10.6.