Bhakti brings freedom from emotional extremes.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
यो न हृष्यति न द्वेष्टि न शोचति न काङ्क्षति |शुभाशुभपरित्यागी भक्तिमान्यः स मे प्रियः ||१२-१७||
yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati . śubhāśubhaparityāgī bhaktimānyaḥ sa me priyaḥ ||12-17||
Use this verse when emotions feel extreme.
Meaning
One who neither rejoices excessively nor hates, neither grieves nor desires, and who renounces attachment to auspicious and inauspicious outcomes, such a devoted person is dear to Me.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
A dear devotee remains balanced beyond emotional extremes.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna is not asking for numbness. He is describing freedom from emotional slavery: not being pulled violently by gain, loss, desire, grief, liking, or aversion.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna names the four reactions through which desire and aversion bind us: rejoicing at the pleasant, hating the unpleasant, grieving over loss, craving what is absent. The dear devotee is free of all four (na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati). His happiness does not rise and fall with fortune, for it draws from a deeper, steadier source.
To renounce "good and evil" (śubha-aśubha-parityāgī) does not mean abandoning morality, but ceasing to be tossed by the agreeable and disagreeable, and acting without anxious attachment to outcomes. Crucially, this serenity is not cold detachment — it is paired with bhaktimān, full of devotion. Equanimity and love together mark the soul that is dear to God.
In daily life
Observe emotions without letting them rule action.
A person receiving praise or criticism can pause before overreacting.
Try this today
Name one emotion and wait before acting on it.
I remain steady in Krishna beyond extremes.Reflect
Which emotional extreme pulls me most?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘na hṛṣyati’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on equanimity, in other chapters
- Verse 3.30Offer your actions to the Divine, release craving and anxiety, and you can act decisively even under pressure with an untroubled heart.
- Verse 2.38Train yourself to act with full commitment while holding all outcomes — success and failure, gain and loss — with equal steadiness; that equanimity is the key to action without karmic bondage.
- Verse 5.20Meet both pleasant and unpleasant with steady composure — true stability comes from resting in what never changes.
- Verse 6.9Spiritual maturity shows in seeing the same essence in friend and foe, saint and sinner alike, without partiality.
Swipe left for 12.18 · Steadiness in opposites is mature bhakti.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 12.17
Who says Bhagavad Gita 12.17, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 12.17, in Chapter 12, Bhakti Yoga (Bhakti Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 12.17 mean?
One who neither rejoices excessively nor hates, neither grieves nor desires, and who renounces attachment to auspicious and inauspicious outcomes, such a devoted person is dear to Me. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 12.17 for daily life?
Observe emotions without letting them rule action. A person receiving praise or criticism can pause before overreacting.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 12.17 mean?
yaḥ — who; na hṛṣyati — neither rejoices (in elation); na dveṣṭi — nor hates; na śocati — nor grieves; na kāṅkṣati — nor desires.
Where does verse 12.17 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 17 of 20 in Chapter 12, Bhakti Yoga. The next verse is 12.18.