Liberation requires inner purification.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषाअध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामाः |द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ताः सुखदुःखसंज्ञैर्-गच्छन्त्यमूढाः पदमव्ययं तत् ||१५-५||
nirmānamohā jitasaṅgadoṣā adhyātmanityā vinivṛttakāmāḥ . dvandvairvimuktāḥ sukhaduḥkhasaṃjñaira- gacchantyamūḍhāḥ padamavyayaṃ tat ||15-5||
Use this verse as a liberation quality checklist.
Meaning
Free from pride and delusion, having conquered the fault of attachment, constant in self-knowledge, free from desires, and liberated from the dualities of pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that imperishable state.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
The imperishable state is reached by humility, detachment, self-knowledge, desire-freedom, and balance.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna gives the character profile of the liberated seeker. Pride, delusion, attachment, desire, and emotional extremes must be gradually purified.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna now paints a portrait of those who actually reach the deathless state described in the previous verse. The qualities form a clear inner checklist: nirmāna-mohā, free of pride and the delusion of ego; jita-saṅga-doṣā, having mastered the flaw of attachment; adhyātma-nityā, steadily anchored in the Self rather than the surface of life; and vinivṛtta-kāmā, with desires having genuinely fallen away rather than merely being suppressed.
The crowning trait is being dvandvair vimuktāḥ — free from the dualities of pleasure and pain. The liberated do not lurch between elation and despair as circumstances shift; they rest in an even-minded clarity. Such people are amūḍhāḥ, undeluded, and it is they who walk into the avyaya pada, the imperishable state.
The verse reminds us that liberation is not an accident but the natural fruit of a transformed inner life.
In daily life
Work on pride, attachment, desire, and emotional extremes as daily practice.
A person can track one quality daily: humility, detachment, self-knowledge, or balance.
Try this today
Choose one quality from this verse to practice today.
I walk toward the imperishable state with humility.Reflect
Which quality do I need most for liberation?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘जितसङ्गदोषाः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on freedom, in other chapters
- Verse 3.18Inner completeness means acting from fullness, not need — free from the endless calculation of what you might gain or lose.
- Verse 5.3True renunciation is freedom from craving and aversion within — not the outer abandonment of work.
- Verse 18.10When you act free of attachment, no task feels like a burden and no pleasant outcome traps you.
- Verse 16.22Free yourself from lust, anger, and greed, and the soul naturally turns toward its own highest good.
Swipe left for 15.6 · The highest light is beyond sun, moon, and fire.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 15.5
Who says Bhagavad Gita 15.5, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 15.5, in Chapter 15, Purushottama Yoga (Purushottama Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 15.5 mean?
Free from pride and delusion, having conquered the fault of attachment, constant in self-knowledge, free from desires, and liberated from the dualities of pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that imperishable state. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 15.5 for daily life?
Work on pride, attachment, desire, and emotional extremes as daily practice. A person can track one quality daily: humility, detachment, self-knowledge, or balance.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 15.5 mean?
निर्मानमोहाः — free from pride and delusion; जितसङ्गदोषाः — having conquered the evil of attachment; अध्यात्मनित्याः — ever dwelling in the Self; विनिवृत्तकामाः — with desires completely turned away; द्वन्द्वैः विमुक्ताः — freed from the pairs of opposites.
Where does verse 15.5 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 5 of 20 in Chapter 15, Purushottama Yoga. The next verse is 15.6.