Happiness also has a guna-quality.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
सुखं त्विदानीं त्रिविधं शृणु मे भरतर्षभ |अभ्यासाद्रमते यत्र दुःखान्तं च निगच्छति ||१८-३६||
sukhaṃ tvidānīṃ trividhaṃ śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha . abhyāsādramate yatra duḥkhāntaṃ ca nigacchati ||18-36||
Use this verse to start a happiness audit.
Meaning
Now hear from Me, O best of Bharatas, the threefold happiness in which one rejoices through practice and reaches the end of sorrow.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Krishna now explains three kinds of happiness.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
After knowledge, action, doer, intellect, and determination, Krishna turns to happiness. Not all happiness is equal; some frees, some binds, and some deludes.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna now takes up the final triad: sukha, happiness itself, also of three kinds. He introduces the highest by its signature features — it grows through abhyasa, steady practice, and it leads to duhkha-anta, the very end of sorrow.
This is a striking definition of true happiness. It is not the instant thrill of the senses but a joy that ripens with repeated practice and discipline. Real happiness, Krishna implies, is cultivated, not stumbled upon; it deepens over time and ultimately delivers one beyond suffering altogether. This reframes the whole pursuit of pleasure: lasting joy is something one trains for, like a skill, not something one merely consumes.
In daily life
Examine whether your happiness ends sorrow or creates more suffering.
A person can compare meditation, achievement, scrolling, and indulgence by their after-effects.
Try this today
Track one pleasure by its beginning, middle, and after-effect.
I choose happiness that ends sorrow.Reflect
What kind of happiness am I choosing most often?
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Quick check
What does ‘दुःखान्तं च निगच्छति’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on happiness, in other chapters
- Verse 2.66Without discipline there is no wisdom, without wisdom no contemplation, without contemplation no peace, and without peace happiness is impossible.
- Verse 6.35The restless mind can be mastered through steady practice and the gradual letting-go of attachment.
- Verse 8.8A wandering mind is steadied not by force but by patient daily practice that gradually trains it to rest in the Divine.
- Verse 9.14A devoted life is built from constant small acts of remembrance and reverence, woven steadily into the whole of one's days.
Swipe left for 18.37 · Sattvic happiness is delayed nectar.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.36
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.36, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.36, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.36 mean?
Now hear from Me, O best of Bharatas, the threefold happiness in which one rejoices through practice and reaches the end of sorrow. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.36 for daily life?
Examine whether your happiness ends sorrow or creates more suffering. A person can compare meditation, achievement, scrolling, and indulgence by their after-effects.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.36 mean?
सुखं तु — but happiness; इदानीं — now; त्रिविधं — threefold; शृणु मे — hear from Me; भरतर्षभ — O best of the Bharatas.
Where does verse 18.36 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 36 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.37.