True wisdom must become visible in conduct.

With this verse, Arjuna asks perhaps the most practically important question in the Bhagavad Gita: What does a liberated person actually look like? The question 'kā bhāṣā' — what is the language or description — shows that Arjuna is not merely seeking abstract metaphysical information but wants recognizable, observable characteristics. He asks about speech, posture, and movement — the most concrete, embodied aspects of a person's life.

The term 'sthita-prajña' — one of steady wisdom — is introduced here for the first time and gives this entire section of the Gita its identity. 'Sthita' means stable, fixed, unmoving; 'prajña' means wisdom or insight. Together they describe someone whose inner knowing is so thoroughly integrated that it does not fluctuate with changing circumstances. This is not intellectual knowledge but the living embodiment of truth.

Arjuna's three-part question — how does he speak, sit, and walk — mirrors the three dimensions of human expression: verbal, stationary, and active. By asking about all three, he is asking: is this wisdom visible in every dimension of life? Krishna's answer in the following verses constitutes the Gita's most detailed portrait of a liberated human being, making this question and its response a timeless guide for spiritual aspiration.