Peace comes from fullness, not endless craving.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठंसमुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् |तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वेस शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥७०॥
āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṃ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat | tadvat kāmā yaṃ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī ||70||
Use this verse when desires feel endless.
Meaning
Just as waters enter the ever-full, steady ocean without disturbing it, desires enter the steady person, who attains peace; not the one who craves desires.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Be like the ocean: full, steady, and not disturbed by incoming desires.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
This is one of the most beautiful images of inner peace. The ocean receives rivers but does not overflow in agitation. Similarly, desires may arise in a wise person, but they do not become the master. Peace belongs to the one who is inwardly full, not the one constantly chasing fulfillment outside.
Read the traditional commentary
This verse contains one of the Gita's most beautiful metaphors: the ocean that receives all rivers without being disturbed. The ocean is full and still, not because no water enters it, but because its capacity is so vast that any amount of water can enter without changing its fundamental nature.
The sthitaprajna is like this ocean. Desires arise — as they do for all beings. Experiences come. People and circumstances make demands. But the person of steady wisdom receives all of this without being destabilized, because their sense of self and contentment is not dependent on whether desires are fulfilled.
The counterpoint is 'na kama-kami' — not the one who strives to satisfy desires. The person running after desires can never find peace, because desires are infinite. One satisfied desire merely activates or reveals the next. The pursuit of peace through desire-satisfaction is like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it — technically possible for a moment, but ultimately futile as a strategy.
This is not a call to suppress desires or become inert. The ocean doesn't fight the rivers — it receives them, and continues being what it is. The wisdom is in developing such a stable center that the arising of desires no longer threatens your peace. You can be with a desire, notice it, and not be controlled by it.
In daily life
Let desires arise and pass without obeying all of them.
A person may want praise, comfort, and luxury, but can remain centered without chasing each impulse.
Try this today
When a desire arises today, say: I see you, but I choose consciously.
I am full like the ocean and steady in peace.Reflect
Can I receive desire without becoming its servant?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘समुद्रम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on contentment, in other chapters
- 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 10.5Cultivating virtues like non-violence and contentment is really aligning yourself with their Divine source.
- Verse 12.19Treat praise and blame alike, rest content and unattached, steady in mind and full of devotion.
Swipe left for 2.71 · Less mine and less me creates more peace.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 2.70
Who says Bhagavad Gita 2.70, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 2.70, in Chapter 2, Sankhya Yoga (Sankhya Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 2.70 mean?
Just as waters enter the ever-full, steady ocean without disturbing it, desires enter the steady person, who attains peace; not the one who craves desires. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 2.70 for daily life?
Let desires arise and pass without obeying all of them. A person may want praise, comfort, and luxury, but can remain centered without chasing each impulse.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 2.70 mean?
आपूर्यमाणम् — being constantly filled; समुद्रम् — the ocean; आप: — waters; प्रविशन्ति — enter; शान्तिम् — peace.
Where does verse 2.70 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 70 of 72 in Chapter 2, Sankhya Yoga. The next verse is 2.71.