Chapter 2 · 72 verses

साङ्ख्ययोग

Sāṅkhya Yoga

The Yoga of Knowledge / Transcendental Knowledge

Krishna begins his teaching, explaining the immortality of the soul (atma), the impermanence of the body, the duty of a warrior, and introduces karma yoga — acting without attachment to results. The chapter describes the sthitaprajna, one of steady wisdom.

Theme: The eternal soul and the path of selfless action

All Shlokas (Shloka 1–72)

72 verses

2.1
सञ्जय उवाचSanjaya said: To him, who was thus overcome with pity, despondent, with eyes full of tears and agitated, Madhusudana (the destroyer of Madhu) or Krishna spoke these words.
2.2
श्री भगवानुवाचThe Blessed Lord said, "From whence has this perilous strait come upon you, this dejection which is unworthy of you, disgraceful, and which will close the gates of heaven upon you, O Arjuna?"
2.3
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते।Do not yield to impotence, O Arjuna, son of Pritha. It does not befit you. Cast off this mean weakness of the heart! Stand up, O conqueror of foes!
2.4
अर्जुन उवाचArjuna said, "O Madhusudana, how can I fight in battle with arrows against Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of being worshipped, O destroyer of enemies?"
2.5
गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान्Better it is, indeed, in this world to accept alms than to slay the most noble teachers. But if I were to kill them, even in this world, all my enjoyments of wealth and fulfilled desires would be stained with their blood.
2.6
न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयोI can hardly tell which would be better, that we should conquer them or that they should conquer us. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, whom we do not wish to slay, stand facing us.
2.7
कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावःMy heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to my duty. I ask Thee: Tell me decisively what is good for me. I am Thy disciple; instruct me, who has taken refuge in Thee.
2.8
न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याI do not see that this sorrow that burns up my senses would be removed, even if I were to attain prosperous and unrivaled dominion on earth or lordship over the gods.
2.9
सञ्जय उवाचSanjaya said: Having spoken thus to Hrishikesha, the Lord of the senses, Arjuna, the conqueror of sleep and destroyer of foes, said, "I will not fight," and became silent.
2.10
तमुवाच हृषीकेशः प्रहसन्निव भारत।To him who was despondent in the midst of the two armies, Krishna, smiling, O Bharata, spoke these words.
2.11
श्री भगवानुवाचThe Blessed Lord said, "You have grieved for those who should not be grieved for; yet, you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead."
2.12
न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः।Nor, at any time, was I not, nor thou, nor these rulers of men; nor, verily, shall we ever cease to be hereafter.
2.13
देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा ।Just as the embodied soul passes, in this body, through childhood, youth and old age, so it passes into another body at death. The wise are not deluded by this.
2.14
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः।The contact of the senses with the objects, O son of Kunti, which causes heat and cold, pleasure and pain, has a beginning and an end; they are impermanent; endure them bravely, O Arjuna.
2.15
यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ।That firm man, whom surely these afflictions do not, O chief among men, to whom pleasure and pain are the same, is fit for attaining immortality.
2.16
नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः।The unreal has no being; there is no non-being of the real; the truth about both has been seen by the knowers of the truth (or the seers of the essence).
2.17
अविनाशि तु तद्विद्धि येन सर्वमिदं ततम्।Know that to be indestructible, by which all this is pervaded. No one can cause the destruction of that, the Imperishable.
2.18
अन्तवन्त इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ताः शरीरिणः।These bodies of the embodied Self, which are eternal, indestructible, and immeasurable, are said to have an end. Therefore, fight, O Arjuna.
2.19
य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम्।He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks it is slain, neither of them knows. It does not slay, nor is it slain.
2.20
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि-The soul is never born and never dies; nor, having once been, does it ever cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain.
2.21
वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम्।Whoever knows it to be indestructible, eternal, unborn, and inexhaustible, how can that person slay, O Arjuna, or cause to be slain?
2.22
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहायJust as a man casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so too the embodied Self casts off worn-out bodies and enters others that are new.
2.23
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।Weapons cannot cut the soul, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, and wind cannot dry it.
2.24
अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च।This Self cannot be cut, burned, wetted, nor dried up; it is eternal, all-pervasive, stable, immovable, and ancient.
2.25
अव्यक्तोऽयमचिन्त्योऽयमविकार्योऽयमुच्यते।This Self is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable, and unchangeable. Therefore, knowing this to be so, you should not grieve.
2.26
अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम्।But even if thou thinkest of It as constantly being born and constantly dying, even then, O mighty-armed one, thou shouldst not grieve.
2.27
जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च।For the born, death is certain, and for the dead, birth is certain; therefore, you should not grieve over the inevitable.
2.28
अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत।Beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their middle state, O Arjuna, and unmanifest again in their end. What is there to grieve about?
2.29
आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति कश्चिदेनOne sees this (the Self) as a wonder; another speaks of it as a wonder; another hears of it as a wonder; yet, having heard, none understands it at all.
2.30
देही नित्यमवध्योऽयं देहे सर्वस्य भारत।This indweller in the body of everyone is ever indestructible, O Arjuna; therefore, you should not grieve for any creature.
2.31
स्वधर्ममपि चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि।Further, having regard to your duty, you should not waver, for there is nothing higher for a Kshatriya than a righteous war.
2.32
यदृच्छया चोपपन्नं स्वर्गद्वारमपावृतम्।Happy are the Kshatriyas, O Arjuna! who are called to fight in such a battle that comes of its own accord as an open door to heaven.
2.33
अथ चैत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि।But if you will not fight this righteous war, then having abandoned your own duty and reputation, you will incur sin.
2.34
अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम्।People will also recount your everlasting dishonor; and for one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.
2.35
भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथाः।The great chariot-warriors will think that you have withdrawn from the battle out of fear, and you will be held in low esteem by those who have held you in high regard.
2.36
अवाच्यवादांश्च बहून् वदिष्यन्ति तवाहिताः।Your enemies, scoffing at your power, will speak many abusive words—what could be more painful than this?
2.37
हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम्।Slain, you will obtain heaven; victorious, you will enjoy the earth; therefore, stand up, O son of Kunti, resolved to fight.
2.38
सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ।Having made pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat equal, engage in battle for the sake of battle; thus, you shall not incur sin.
2.39
एषा तेऽभिहिता सांख्ये बुद्धिर्योगे त्विमां श्रृणु।This, which has been taught to you, is wisdom concerning Sankhya. Now listen to wisdom concerning Yoga, endowed with which, O Arjuna, you shall cast off the bonds of action.
2.40
नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते।In this, there is no loss of effort, nor is there any harm produced, nor any transgression. Even a little of this knowledge protects one from great fear.
2.41
व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन।Here, O joy of the Kurus, there is only one single-pointed determination; many-branched and endless are the thoughts of the indecisive.
2.42
यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः।The unwise, taking pleasure in the eulogizing words of the Vedas, utter flowery speech, saying, "There is nothing else," O Arjuna.
2.43
कामात्मानः स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम्।Full of desires, with heaven as their goal, (they speak words that are directed to ends) leading to new births as the result of their works, and prescribe various methods abounding in specific actions, for the attainment of pleasure and power.
2.44
भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां तयापहृतचेतसाम्।For those who are attached to pleasure and power, whose minds are drawn away by such teachings, their determinate reason is not formed which is steadily bent on meditation and Samadhi (superconscious state).
2.45
त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन।The Vedas deal with the three attributes; be thou above these three attributes. O Arjuna, free yourself from the pairs of opposites and ever remain in the quality of Sattva, freed from acquisition and preservation, and be established in the Self.
2.46
यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः संप्लुतोदके।To the Brahmana who has known the Self, all the Vedas are of as much use as a reservoir of water would be in a place where there is a flood.
2.47
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।You have a right to action alone, never to its fruits. Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.
2.48
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।Perform your duty established in yoga, O Dhananjaya, abandoning attachment and remaining even-minded in success and failure. Such equanimity of mind is called yoga.
2.49
दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय।Far lower than the Yoga of wisdom is action, O Arjuna. Seek thou refuge in wisdom; wretched are those whose motive is the fruit.
2.50
बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते।Endowed with wisdom and evenness of mind, one casts off in this life both good and evil deeds; therefore, devote yourself to Yoga; Yoga is skill in action.
2.51
कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः।The wise, possessing knowledge, having abandoned the fruits of their actions, and being freed from the bonds of birth, go to the place which is beyond all evil.
2.52
यदा ते मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति।When your intellect passes beyond the mire of delusion, then you will attain indifference to what has been heard and what has yet to be heard.
2.53
श्रुतिविप्रतिपन्ना ते यदा स्थास्यति निश्चला।When your intellect, which is perplexed by the Vedic texts you have read, stands immovable and steady in the Self, then you will attain Self-realization.
2.54
अर्जुन उवाचArjuna said, "O Krishna, what is the description of one who has steady wisdom and is merged in the superconscious state? How does one of steady wisdom speak, how do they sit, and how do they walk?"
2.55
श्री भगवानुवाचThe Blessed Lord said, "When a man completely casts off, O Arjuna, all the desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then he is said to be one of steady wisdom."
2.56
दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः।He whose mind is not shaken by adversity, who does not long for pleasures, and is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.
2.57
यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम्।He who is everywhere without attachment, upon encountering anything good or bad, neither rejoices nor hastens; his wisdom is firm.
2.58
यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः।When, like the tortoise which withdraws all its limbs on all sides, he withdraws his senses from the sense-objects, then his wisdom becomes steady.
2.59
विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः।The objects of the senses turn away from the abstinent man, leaving the longing behind; but his longing also turns away upon seeing the Supreme.
2.60
यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः।The turbulent senses, O Arjuna, can violently carry away the mind of a wise person, even though they are striving to control them.
2.61
तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः।Having restrained them all, he should sit steadfast, intent on Me; his wisdom is steady whose senses are under control.
2.62
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते।When one thinks of objects, attachment to them arises; from attachment, desire is born; from desire, anger arises.
2.63
क्रोधाद्भवति संमोहः संमोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः।Anger leads to delusion, which causes loss of memory; this, in turn, leads to the destruction of discrimination, resulting in destruction.
2.64
रागद्वेषवियुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन्।But the self-controlled man, moving among objects with the senses restrained and free from attraction and repulsion, attains peace.
2.65
प्रसादे सर्वदुःखानां हानिरस्योपजायते।In that peace, all pains are destroyed; for the intellect of the tranquil-minded soon becomes steady.
2.66
नास्ति बुद्धिरयुक्तस्य न चायुक्तस्य भावना।There is no knowledge of the Self for the unsteady, and no meditation is possible for the unsteady, and no peace for the unmeditative, and how can there be happiness for one who has no peace?
2.67
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते।For the mind, which follows in the wake of the wandering senses, carries away his discrimination, as the wind carries away a boat on the waters.
2.68
तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः।Therefore, O mighty-armed Arjuna, his knowledge is steady whose senses are completely restrained from sense objects.
2.69
या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी।That which is night to all beings, in that the self-controlled man is awake; when all beings are awake, that is night for the sage who sees.
2.70
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठंHe attains peace into whom all desires enter, just as waters enter the ocean which, filled from all sides, remains unmoved; but not the man who is full of desires.
2.71
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः।That person attains peace who, abandoning all desires, moves about without longing, without the sense of ownership, and without egoism.
2.72
एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति।O son of Pritha, this is the eternal state, the Brahmic seat. Attaining this, one is not deluded. Being established in it, one attains oneness with Brahman even at the end of life.

✦ Authoritative sources ✦

Official sites of the scriptural traditions and publishing trusts behind the editions and commentaries cited on this page.

The Divine Life Society (Swami Sivananda)
The Divine Life Society — institutional home of Swami Sivananda, whose English translation is cited on this site.
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Sringeri Sharada Peetham
Sringeri Sharada Peetham — the principal seat of Advaita Vedanta in the lineage of Adi Shankaracharya.
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Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math
Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math — institutional home of Swami Vivekananda's Vedanta teachings cited on this site.
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