This guide brings together 5 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on happy marriage and family harmony, drawn from chapters 1, 6, 9, 12 and 16.
The Gita doesn't legislate marriage, but its teachings on duty, equanimity and selfless love quietly support a steady marriage. Two people working on themselves together is the foundation it points toward.
- Verse 1 of 5Bhagavad Gita 1.40 →
कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः।
kula-kṣhaye praṇaśhyanti kula-dharmāḥ sanātanāḥ dharme naṣhṭe kulaṁ kṛitsnam adharmo ’bhibhavaty uta
In the destruction of a family, the immemorial religious rites of that family perish; on the destruction of spirituality, impiety indeed, overwhelms the whole family.
कुल का क्षय होने पर सदा से चलते आये कुलधर्म नष्ट हो जाते हैं और धर्म का नाश होनेपर (बचे हुए) सम्पूर्ण कुल को अधर्म दबा लेता है।
- Verse 2 of 5Bhagavad Gita 16.1 →
श्री भगवानुवाच
śhrī-bhagavān uvācha abhayaṁ sattva-sanśhuddhir jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ dānaṁ damaśh cha yajñaśh cha svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam
The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and yoga, almsgiving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity, and straightforwardness.
श्रीभगवान् बोले -- भयका सर्वथा अभाव; अन्तःकरणकी शुद्धि; ज्ञानके लिये योगमें दृढ़ स्थिति; सात्त्विक दान; इन्द्रियोंका दमन; यज्ञ; स्वाध्याय; कर्तव्य-पालनके लिये कष्ट सहना; शरीर-मन-वाणीकी सरलता।
- Verse 3 of 5Bhagavad Gita 12.13 →
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च।निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी॥
adveṣhṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva cha nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣhamī
He who hates no creature, is friendly and compassionate to all, is free from attachment and egoism, is balanced in pleasure and pain, and is forgiving.
सब प्राणियोंमें द्वेषभावसे रहित, सबका मित्र (प्रेमी) और दयालु, ममतारहित, अहंकाररहित, सुखदुःखकी प्राप्तिमें सम, क्षमाशील, निरन्तर सन्तुष्ट, योगी, शरीरको वशमें किये हुए, दृढ़ निश्चयवाला? मेरेमें अर्पित मनबुद्धिवाला जो मेरा भक्त है, वह मेरेको प्रिय है।
- Verse 4 of 5Bhagavad Gita 6.9 →
सुहृन्मित्रार्युदासीनमध्यस्थद्वेष्यबन्धुषु।
suhṛin-mitrāryudāsīna-madhyastha-dveṣhya-bandhuṣhu sādhuṣhvapi cha pāpeṣhu sama-buddhir viśhiṣhyate
He who is of the same mind towards the good-hearted, friends, enemies, the indifferent, the neutral, the hateful, the relatives, the righteous, and the unrighteous, excels.
सुहृद्, मित्र, वैरी, उदासीन, मध्यस्थ, द्वेष्य और सम्बन्धियोंमें तथा साधु-आचरण करनेवालोंमें और पाप-आचरण करनेवालोंमें भी समबुद्धिवाला मनुष्य श्रेष्ठ है।
- Verse 5 of 5Bhagavad Gita 9.34 →
मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु।
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaiṣhyasi yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ
Fix your mind on Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice to Me; bow down to Me; having thus united your whole self to Me, taking Me as the supreme goal, you will come to Me.
तू मेरा भक्त हो जा, मेरेमें मनवाला हो जा, मेरा पूजन करनेवाला हो जा और मेरेको नमस्कार कर। इस प्रकार मेरे साथ अपने-आपको लगाकर, मेरे परायण हुआ तू मेरेको ही प्राप्त होगा।
✦ More in Relationships ✦
✦ Frequently Asked Questions ✦
What does the Bhagavad Gita say about marriage?
Krishna teaches dharma in relationships through wider principles: do your part with care, treat your partner with the same evenness you'd want, hold goodwill that doesn't keep score, and free each other for higher growth (6.32, 12.13, 13.9).
Which Gita verses help with marriage?
Gita 12.13–14 (kindness, friendliness, equanimity), 6.32 (treat others as yourself), 13.9 (non-clinging in family life), 2.48 (samatva — equal mind in success and failure), and 16.1–3 (divine qualities in conduct) all support marital life.
How can the Gita help my marriage?
Each partner working honestly on their own equanimity does more for the marriage than working on the other does. Two steady inner lives meet far better than two reactive ones.
✦ More on Relationships ✦
✦ Authoritative sources ✦
Official sites of the scriptural traditions and publishing trusts behind the editions and commentaries cited on this page.
Bhagavad Gita — Encyclopædia Britannica
Bhagavad Gita — Encyclopædia Britannica.
Britannica →
ISKCON
ISKCON — Krishna devotional tradition in the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage.
ISKCON →
Gita Press, Gorakhpur
Publisher of the Hindi translation of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Ramsukhdas cited on this site.
Gita Press →