Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 15
Bhagavad Gītā 2.15: The same in joy and sorrow
यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ ।
समदुःखसुखं धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते ॥
yaṃ hi na vyathayantyete puruṣaṃ puruṣarṣabha
samaduḥkhasukhaṃ dhīraṃ so'mṛtatvāya kalpate
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
The steady person whom these do not disturb, O best of men, who is the same in pain and pleasure, becomes fit for immortality. It completes the thought of 2.14: enduring passing contacts with an even mind is a step toward liberation (amṛtatva), understood differently across traditions.
For children
Krishna says: “Some days are happy and some are sad. A person who stays calm and kind on both kinds of days is very strong.”
This verse follows 2.14 (“hot and cold come and go”) and says what that patience leads to.
Word by word
यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते — The one whom these do not disturb
- vyathayanti: disturb, trouble
- ete: these (heat and cold, pleasure and pain)
पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ — that person, O best of people
- puruṣa: person
- puruṣarṣabha: best among people (Arjuna)
समदुःखसुखं धीरं — steady and the same in pain and pleasure
- sama: the same, even
- duḥkha: pain, sorrow
- sukha: pleasure, joy
- dhīra: steady, wise
सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते — is ready for what never dies
- amṛtatva: immortality, freedom
- kalpate: becomes fit for
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.