Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 38
Bhagavad Gītā 2.38: Win or lose, stay even
सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ ।
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥
sukhaduḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṃ pāpamavāpsyasi
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
Treating alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, engage in battle; thus you will incur no sin. Here the ethic shifts from honour to equanimity: it is not the outcome but the attachment to it that binds. This idea leads directly into the teaching on yoga that begins in 2.39.
For children
Krishna says: “Whether you win or lose, get a prize or not, keep a calm heart. Then just do your job well.”
After appealing to duty and honour, Kṛṣṇa now gives the inner attitude with which to act: an even mind.
Word by word
सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा — Treating pleasure and pain the same
- sukha: pleasure, happiness
- duḥkha: pain, sorrow
- sama: the same, equal
- kṛtvā: having made, treating
लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ — gain and loss, winning and losing
- lābha: gain
- alābha: loss
- jaya: victory
- ajaya: defeat
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व — then get ready for the task
- yujyasva: engage yourself, get ready
नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि — and you will do no wrong
- pāpa: wrong, sin
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.