Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 54
Bhagavad Gītā 2.54: What is a steady person like?
स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव ।
स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत व्रजेत किम् ॥
sthitaprajñasya kā bhāṣā samādhisthasya keśava
sthitadhīḥ kiṃ prabhāṣeta kimāsīta vrajeta kim
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
What is the description of one of steady wisdom, established in samādhi, O Keśava? How does one of steady mind speak, how sit, how move? This is Arjuna’s question that frames the closing section of chapter 2 on the sthita-prajña, often recited on its own.
For children
Arjuna asks Krishna: “What is a really calm and wise person like? How do they talk? How do they sit? How do they walk?”
Arjuna speaks for the first time since 2.10, asking Kṛṣṇa to describe the person of steady wisdom mentioned in 2.53.
Word by word
स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा — How do you describe a person of steady wisdom
- sthitaprajña: one whose wisdom is steady
- bhāṣā: description, mark
समाधिस्थस्य केशव — who is settled in stillness, Kṛṣṇa?
- samādhistha: established in stillness
- keśava: Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)
स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत — How does such a person speak,
- sthitadhī: one of steady mind
- prabhāṣeta: would speak
किमासीत व्रजेत किम् — how do they sit, how do they walk?
- āsīta: would sit
- vrajeta: would walk, move
Arjuna 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.