Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 71
Bhagavad Gītā 2.71: Letting go
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः ।
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति ॥
vihāya kāmānyaḥ sarvānpumāṃścarati niḥspṛhaḥ
nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sa śāntimadhigacchati
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
The person who gives up all desires and moves about free from longing, without possessiveness and without ego, attains peace. Peace here is not something gained but what remains when craving, “mine” and “I” loosen their hold.
For children
Krishna says: “When you stop saying ‘I want, I want!’ and ‘It’s mine!’, and you don’t show off, you feel peaceful inside.”
Near the end of chapter 2, Kṛṣṇa sums up the steady person in one line: free of craving, possessiveness and ego.
Word by word
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान् — One who gives up all cravings
- vihāya: giving up
- kāma: desire, craving
- yaḥ: who
- sarva: all
पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः — and lives free from longing
- pumān: person
- carati: moves, lives
- niḥspṛha: free from longing
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः — without “mine” and without pride
- nirmama: without “mine”
- nirahaṅkāra: without pride, without ego
स शान्तिमधिगच्छति — that person reaches peace
- saḥ: that person
- śānti: peace
- adhigacchati: reaches, attains
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.