Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 12, Verse 13
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च।निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी।।
adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca
nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī
also searched as "Adveshta sarva-bhutanam maitrah karuna eva cha"
Translation
He who never hates any being, who is friendly and compassionate, who is free from the feelings of "I" and "mine," who looks upon all pain and pleasure equally, and who is enduring;
Vāṇi's rendering
Hating no creature, friendly and kind to all; nothing called 'mine,' no self to parade; even in pain and pleasure; forgiving.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अद्वेष्टाadveṣṭā | one who hates no one, holding no ill will |
| सर्वभूतानाम्sarva-bhūtānāṁ | toward all beings, every creature that lives |
| मैत्रःmaitraḥ | friendly, a friend by nature |
| करुणःkaruṇa | kind, moved by another's pain (karuṇaḥ, softened before eva) |
| एवeva | indeed, truly |
| चca | and |
| निर्ममःnirmamo | without 'mine', owning nothing inwardly (nirmamaḥ before the following sound) |
| निरहङ्कारःnirahankāraḥ | without 'I', no self set up to be seen |
| समदुःखसुखःsama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ | the same in pain and in pleasure |
| क्षमीkṣamī | forgiving, able to bear and let go |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verse 13 mean?
It is Krishna's description of the one dear to him. Not a ritual, not a rank — a character. Hating nothing that breathes, friendly, kind, holding nothing as mine, parading no self, unshaken by pain or pleasure, quick to forgive. Arjuna wanted a method. He is given a mirror.
What does 'Adveshta sarva bhutanam maitrah karuna eva cha' mean?
Hating no creature, friendly and kind to all. Adveṣṭā is stated first and stated as an absence — not the effort of loving, but the enemy gone from you. Maitraḥ and karuṇaḥ follow naturally once that hostility is missing. Warmth is what remains when there is nothing to defend against.
How can anyone be free from 'I' and 'mine' while still living in the world?
Nirmama and nirahaṅkāra are not poverty or self-erasure. You keep the house, the work, the people. What loosens is the claim — the inner grip that says this belongs to me and must serve me. Loosen the claim and the same life continues, lighter, with far less to protect.
Why does forgiveness come last in this verse?
Because kṣamī is the fruit, not the effort. Forgiveness is heavy only when there is a self that was injured and an ownership that was violated. Remove those and there is little left to pardon. Krishna orders these qualities carefully — drop the claim, and forgiving stops being a struggle.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna asked which path was higher. Krishna answers with a portrait instead — not a practice, but a person. Look at what comes first: hating no creature. Not loving everyone; that can be performed. Simply the absence of the enemy in you. Then friendliness, then kindness, and only then the two hard ones — nothing called mine, no self to parade. Those two are the hinge. Where there is no mine, pain and pleasure lose their grip, and forgiveness costs nothing, because no one was standing there to be offended. Check the first quality tonight. Whose name still rises as an enemy?