Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 12, Verse 16
अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्ष उदासीनो गतव्यथः।सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः।।
anapekṣaḥ śucir dakṣa udāsīno gata-vyathaḥ
sarvārambha-parityāgī yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
also searched as "anapekshah shuchir daksha udasino gatavyathah"
Translation
He who is free from desires, who is pure, expert, indifferent, and free from agony, who has renounced every undertaking—he is dear to me.
Vāṇi's rendering
Needing nothing, clean, capable, unentangled, past all anguish, claiming no scheme as his own — dear to me.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अनपेक्षःanapekṣaḥ | expecting nothing, leaning on nothing outside himself |
| शुचिःśuciḥ | clean — in body, in dealing, in motive (appears as śucir before the next word) |
| दक्षःdakṣaḥ | capable, skilled, quick to do what needs doing (appears as dakṣa before the next word) |
| उदासीनःudāsīnaḥ | sitting apart, taking no side, unentangled (appears as udāsīno before the next word) |
| गत-व्यथःgata-vyathaḥ | whose anguish has gone out of him |
| सर्व-आरम्भ-परित्यागीsarva-ārambha-parityāgī | one who claims no undertaking as his own project (sarva + ārambha joins as sarvārambha) |
| यःyaḥ | who |
| मद्-भक्तःmad-bhaktaḥ | devoted to me |
| सःsaḥ | he |
| मेme | to me |
| प्रियःpriyaḥ | dear |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verse 16 mean?
Krishna names six marks of the one he holds dear: needing nothing, clean, capable, unentangled, past anguish, and claiming no undertaking as his own. Note that dakṣa sits among them. This is not a description of withdrawal. It is skilled, ready action with the private ownership taken out of it.
What does 'anapekshah shuchir daksha udasino gatavyathah' mean?
It means: expecting nothing, clean, capable, sitting apart, anguish gone. Each word removes a weight rather than adding a virtue. Anapekṣaḥ is the root of the rest — when you stop leaning on outcomes for your standing, the cleanness and the readiness come almost by themselves.
Does renouncing every undertaking mean I should stop making plans?
No. Sarvārambha-parityāgī does not stop the work; it stops the claiming. Krishna calls the same person dakṣa, capable, in the same breath. Make the plan, do it well, and drop the part where your worth rides on it. The plan stays. The grip on it goes.
How can I be free from anguish while still doing difficult work?
Gata-vyathaḥ is not numbness. Anguish comes mostly from what you have staked — reputation, being right, the outcome arriving on time. Remove the stake and the difficulty remains but the torment does not. You will still work hard. You will simply stop bleeding into every result.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Five of these words are quiet, and one is not. Capable — dakṣa. Krishna's dear one is not vague or floating; he is good at things, quick when a thing needs doing. What he has let go of is not competence but ownership. Sarvārambha-parityāgī: he begins nothing as his private scheme. Look at how much of your effort is scheme — the plan you have staked your name on, the outcome that must arrive so you can be someone. Take the staking out and the work remains, cleaner and faster. That is what unentangled means. Not doing less. Needing less from what you do.