Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 12, Verse 19
तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येनकेनचित्।अनिकेतः स्थिरमतिर्भक्तिमान्मे प्रियो नरः।।
tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit
aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ
also searched as "tulya nindastutir mauni santushto yena kenachit"
Translation
He who regards both blame and praise alike, who is silent and content with any lot, who has no home, who is firm of mind, and who is devoted to Me - such a man is dear to Me.
Vāṇi's rendering
Even under blame or praise, quiet, content with whatever comes, at home nowhere and everywhere, steady, loving — dear to me.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिःtulya-nindā-stutiḥ | for whom blame and praise weigh the same (appears as stutir before maunī by sandhi) |
| मौनीmaunī | quiet; one who keeps silence |
| सन्तुष्टःsantuṣṭaḥ | content, satisfied (written santuṣṭo before yena) |
| येनyena | by whatever |
| केनचित्kenacit | anything at all — whatever happens to come |
| अनिकेतःaniketaḥ | without a fixed dwelling; not needing one place to be himself |
| स्थिरमतिःsthira-matiḥ | steady in mind (written sthira-matir before bhaktimān) |
| भक्तिमान्bhaktimān | full of love, devoted |
| मेme | to me |
| प्रियःpriyaḥ | dear (written priyo before naraḥ) |
| नरःnaraḥ | the person, such a man |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verse 19 mean?
Krishna finishes his portrait of the one he holds dear. Such a person takes blame and praise as the same weather, keeps quiet, is content with whatever arrives, needs no fixed place to feel like himself, holds a steady mind, and loves. Six marks, and the last one carries the other five.
What does 'tulya nindastutir mauni santushto yena kenachit' mean?
It means: equal under blame and praise, silent, content with anything whatever. Krishna is not describing a stone. He is describing someone whose sense of himself no longer depends on the report card other people hand him, and who therefore has nothing urgent to say in his own defence.
Does aniketah mean I must give up my home?
Not the house. The clinging. Aniketaḥ names one who is not made or unmade by a place — who can be moved, and remains the same person. You may keep the address. What Krishna asks is that your steadiness not be stored in the furniture, so that a change of room is not a change of self.
How can anyone honestly be indifferent to praise and blame?
Not by pretending they don't land. They land. What changes is what they land on. When your worth is not on loan from the last opinion you heard, praise stops inflating and blame stops deciding. Krishna puts bhaktimān last for a reason: love of him is what makes the ground under you unborrowed.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Count what has been let go here. The verdict of others, first — blame and praise both arrive, and neither one moves him. Then the running commentary: he is maunī, quiet, because there is nothing left to argue. Then the terms and conditions of contentment — whatever comes, comes. And last, aniketaḥ, no fixed address, nothing he must return to in order to be himself. Strip all that away and something remains: love, steady, aimed at Krishna. That is the man Krishna calls dear. You will know the loosening not when praise stops coming, but when it stops arranging your day.