Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 13, Verse 9
असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु।नित्यं च समचित्तत्वमिष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु।।
asaktir anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putra-dāra-gṛhādiṣu
nityaṁ ca sama-cittatvam iṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu
also searched as "asaktir anabhishvangah putra dara grihadishu"
Translation
Non-attachment, absence of clinging to son, wife, home, and the like, and constant even-mindedness in regard to all desirable and undesirable events;
Vāṇi's rendering
Loving without clutching — child, spouse, home; an even mind through whatever arrives, wanted or unwanted.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| असक्तिःasaktiḥ | not being stuck; absence of attachment (appears as asaktir before the next vowel) |
| अनभिष्वङ्गःanabhiṣvaṅgaḥ | no clinging, no fusing one's own self with another |
| पुत्रputra | son, child |
| दारdāra | wife, spouse |
| गृहgṛha | home, house |
| आदिषुādiṣu | and the rest of such things — in all of them |
| नित्यम्nityaṁ | constant, unbroken |
| चca | and |
| समsama | even, level |
| चित्तत्वम्cittatvam | the state of the mind; evenness of mind |
| इष्टiṣṭa | wanted, welcome |
| अनिष्टaniṣṭa | unwanted, unwelcome (iṣṭa + aniṣṭa join as iṣṭāniṣṭa) |
| उपपत्तिषुupapattiṣu | in the happenings, whatever comes to pass |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 Verse 9 mean?
It names two marks of the one ripening toward knowledge: love that does not clutch, and a mind that stays level whether the welcome or the unwelcome walks in. Krishna lists family and home deliberately — the closest ties, where clinging hides best and calls itself devotion.
What is the meaning of asaktir anabhishvangah putra dara grihadishu?
Asakti is not being stuck to things; anabhiṣvaṅga is deeper — not confusing your own being with another's. Krishna points at son, spouse, home. Not to renounce them, but to stop staking your existence on how they turn out.
Does this verse ask me to stop loving my family?
No. It asks you to stop needing them to be a certain way for you to remain whole. Clinging is not love; it is a demand wearing love's face. Remove the demand and what is left is warmer, steadier, and far less frightened.
How can anyone stay even-minded when something terrible happens?
Not by feeling nothing. Sama-cittatva is the mind that registers the blow without being relocated by it. You practise it in small weather — a delayed train, a harsh word — so that when the large weather comes, standing is already familiar to you.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna is not asking you to love less. He is naming the difference between holding and gripping. Anabhiṣvaṅga is the end of the fusion where your child's bad day becomes your ruin, where the house becomes the self and so cannot be lost. Arjuna's whole collapse is this fusion — these are my people, so I cannot act. Loosen the grip and the love remains; what leaves is the demand that they arrange your peace. Then whatever arrives, wanted or unwanted, meets the same steady mind. Tonight, hold the ones you love the way you hold water — completely, without closing your hand.