Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 14, Verse 23
उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते।गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येव योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते।।
udāsīna-vad āsīno guṇair yo na vicālyate
guṇā vartanta ity evaṁ yo ’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate
also searched as "udasinavad asino gunair yo na vicalyate"
Translation
He who sits like one unconcerned, undisturbed by the Gunas; who knows, 'It is the Gunas that are in motion,' and so remains unshaken;
Vāṇi's rendering
Seated as one apart, unshaken by nature's moods — knowing it is only the strands turning — he stays still.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| उदासीनवत्udāsīna-vat | like one who sits apart — a bystander with no stake in the quarrel |
| आसीनःāsīnaḥ | seated, settled (appears as āsīno before the following g-) |
| गुणैःguṇaiḥ | by the strands of nature — the moods of harmony, restlessness, and dullness |
| यःyaḥ | who (appears as yo before the following n-) |
| नna | not |
| विचाल्यतेvicālyate | is made to waver, is shaken loose |
| गुणाःguṇāḥ | the strands themselves |
| वर्तन्तेvartante | are turning, keep revolving (shortened to vartanta before iti) |
| इतिiti | thus — marking the thought he holds |
| एवम्evam | just so, in exactly this way |
| यःyaḥ | who (yo, with the following a- absorbed in sandhi) |
| अवतिष्ठतिavatiṣṭhati | stands his ground, remains where he is |
| नna | not (joined with the next word as ne-) |
| इङ्गतेiṅgate | stirs, budges, is set in motion |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14 Verse 23 mean?
It describes someone who has stopped identifying with his own moods. The guṇas — nature's three strands — keep revolving in every body, producing brightness, agitation, heaviness. He notices the revolving and does not join it. Seated as one apart, he neither fights the mood nor rides it. He simply stays.
What does the line udasinavad asino gunair yo na vicalyate teach?
That steadiness is a matter of position, not of feeling. Udāsīna-vat means like a bystander — someone with no claim in the dispute. The strands still move through him; he is not shaken by their moving. You are not asked to stop feeling. You are asked to stop treating each feeling as a verdict on you.
Is this verse telling me to become emotionally cold?
No. Coldness is itself a mood, and moods are exactly what Krishna is placing outside you. The one described here feels the whole weather and remains unmoved by it — present, not frozen. Warmth is possible precisely because he is not being blown about by whatever the strands are doing that hour.
How do I actually practise standing apart from the gunas?
Begin by naming the turning. When irritation arrives, say plainly: this is a strand moving, not a truth about my life. Do not argue with it, do not act on it, do not decorate it with reasons. Let it complete its rotation while you stay put. Repetition makes the position habitable.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Not indifference — position. The one who sits apart is not numb to heat and cold; he has simply stopped taking the weather personally. Krishna's word is udāsīna-vat: like a neutral party, one who is not a claimant in the case. The moods that rise in you — the restlessness at three in the afternoon, the heaviness after bad news, the sudden brightness — are the strands turning. They turn whether you approve or not. What changes is whether you climb aboard. Stay where you are and watch the wheel go round. The mood will finish its rotation without you. You will still be there.