Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 38
सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ।
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि।।
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि।।
sukha-duḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi
also searched as "Sukha duhkhe same krtva labhalabhau jayajayau"
Translation
Holding pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as equal, gird yourself up for the battle. Thus, you shall not incur any sin.
Vāṇi's rendering
Make pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat the same — then fight. No sin will touch you.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सुखदुःखेsukha-duḥkhe | pleasure and pain (the pair) |
| समेsame | as equal, the same |
| कृत्वाkṛtvā | having made |
| लाभालाभौlābhālābhau | gain and loss (lābha + alābhau, joined by sandhi) |
| जयाजयौjayājayau | victory and defeat (jaya + ajayau, joined by sandhi) |
| ततःtataḥ | then, after that (appears as tato before y) |
| युद्धायyuddhāya | for the battle |
| युज्यस्वyujyasva | yoke yourself, gird up, engage |
| नna | not (na + evam becomes naivaṁ) |
| एवम्evam | in this way, thus |
| पापम्pāpam | sin, taint, evil |
| अवाप्स्यसिavāpsyasi | you will incur, you will come to |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 38 mean?
Krishna asks Arjuna to hold pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as one weight, and then to fight. The pairs are not denied — they are refused authority over the act. Work done that way, Krishna promises, leaves no taint behind. Sameness first, then battle.
What does 'sukha duhkhe same krtva' teach about equanimity?
Samatva here is not numbness. Pleasure still feels like pleasure. What changes is that neither half of the pair is allowed to start or stop your hand. Krishna places this evenness before the action, not after it — you steady the scale, and only then pick up the bow.
Why does Krishna say no sin will touch Arjuna in battle?
Because the residue of an act comes from the craving inside it, not from the act's noise. When gain and loss weigh the same, nothing is being grasped at, and nothing sticks. Krishna is not excusing the fight. He is describing what an unattached act leaves behind: nothing.
How do I apply Bhagavad Gita 2.38 to everyday decisions?
Notice where you are still waiting for the outcome to feel safe before you move. That waiting is the scale Krishna removes. Do the thing that is yours to do, with the pleasant and unpleasant endings set side by side at equal weight. Then act, and let the result be the result.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Notice what Krishna does not say. He does not say victory is assured, or that the pain won't come. He says make them the same — not deny the difference, but stop letting the difference decide. Arjuna's paralysis is arithmetic: he has weighed the outcomes and found every column red. Krishna removes the scale. Then fight, he says — the work is unchanged, only the weighing stops. And the promise is startling: no sin will touch you. Not because the act is small, but because an act done without craving for one half of a pair leaves no residue. You will still lose things. They will not stain you.