Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 56
दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः।
वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते।।
वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते।।
duḥkheṣv-anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir ucyate
also searched as "Duhkheshvanudvignamanah sukheshu vigatasprihah"
Translation
He whose mind is not perturbed by pain, who has no longing for pleasures, who is free from desire, fear, and anger—he is called a sage of firm wisdom.
Vāṇi's rendering
Unshaken by sorrow, not grasping at pleasure, free of craving, fear, and anger — that sage stands firm.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| दुःखेषुduḥkheṣu | in sorrows, in painful things (the final u becomes v before the next word) |
| अनुद्विग्नमनाःanudvigna-manāḥ | one whose mind is not agitated, not thrown into unrest |
| सुखेषुsukheṣu | in pleasures, in pleasant things |
| विगतस्पृहःvigata-spṛhaḥ | one whose grasping has gone, without hankering |
| वीतरागभयक्रोधःvīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ | one from whom craving, fear and anger have departed |
| स्थितधीःsthita-dhīḥ | steady in understanding, of settled mind (written sthita-dhīr before the next word) |
| मुनिःmuniḥ | a sage, one grown silent (written munir before the next word) |
| उच्यतेucyate | is called, is spoken of as |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 56 mean?
It describes the settled one from the outside in. Pain comes and the mind is not shaken; pleasure comes and nothing in him leans toward it. Craving, fear and anger have left. Krishna calls such a person sthita-dhīḥ — steady in understanding — and muni, quiet. Steadiness here is not hardness. It is the absence of grasping.
What does Duhkheshvanudvignamanah sukheshu vigatasprihah teach?
That the test of wisdom is not in calm weather. Duḥkha arrives; the mind simply does not run out to meet it. Sukha arrives; there is no clutching. Krishna is not asking you to stop feeling. He is describing a mind that lets both come and go without being dragged along behind them.
Why does Krishna group craving, fear and anger together?
Because they are one movement wearing three faces. Rāga leans toward, bhaya pulls away, krodha strikes against. All three are the mind refusing to stay where it is. When the leaning stops, the fearing and the striking quietly stop with it. That is why Krishna names them in a single breath.
How can I become unshaken by sorrow in daily life?
Not by suppressing sorrow. Watch the second movement — the one that follows the feeling, the argument, the plan to escape. Let the sorrow be there and refuse the running. Each time you stay put while something painful passes through, the mind learns it can survive without fleeing. That learning is what steadies.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Notice the order. Sorrow first, then pleasure — because Arjuna asked how such a person speaks and sits and walks, and Krishna answers with what does not move him. Not that sorrow stays away. It arrives; the mind does not rise to meet it. And pleasure arrives too, and the hand does not reach. Craving, fear, anger — Krishna names them together because they are one motion in three directions: toward, away, against. Remove the motion and what remains is a person still standing where he was. You have felt this steadiness for a minute or two. It is not a mood. It is what is left when the reaching stops.