Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 57
यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम्।
नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता।।
नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता।।
yaḥ sarvatrānabhisnehas tat tat prāpya śubhāśubham
nābhinandati na dveṣṭi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
also searched as "yah sarvatranabhisnehas tat tat prapya shubhashubham"
Translation
He who has no love on any side, who, upon finding good or evil, neither rejoices nor hates—his wisdom is firmly set.
Vāṇi's rendering
Meeting good or bad without clinging — neither celebrating one nor hating the other — such wisdom stands firm.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यःyaḥ | the one who |
| सर्वत्रsarvatra | everywhere, on every side |
| अनभिस्नेहःanabhisnehaḥ | without sticky attachment; sneha is oil, the thing that makes contact cling (sandhi: sarvatrānabhisnehas = sarvatra + anabhisnehaḥ) |
| तत् तत्tat tat | this and that, whatever comes |
| प्राप्यprāpya | having met with, having obtained |
| शुभाशुभम्śubha-aśubham | the good and the bad, fortunate or unfortunate (śubham + aśubham) |
| नna | not (sandhi: nābhinandati = na + abhinandati) |
| अभिनन्दतिabhinandati | greets with delight, celebrates |
| नna | nor |
| द्वेष्टिdveṣṭi | recoils from, hates |
| तस्यtasya | of that one |
| प्रज्ञाprajñā | clear knowing, wisdom |
| प्रतिष्ठिताpratiṣṭhitā | stands firm, is well-founded |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 57 mean?
It describes the mark of settled wisdom. Good arrives, bad arrives, and the one who is anabhisneha does not lunge at one or shove at the other. Prajñā is called pratiṣṭhitā — firmly founded — not because nothing touches such a person, but because nothing sticks.
What is the meaning of yah sarvatranabhisnehas tat tat prapya shubhashubham?
Whoever is unclinging on every side, meeting whatever comes, pleasant or unpleasant. The doubled tat tat matters: this thing, then that thing, an endless arrival. Krishna is not naming one great test but the daily traffic of fortune, and the mind that lets it pass through without gripping.
Does this verse ask me to stop loving people?
No. Sneha here is not affection but adhesion — the way we fuse ourselves to an outcome so that its loss becomes our undoing. Krishna's own tenderness toward Arjuna runs through the whole Gītā. Love freely. Just stop making your steadiness depend on how things turn out.
How can anyone not rejoice at good news?
Rejoicing is not forbidden; abhinandati is a greeting that clutches — welcoming a gain as though it were now permanently yours. You can feel gladness fully and still hold it loosely. The test is simple: when it goes, does something in you break, or does it merely leave?
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Notice the word: anabhisneha. Not coldness — sneha is the oil that makes a thing stick. Krishna is not asking Arjuna to stop feeling; he is asking him to stop adhering. Good news arrives and something in you rushes toward it, already arranging a future around it. Bad news arrives and something recoils, already braced. Both are the same motion. The steady one meets each as it comes, handles it, sets it down. You will still know the difference between fortune and ruin. What you lose is the lurch — the small violence of grabbing and pushing away that makes every day a weather report on your own heart.