Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 70
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं
समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत्।
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे
स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी।।
समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत्।
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे
स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी।।
āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ
samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat
tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve
sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī
also searched as "apuryamanam achala-pratishtham"
Translation
He into whom all desires enter, just as the waters enter the full and undisturbed sea, attains peace, and not he who longs after objects of desire.
Vāṇi's rendering
Rivers enter the full ocean and it stays still. So desires enter the peaceful — the craver never rests.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आपूर्यमाणम्āpūryamāṇam | being filled from every side, brimful |
| अचल-प्रतिष्ठम्acala-pratiṣṭham | standing unmoved, fixed in its own level |
| समुद्रम्samudram | into the ocean |
| आपःāpaḥ | the waters, the rivers |
| प्रविशन्तिpraviśanti | enter, pour in |
| यद्वत्yadvat | just as |
| तद्वत्tadvat | in that same way |
| कामाःkāmā | desires (final visarga dropped before the next word) |
| यम्yam | into whom |
| प्रविशन्तिpraviśanti | enter |
| सर्वेsarve | all of them |
| सःsa | he, that one |
| शान्तिम्śāntim | peace |
| आप्नोतिāpnoti | attains, comes to |
| नna | not |
| काम-कामीkāma-kāmī | one who craves the objects of craving |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 70 mean?
It means peace is not the absence of desire but the steadiness that desire cannot disturb. Rivers keep entering the ocean; the ocean does not rise, does not churn, does not chase them. Krishna says the one desires enter that way finds śānti. The kāma-kāmī — the one who wants wanting — never arrives anywhere.
What is the meaning of apuryamanam achala-pratishtham samudram apah?
Āpūryamāṇam means already brimful; acala-pratiṣṭham means standing unmoved. Together they describe an ocean receiving every river without changing its level. Krishna borrows the image for a mind: fullness first, stillness after. What enters such a mind is absorbed, not fought. That is why the verse promises peace rather than prescribing suppression.
Does this verse ask me to kill my desires?
No. Krishna never says the rivers stop. He says they enter and the ocean stays still. Desires will keep arriving in you as long as you have senses and a life. What changes is whether their arrival rearranges you. Suppression is still a reaction to desire; stillness is not.
Who is the kama-kami and why does he never find peace?
The kāma-kāmī desires desire itself — he is in love with the wanting, not the thing. Every fulfilment thins out and another appetite takes its place, so there is no level at which he can rest. He is not a bad man. He is simply a vessel too small ever to be full.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
The ocean is not empty. That is the point most readers miss — it is full, brimful, and rivers pour in all day without raising it an inch. Krishna is not describing a man who has no desires. He is describing one so full already that desire arriving changes nothing. Arjuna wants a rule for renunciation; he is given an image of capacity. The craver is the opposite: a small vessel, endlessly filling, never full, and every stream that enters disturbs the whole surface. You will not still your wants by refusing them. Become large enough that their arrival does not move you.