Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 5, Verse 19
इहैव तैर्जितः सर्गो येषां साम्ये स्थितं मनः।
निर्दोषं हि समं ब्रह्म तस्माद्ब्रह्मणि ते स्थिताः।।
निर्दोषं हि समं ब्रह्म तस्माद्ब्रह्मणि ते स्थिताः।।
ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ
nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ
also searched as "ihaiva tair jitah sargo yesam samye sthitam manah"
Translation
Here itself, those whose minds rest in equanimity overcome samsara. For the Brahman (individual self), when uncontaminated by Prakriti, is the same everywhere; therefore, they abide in Brahman.
Vāṇi's rendering
Those whose minds rest in that sameness have beaten rebirth here itself — for the eternal is flawless, equal.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| इहiha | here, in this very world |
| एवeva | itself, right now (joined with iha as ihaiva) |
| तैःtaiḥ | by them |
| जितःjitaḥ | conquered, beaten |
| सर्गःsargaḥ | birth and rebirth, the whole round of coming into being |
| येषाम्yeṣām | of those whose |
| साम्येsāmye | in sameness, in evenness |
| स्थितम्sthitam | resting, settled |
| मनःmanaḥ | the mind |
| निर्दोषम्nirdoṣam | flawless, without blemish |
| हिhi | for, indeed |
| समम्samam | equal, the same everywhere |
| ब्रह्मbrahma | the eternal |
| तस्मात्tasmāt | therefore |
| ब्रह्मणिbrahmaṇi | in the eternal |
| तेte | they |
| स्थिताःsthitāḥ | are established, stand firm |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 Verse 19 mean?
It means freedom is not postponed. Krishna says the round of birth and rebirth is already conquered by those whose minds rest in sameness — ihaiva, here itself, in this body, this life. Because the eternal is flawless and equal everywhere, an even mind is already standing in it. Nothing further needs to be reached.
What does ihaiva tair jitah sargo yesam samye sthitam manah teach?
That the mind's evenness is itself the victory. Not a reward for evenness — the victory. Where the mind stops dividing the world into what it wants and what it dreads, the machinery that keeps producing birth after birth has nothing left to run on. The line puts liberation in the present tense.
Does sameness of mind mean I should stop caring about anything?
No. Sāmya is not flatness or numbness. It is the refusal to rank — to hold this as gain and that as loss, this person as worthy and that one as not. You can act with full care and still not sort the world into grades. Caring survives; the ranking is what falls away.
Why does Krishna call the eternal flawless and equal?
Because that is why evenness works. If the eternal were partial — more present here, less there — a level mind would be a distortion. Krishna says it is nirdoṣa, flawless, and samam, the same throughout. So the mind that has stopped preferring is not blunted. It has simply begun to see accurately.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Here itself — that is the sharp edge of this verse. Not after death, not in some later birth. Krishna tells Arjuna that rebirth is already beaten by the one whose mind rests in sameness, standing on a battlefield, breathing. Why should evenness do so much? Because what is being seen is flawless and equal everywhere; a mind that has stopped ranking things has already come to rest in it. Sameness is not indifference — it is accuracy. You do not have to wait for a better life to arrive. Look at the one in front of you without sorting it into better and worse.