Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 5, Verse 21
बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम्।
स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते।।
स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते।।
bāhya-sparśeṣvasaktātmā vindatyātmani yat sukham
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā sukham akṣayam aśnute
also searched as "bahya-sparsheshv asaktatma vindatyatmani yat sukham"
Translation
He whose mind is detached from external contact and finds happiness in the Self—he has his mind engaged in the contemplation of Brahman and enjoys undecaying bliss.
Vāṇi's rendering
Unhooked from outer touches, one finds joy within — and joined to the eternal, that joy never runs out.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बाह्यस्पर्शेषुbāhya-sparśeṣu | in outer touches, contacts with things outside; the final u becomes v before the next word |
| असक्तात्माasakta-ātmā | one whose self is unhooked, not stuck to them |
| विन्दतिvindati | finds; the final i becomes y before ātmani |
| आत्मनिātmani | within the self |
| यत्yat | that which |
| सुखम्sukham | joy, ease |
| सःsa | he, that one |
| ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्माbrahma-yoga-yukta-ātmā | whose self is joined to the eternal |
| सुखम्sukham | joy |
| अक्षयम्akṣayam | that does not run out, undiminishing |
| अश्नुतेaśnute | tastes, comes to enjoy |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 Verse 21 mean?
It means joy taken from outside ends when the outside thing ends, and joy found within does not. Krishna is not forbidding pleasure; he is naming where each kind is stored. The one whose self rests in the eternal draws on something no departure can empty.
What does the line bahya sparsheshv asaktatma teach about pleasure?
That the trouble is not with pleasant things but with hooking your self to them. Sparśa means touch — contact that begins and therefore ends. Stay unhooked and you may still enjoy the touch; you simply stop asking it to hold a happiness it was never able to hold.
Does this verse ask me to give up enjoying life?
No. Nothing here says withdraw. Krishna says asakta — unattached — not absent. You go on eating, working, loving. What changes is the weight you hang on each of these. Take the weight off, and enjoyment gets lighter, not thinner.
What is the akshayam sukham the verse promises?
Joy that does not decay. Ordinary happiness has a shelf life because its source has one. Joined to the eternal, joy has no perishable supply behind it. Krishna calls it undiminishing not because it is more intense, but because nothing can take its source away.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Every pleasure that comes by touch ends when the touching ends. That is not a moral judgment; it is arithmetic. The sweetness of food stops at the last bite; praise stops when the room empties. Krishna is not telling Arjuna to despise these. He is pointing out where they are kept — outside, in things that leave. Unhook, and the same capacity for joy finds a source that does not pack up and go. Joined there, joy has nothing to run out of. Notice, next time delight fades, whether you are mourning the joy or only the object that carried it.