A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Devotion becomes steady when liking and disliking no longer rule the heart.”
One who neither rejoices, hates, grieves, nor craves, and who has given up attachment to both good and bad actions, is dear to me.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallywho · not · rejoices · not · hates · not · grieves · not · craves · one who has abandoned good-and-bad attachment · devoted · one who · that one · to me · dear
A devoted person stays free from excitement, hatred, sorrow, and craving. They do not cling to outcomes or label actions as personally theirs.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Bhakti Yoga" (The Yoga of Devotion).
Verse 17 sits in Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita — Bhakti Yoga, "The Yoga of Devotion". The chapter has 20 verses in total.
A cricket coach whose team wins on Saturday and loses on Sunday can stay the same person through both. Krishna's devotee does that: no gloating, no sulking, no craving for the next win.
Did you like this verse?
Neither rejoicing nor hating, grieving nor craving, Krishna's dear devotee has given up clinging to both good and bad actions.
What this verse means
A devoted person stays free from excitement, hatred, sorrow, and craving. They do not cling to outcomes or label actions as personally theirs.
Context & commentary
Krishna speaks on the battlefield to Arjuna, who is frozen by grief and conflict. After describing the qualities of a beloved devotee, he adds another: the person who no longer swings between liking and disliking, and who has dropped attachment to both good and bad action.
What it looks like today
A cricket coach whose team wins on Saturday and loses on Sunday can stay the same person through both. Krishna's devotee does that: no gloating, no sulking, no craving for the next win.
“Stop riding every high and low, and the mind gets room to breathe.”
Explore related themes: bhakti (69 verses), vairagya (51 verses), equanimity (23 verses)