The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
सुखदुःखेpleasure and painसमेequalकृत्वाhaving madeलाभालाभौgain and lossजयाजयौvictory and defeatततःthenयुद्धायfor battleयुज्यस्वbe engagedनnotएवम्thusपापम्wrongdoingअवाप्स्यसिyou will obtain
Read literallypleasure and pain · equal · having made · gain and loss · victory and defeat · then · for battle · be engaged · not · thus · wrongdoing · you will obtain
Understanding the verse
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Krishna asks Arjuna to hold pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as equal, then fight.
Stay steady through pleasure and pain, success and failure. Act from that balance, and your action will not bind you.
02
On the battlefield
Context & commentary
Krishna pushes him one step further: do not let pleasure, pain, victory, or defeat shake your mind. From that steadiness, fight without staining yourself.
03
In your life
What it looks like today
Before a cup final, a coach may tell her players to treat a win and a loss the same and just play. Krishna gives Arjuna that instruction, and says fighting in that spirit brings no wrongdoing.
The takeaway
“Inner steadiness makes hard action possible without guilt or panic.”
Stay steady through pleasure and pain, success and failure. Act from that balance, and your action will not bind you.
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 2.38?
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Which chapter of the Bhagavad Gita contains verse 2.38?
Verse 38 sits in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, "The Yoga of Knowledge". The chapter has 72 verses in total.
Why does Bhagavad Gita 2.38 matter today?
Before a cup final, a coach may tell her players to treat a win and a loss the same and just play. Krishna gives Arjuna that instruction, and says fighting in that spirit brings no wrongdoing.
Krishna asks Arjuna to hold pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as equal, then fight.
What this verse means
Stay steady through pleasure and pain, success and failure. Act from that balance, and your action will not bind you.
Context & commentary
Krishna pushes him one step further: do not let pleasure, pain, victory, or defeat shake your mind. From that steadiness, fight without staining yourself.
What it looks like today
Before a cup final, a coach may tell her players to treat a win and a loss the same and just play. Krishna gives Arjuna that instruction, and says fighting in that spirit brings no wrongdoing.
“Inner steadiness makes hard action possible without guilt or panic.”
Explore related themes: battlefield (20 verses), samatva (13 verses)