The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
योगस्थःestablished in yogaकुरुdoकर्माणिactionsसङ्गंattachmentत्यक्त्वाhaving abandonedधनञ्जयO Dhananjayaसिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योःin success and failureसमःequalभूत्वाhaving becomeसमत्वंequanimityयोगःyogaउच्यतेis called
Read literallyestablished in yoga · do · actions · attachment · having abandoned · O Dhananjaya · in success and failure · equal · having become · equanimity · yoga · is called
Understanding the verse
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Krishna defines yoga in one line: staying even-minded whether things succeed or fail.
Keep doing your duty without clinging to results. Stay steady whether things work out or not; that steady balance is yoga.
02
On the battlefield
Context & commentary
Krishna has already told Arjuna, frozen before the war, to act without craving results; now he sharpens that teaching: stay balanced in victory and defeat, because that inner evenness is the heart of yoga.
03
In your life
What it looks like today
A farmer sows with care, then watches the sky for weeks. Rain or drought, he keeps tending the field without swinging between elation and despair, and Krishna calls that evenness yoga.
The takeaway
“You can stay calm without stopping action. Inner balance makes effort cleaner and less painful.”
Keep doing your duty without clinging to results. Stay steady whether things work out or not; that steady balance is yoga.
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 2.48?
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 2.48?
Verse 48 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 2.48 matter today?
A farmer sows with care, then watches the sky for weeks. Rain or drought, he keeps tending the field without swinging between elation and despair, and Krishna calls that evenness yoga.
Krishna defines yoga in one line: staying even-minded whether things succeed or fail.
What this verse means
Keep doing your duty without clinging to results. Stay steady whether things work out or not; that steady balance is yoga.
Context & commentary
Krishna has already told Arjuna, frozen before the war, to act without craving results; now he sharpens that teaching: stay balanced in victory and defeat, because that inner evenness is the heart of yoga.
What it looks like today
A farmer sows with care, then watches the sky for weeks. Rain or drought, he keeps tending the field without swinging between elation and despair, and Krishna calls that evenness yoga.
“You can stay calm without stopping action. Inner balance makes effort cleaner and less painful.”
Explore related themes: karma yoga (55 verses), equanimity (23 verses), attachment (20 verses)