Chapter 2 · 72 verses

Sankhya Yoga: The Yoga of Knowledge

अध्याय 2 — सांख्ययोग

Krishna begins his teaching: the soul is eternal, pleasure and pain pass, and one should do one’s duty without clinging to results. He describes the person of steady wisdom.

श्रीकृष्ण उपदेश आरंभ करते हैं: आत्मा नित्य है, सुख-दुःख आते-जाते हैं, और फल की आसक्ति छोड़कर अपना कर्तव्य करना चाहिए। वे स्थिर बुद्धि वाले मनुष्य का वर्णन करते हैं।

Verse 2.1तं तथा कृपयाऽविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् …Sanjaya describes Arjuna, overcome with pity, his eyes full of tears and his heart sinking. Krishna then speaks to him.
Verse 2.2कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम् …Krishna asks Arjuna where this sudden confusion and weakness has come from at such a crucial moment. It is not how a noble person acts; it leads neither to a good life nor to honour.
Verse 2.3क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते …Do not give in to this weakness of heart; it does not become you. Cast off faint-heartedness and rise.
Verse 2.4कथं भीष्ममहं संख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन …Arjuna asks Krishna how he can shoot arrows at Bhishma and Drona in battle, when both of them deserve his deepest respect.
Verse 2.5गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान् …Arjuna says it would be better to live by begging than to kill his noble teachers. If he kills them, every pleasure he enjoys afterwards would feel stained with their blood.
Verse 2.6न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो …Arjuna admits he does not know which is better — winning or losing. The very people whose deaths would make life feel worthless are standing in front of him.
Verse 2.7कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः …Arjuna confesses that weakness and confusion have taken over his nature and he cannot tell what is right. He asks Krishna to tell him clearly what is best, saying: I am your student; I surrender to you — guide me.
Verse 2.8न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्या …Arjuna says that even ruling a rich, unrivalled kingdom on earth or lordship over the gods would not remove the grief that is drying up his senses.
Verse 2.9एवमुक्त्वा हृषीकेशं गुडाकेशः परन्तप …Sanjaya tells the king that after saying this, Arjuna declared to Krishna, "I will not fight," and fell silent.
Verse 2.10तमुवाच हृषीकेशः प्रहसन्निव भारत …Then, between the two armies, Krishna — almost smiling — spoke to the grieving Arjuna.
Verse 2.11अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे …Krishna tells Arjuna that he is grieving for those who do not deserve grief, while speaking words that sound wise. The truly wise do not mourn for the living or the dead.
Verse 2.12न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः …Krishna says there was never a time when he, Arjuna or these kings did not exist, and none of us will ever stop existing in the future.
Verse 2.13देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा …Just as the soul in this body passes through childhood, youth and old age, it also passes into another body after death. A steady person is not confused by this.
Verse 2.14मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः …Heat and cold, pleasure and pain arise when the senses meet the world. They come and go and do not last — learn to bear them patiently.
Verse 2.15यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ …A person who is not shaken by these ups and downs, who stays the same in pain and pleasure, is steady — and is ready for the freedom beyond death.
Verse 2.16नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः …What is unreal has no lasting existence, and what is real never stops existing. Those who see the truth understand the difference between the two.
Verse 2.17अविनाशि तु तद्विद्धि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् …Know that what pervades this whole world can never be destroyed. No one can bring an end to that which is imperishable.
Verse 2.18अन्तवन्त इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ताः शरीरिणः …Bodies come to an end, but the soul living in them is eternal, indestructible and beyond measure. So, Krishna tells Arjuna, stand up and fight.
Verse 2.19य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् …Anyone who thinks the soul kills, or thinks the soul is killed, does not understand. The soul neither kills nor is killed.
Verse 2.20न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि …The soul is never born and never dies. It is unborn, eternal and ancient; it is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.
Verse 2.21वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम् …Krishna asks: if someone knows the soul to be indestructible, eternal, unborn and unchanging, how can that person kill anyone, or cause anyone to be killed?
Verse 2.22वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय …Just as a person sets aside worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, the soul leaves a worn-out body and takes on a new one.
Verse 2.23नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः …Weapons cannot cut the soul, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it and wind cannot dry it.
Verse 2.24अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च …The soul cannot be cut, burned, soaked or dried. It is eternal, present everywhere, stable, unmoving and ever the same.
Verse 2.25अव्यक्तोऽयमचिन्त्योऽयमविकार्योऽयमुच्यते …The soul is said to be invisible, beyond thought and unchanging. Knowing it to be so, Krishna says, you should not grieve.
Verse 2.26अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् …Krishna adds that even if Arjuna believes the soul is constantly born and constantly dies, he still should not grieve like this.
Verse 2.27जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च …Death is certain for whoever is born, and birth is certain for whoever dies. So you should not grieve over what cannot be avoided.
Verse 2.28अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत …Beings are unseen before birth, seen during life, and unseen again after death. So why lament over this?
Verse 2.29आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति कश्चिदेन …Some see the soul as a wonder, some speak of it as a wonder, and some hear of it as a wonder — yet even after hearing, no one truly understands it.
Verse 2.30देही नित्यमवध्योऽयं देहे सर्वस्य भारत …The soul that lives in every body can never be killed. So, Krishna says, you should not grieve for any living being.
Verse 2.31स्वधर्ममपि चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि …Looking at your own duty as a warrior, too, you should not waver. For a warrior, nothing is better than a fight for what is right.
Verse 2.32यदृच्छया चोपपन्नं स्वर्गद्वारमपावृतम् …Krishna says warriors are fortunate when such a righteous battle comes to them on its own, like an open door to heaven.
Verse 2.33अथ चैत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि …But if you refuse to fight this righteous battle, you will abandon your duty and your good name, and you will be doing wrong.
Verse 2.34अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम् …People will speak of your disgrace for a long time, and for someone who has been honoured, dishonour is worse than death.
Verse 2.35भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथाः …The great warriors will think you ran from battle out of fear, and those who once held you in high regard will think little of you.
Verse 2.36अवाच्यवादांश्च बहून् वदिष्यन्ति तवाहिताः …Your enemies will say many hurtful things and mock your ability. What could be more painful than that?
Verse 2.37हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम् …If you fall in battle, you reach heaven; if you win, you enjoy the earth. So rise, Arjuna, and make up your mind to fight.
Verse 2.38सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ …Treat pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as the same, and then get ready to act. Fighting in this spirit, you will not do wrong.
Verse 2.39एषा तेऽभिहिता सांख्ये बुद्धिर्योगे त्विमां श्रृणु …Krishna says he has explained this wisdom from the point of view of knowledge. Now he will explain it in terms of yoga — the way of acting with understanding, which frees a person from the bondage of action.
Verse 2.40नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते …On this path no effort is wasted and there is no harm in trying. Even a little of this practice protects a person from great fear.
Verse 2.41व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन …On this path the mind is decided and focused on one aim. But the thoughts of the undecided branch out endlessly in many directions.
Verse 2.42यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः …Krishna warns about people with little understanding who love flowery words, take delight in the rituals of the Vedas only for their rewards, and claim there is nothing more than that.
Verse 2.43कामात्मानः स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम् …Such people are full of desires and aim for heavenly rewards. They promote many elaborate rituals that promise good birth, pleasure and power.
Verse 2.44भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां तयापहृतचेतसाम् …Those attached to pleasure and power, whose minds are carried away by such talk, cannot develop the steady, determined understanding needed for deep meditation.
Verse 2.45त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन …The Vedas deal with the three qualities of nature. Krishna asks Arjuna to rise above them — beyond pairs of opposites, grounded in truth, not worried about gaining or keeping things, and centred in the self.
Verse 2.46यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः संप्लुतोदके …When there is water flooding everywhere, a small well serves little purpose. In the same way, for one who truly knows the divine, the ritual parts of the Vedas serve only a limited purpose.
Verse 2.47कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन …Your right is to your work alone, never to its results. Do not let results be your motive, and do not cling to inaction either.
Verse 2.48योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय …Do your work steady in yoga, letting go of attachment, the same in success and failure. This evenness of mind is called yoga.
Verse 2.49दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय …Action done only for results is far lower than action guided by a clear, detached understanding. Take shelter in that understanding; those who work only for rewards are to be pitied.
Verse 2.50बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते …One who acts with this understanding lets go of both good and bad results even in this life. So commit yourself to yoga — yoga is skill in action.
Verse 2.51कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः …Wise people who act with this understanding give up attachment to the fruits of their actions. Freed from the cycle of birth, they reach a state beyond all suffering.
Verse 2.52यदा ते मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति …When your understanding crosses beyond the thick fog of confusion, you will no longer care about what you have heard or have yet to hear.
Verse 2.53श्रुतिविप्रतिपन्ना ते यदा स्थास्यति निश्चला …When your mind, no longer pulled around by conflicting teachings, stays steady and unmoving in deep focus, then you will reach yoga.
Verse 2.54स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव …Arjuna asks Krishna to describe a person of steady wisdom who is settled in deep focus: how do they speak, how do they sit, how do they move through life?
Verse 2.55प्रजहाति यदा कामान् सर्वान् पार्थ मनोगतान् …Krishna answers: when a person lets go of all the cravings that arise in the mind and is content within themselves, they are called a person of steady wisdom.
Verse 2.56दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः …One whose mind is not shaken by sorrow, who does not crave pleasure, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.
Verse 2.57यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम् …One who is not clingy about anything, who neither celebrates when good things happen nor resents bad things, has wisdom that is firmly established.
Verse 2.58यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः …Like a tortoise pulling its limbs into its shell, when a person can fully withdraw the senses from their objects, their wisdom is steady.
Verse 2.59विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः …When a person stops feeding the senses, the objects fall away, but the inner taste for them remains. Even that taste disappears once they experience the highest.
Verse 2.60यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः …Even when a wise person is trying hard, the restless senses can forcefully drag the mind away.
Verse 2.61तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः …Bringing all the senses under control, one should sit focused, with Krishna as the highest goal. One whose senses are under control has steady wisdom.
Verse 2.62ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते …Dwelling on sense objects breeds attachment; attachment breeds desire; and when desire is blocked, it turns into anger.
Verse 2.63क्रोधाद्भवति संमोहः संमोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः …Anger clouds judgement, memory falters, discernment is lost — and with it, one falls.
Verse 2.64रागद्वेषवियुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन् …But a self-disciplined person who moves among the things of the world with senses under control, free from craving and dislike, reaches inner calm.
Verse 2.65प्रसादे सर्वदुःखानां हानिरस्योपजायते …In that calm, all sorrows come to an end, and the understanding of a person with a peaceful mind quickly becomes steady.
Verse 2.66नास्ति बुद्धिरयुक्तस्य न चायुक्तस्य भावना …Without discipline there is no clear understanding and no focus. Without focus there is no peace — and without peace, how can there be happiness?
Verse 2.67इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते …When the mind follows the wandering senses, it carries away a person's wisdom, just as a strong wind blows a boat off course on the water.
Verse 2.68तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः …So, Krishna says, the one whose senses are fully held back from their objects has wisdom that is firmly established.
Verse 2.69या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी …What is night for all beings is when the self-controlled person is awake; and what others are awake to is night for the sage who truly sees.
Verse 2.70आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं …Rivers keep pouring into the ocean, yet it stays full and unmoved. In the same way, one into whom desires flow without disturbing them finds peace — not one who chases desires.
Verse 2.71विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः …A person who gives up all cravings and lives free of longing, without possessiveness and without ego, attains peace.
Verse 2.72एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति …This, Arjuna, is the state of being rooted in the divine. Reaching it, one is no longer confused, and remaining in it even at the moment of death, one attains complete freedom in the divine.