Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12, Verse 19

Chapter 12 – Bhakti Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् ।
अनिकेतः स्थिरमतिर्भक्तिमान्मे प्रियो नरः ॥

Transliteration

tulyanindāstutirmaunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit .
aniketaḥ sthiramatirbhaktimānme priyo naraḥ ॥

Meaning

One to whom censure and praise are alike, who is silent, content with whatever comes, homeless, of steady mind and full of devotion, that person is dear to Me.

Word meanings

तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिः – equal in censure and praise
मौनी – silent, given to contemplation
सन्तुष्टः – content
येन केनचित् – with whatever comes
अनिकेतः – homeless, without fixed abode or attachment
स्थिरमतिः – of steady mind
भक्तिमान् – full of devotion
नरः – person
मे प्रियः – is dear to Me

Anvaya (word order)

(यः) तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिः, मौनी, येन केनचित् सन्तुष्टः, अनिकेतः, स्थिरमतिः भक्तिमान् नरः, सः मे प्रियः ।

Explanation

This verse completes the sentence with the previous one and ends on me priyo narah. Further forms of equanimity are added: evenness to censure and praise, silence, contentment with anything, absence of attachment to a dwelling, and a steady mind.

Tulya-ninda-stutih is one who finds the words of others' praise and blame alike. The previous verse's honour and dishonour at the level of conduct is carried further here: nindastuti is at the level of speech. Evenness to both means that inner peace does not rest on people's tongues. Mauni does not mean merely keeping quiet; according to Shankara it is restraint of speech and contemplation of mind. One who does not speak needlessly and keeps inwardly meditating on the Lord is the true mauni.

Yena kenachit santushtah: content with whatever comes. Whatever food, clothing or place he gets, he is glad. This is not indifference; it is gratitude and inner fullness. Aniketah: without a fixed home. Shankara takes it as the renunciant who has no fixed residence. Ramanuja says it means one free from attachment to a house. A householder too can be aniketa if living at home he is not a prisoner of the home.

Finally sthiramatih: steady-minded, fixed in the truth. This is the glimpse of the sthitaprajna described in chapter two. When all these qualities come together, he becomes a bhaktiman.

So the picture the Lord has drawn from thirteen to nineteen amounts to this: devotion is not mere sentimentality; it shows in character, peace, contentment and evenness.

Context

Verse 12.18 gave three pairs of equanimity and non-attachment. This verse completes the same sentence with censure and praise, silence, contentment, homelessness and steady mind. The last verse (12.20) sums up the glory of the whole nectar-like teaching.

Life lesson

Speaking less, being content with what comes and not clinging excessively to home and things are simple practices that steady the mind. For one who keeps them, devotion shows not in words but in life.

Key terms

मौनी: one who restrains speech and contemplates
येन केनचित् सन्तुष्ट: content with whatever happens to come
अनिकेत: homeless; without attachment to dwelling
स्थिरमति: steady in mind, fixed on the truth