Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 5

Chapter 15 – Purushottama Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा
अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामाः ।
द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ताः सुखदुःखसंज्ञैर्-
गच्छन्त्यमूढाः पदमव्ययं तत् ॥

Transliteration

nirmānamohā jitasaṅgadoṣā adhyātmanityā vinivṛttakāmāḥ .
dvandvairvimuktāḥ sukhaduḥkhasaṃjñaira- gacchantyamūḍhāḥ padamavyayaṃ tat ॥

Meaning

Free from pride and delusion, having conquered the fault of attachment, ever dwelling in the Self, with desires wholly turned away, and released from the pairs of opposites called pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that imperishable goal.

Word meanings

निर्मानमोहाः – free from pride and delusion
जितसङ्गदोषाः – who have conquered the evil of attachment
अध्यात्मनित्याः – constantly established in the Self
विनिवृत्तकामाः – whose desires have completely subsided
द्वन्द्वैः – from the pairs of opposites
विमुक्ताः – freed
सुखदुःखसंज्ञैः – known as pleasure and pain
गच्छन्ति – reach
अमूढाः – the undeluded, the wise
पदम् – goal, state
अव्ययम् – imperishable
तत् – that

Anvaya (word order)

निर्मानमोहाः जितसङ्गदोषाः अध्यात्मनित्याः विनिवृत्तकामाः सुखदुःखसंज्ञैः द्वन्द्वैः विमुक्ताः अमूढाः तत् अव्ययम् पदम् गच्छन्ति ।

Explanation

Verse 4 said that the supreme state must be sought; now Krishna describes those who actually arrive. It is a portrait of the traveller who has truly swung the axe of detachment. The first mark is nirmana-moha, freedom from pride and delusion. Pride inflates the ‘I’ and delusion clings to the ‘mine’; these are the thickest roots of the world-tree.

They are jita-sanga-dosha, victorious over attachment, which is itself named a fault. They are adhyatma-nitya, constantly dwelling on the Self and the nature of the Supreme. This is not merely negative renunciation but a positive abiding: the mind is drawn back from outer things and rests within. They are vinivritta-kama, those whose desires have not been suppressed but have returned home and gone quiet, as 2.59 says that even the taste for objects falls away on seeing the Supreme.

Finally, they are free from the dualities ‘known as’ pleasure and pain. The word samjnaih is subtle: these are labels, interpretations of the mind. The same event pleases one person and pains another. Whoever rises above the labels is amudha, undeluded. These marks clearly echo the qualities of the devotee in chapter 12 and of the one beyond the gunas in chapter 14.

Shankara sees here the characteristics of the renunciate devoted to knowledge, who through Self-knowledge attains the imperishable state that is Brahman. Ramanuja understands adhyatma-nitya as steady contemplation of the true nature of the self, which, joined with refuge in the Lord, carries the soul to his supreme abode. Madhva holds that these virtues blossom through the Lord’s grace and lead the seeker to Vishnu’s realm.

Context

Verse 4 spoke of seeking the supreme state and surrendering to the primeval Person. This verse lists the inner qualities of those who reach it. Verse 6 will describe that state itself as Krishna’s supreme abode, beyond sun, moon and fire.

Life lesson

Liberation is an inner transformation before it is any kind of arrival. As pride, possessiveness and craving loosen, we draw nearer to that peace. Learning to see pleasure and pain as passing labels makes life remarkably lighter.

Key terms

Nirmana-moha: free from pride and delusion
Adhyatma-nitya: ever established in the Self
Dvandva: pairs of opposites such as pleasure and pain
Amudha: undeluded, discerning