Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 48

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥

Transliteration

yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā dhanañjaya .
siddhyasiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṃ yoga ucyate ॥

Meaning

Established in yoga, O Dhananjaya, perform your actions, abandoning attachment and remaining even-minded in success and failure. This evenness of mind is called yoga.

Word meanings

योगस्थः – established in yoga
कुरु – perform
कर्माणि – actions
सङ्गम् – attachment
त्यक्त्वा – abandoning
धनञ्जय – O Dhananjaya, winner of wealth (Arjuna)
सिद्धि-असिद्ध्योः – in success and failure
समः – even, equal
भूत्वा – becoming
समत्वम् – evenness, equanimity
योगः – yoga
उच्यते – is called

Anvaya (word order)

धनञ्जय, योगस्थः (सन्) सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समः भूत्वा कर्माणि कुरु । समत्वं योगः उच्यते ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna told Arjuna how not to act — not from attachment to results, and not by abandoning action. Now He tells him how to act: ‘yogasthah kuru karmani’ — perform action established in yoga. And for the first time in the Gita He gives a clear definition of yoga: ‘samatvam yoga uchyate’ — equanimity is yoga.

The word ‘yoga’ comes from the root ‘yuj’, to join. Yoga is commonly understood as postures, breathing or meditation, but the Gita gives it a far broader meaning: a state of mind in which one remains even in success and failure, gain and loss, praise and blame. It is this evenness that joins a person to the supreme truth.

The verse contains three successive instructions. First, ‘sangam tyaktva’ — give up attachment, the feeling ‘this must come to me’, ‘this is mine’. Second, ‘siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva’ — be even in success and failure. Whether the task is completed or not, whether the outcome is favourable or not, let the balance of the mind not waver. Third, ‘yogasthah’ — be established in yoga, so that this evenness is not momentary but lasting.

Shankara explains ‘yogastha’ as being established in the attitude of acting for the Lord alone, free even from the wish ‘may the Lord be pleased with me’. The evenness of mind in both the accomplishment and non-accomplishment of an action, he says, is yoga. Ramanuja says that to remain even in victory and defeat while performing duties such as battle, acting solely as worship of the Supreme, is yoga.

It is important to understand that equanimity is not indifference. The person of equanimity acts with full enthusiasm, skill and dedication; only his mind is not stuck on the outcome. A skilled surgeon operates with complete concentration, yet free of emotional turmoil — and that is precisely why his hand is steady.

In modern life this verse is a key to mental health. One who is shattered by every failure and inflated by every success lives in constant stress. Equanimity gives the inner stability that keeps us calm and effective through life's ups and downs. This is true yoga — practised not only on a mat but in every moment of life.

Context

In 2.47 Krishna gave the principle of a right to action but not to its fruits. Here He says that acting with equanimity is itself yoga. In the next verse (2.49) He declares that action driven by desire for fruit is far inferior to buddhi-yoga.

Life lesson

Equanimity is not indifference; it is acting wholeheartedly while remaining balanced about the result. Do not swell with success or collapse in failure — that is the yoga of life.

Key terms

Yoga: equanimity; the state of mind that unites one with the supreme truth
Samatva: evenness of mind in success and failure
Yogastha: established in yoga, ever balanced
Sanga: attachment, possessiveness