Bhagavad-gītā 5.20
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम्। स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद्ब्रह्मणि स्थितः।।5.20।।
na prahṛiṣhyet priyaṁ prāpya nodvijet prāpya chāpriyam sthira-buddhir asammūḍho brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ
Resting in Brahman, with intellect steady, and without delusion, the knower of Brahman neither rejoiceth on receiving what is pleasant, nor grieveth on receiving what is unpleasant.
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| na | neither |
| prahṛiṣhyet | rejoice |
| priyam | the pleasant |
| prāpya | obtaining |
| na | nor |
| udvijet | become disturbed |
| prāpya | attaining |
| cha | also |
| apriyam | the unpleasant |
| sthira-buddhiḥ | steady intellect |
| asammūḍhaḥ | firmly situated |
| brahma-vit | having a firm understanding of divine knowledge |
| brahmaṇi | established in God |
| sthitaḥ | situated |
Read the Sanskrit as a connected thought built from na (neither), cha (also), and sthitaḥ (situated). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to renunciation within responsible work. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 5.20.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Compare renunciation of work with renunciation of attachment and examine the chapter’s account of inner freedom.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
Resting in Brahman, with intellect steady
- 2
without delusion, the knower of Brahman neither rejoiceth on receiving what is pleasant, nor grieveth on receiving what is unpleasant
- 3
na: neither
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 5.20, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 5.20 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 5.20 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 5.20 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 5.20, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
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