Bhagavad-gītā 6.9
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
सुहृन्मित्रार्युदासीनमध्यस्थद्वेष्यबन्धुषु। साधुष्वपि च पापेषु समबुद्धिर्विशिष्यते।।6.9।।
suhṛin-mitrāryudāsīna-madhyastha-dveṣhya-bandhuṣhu sādhuṣhvapi cha pāpeṣhu sama-buddhir viśhiṣhyate
He attains excellence who looks with equal regard upon well-wishers, friends, foes, neutrals, arbiters, the hateful, the relatives, and upon the righteous and the unrighteous alike.
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 |
|---|---|
| su-hṛit | toward the well-wishers |
| mitra | friends |
| ari | enemies |
| udāsīna | neutral persons |
| madhya-stha | mediators |
| dveṣhya | the envious |
| bandhuṣhu | relatives |
| sādhuṣhu | pious |
| api | as well as |
| cha | and |
| pāpeṣhu | the sinners |
| sama-buddhiḥ | of impartial intellect |
| viśhiṣhyate | is distinguished |
Keep the verse in view while connecting su-hṛit (toward the well-wishers), bandhuṣhu (relatives), and viśhiṣhyate (is distinguished). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to the disciplined and recollected mind. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 6.9.
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: Sequence preparation, discipline, mind, meditation, difficulty, failure and the chapter’s final comparison of yogīs.
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
He attains excellence who looks with equal regard upon well-wishers, friends, foes, neutrals, arbiters, the hateful, the relatives
- 2
upon the righteous and the unrighteous alike
- 3
su-hṛit: toward the well-wishers
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 6.9, 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 6.9 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 6.9 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 6.9 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 6.9, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
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