समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः । तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस् तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः ॥
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ sva-sthaḥ sama-loṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ | tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras tulya-nindātma-saṃstutiḥ ||
Equal in pleasure-pain, clod-stone-gold, agreeable-disagreeable, censure-praise — the guṇātīta abides in self.
Word by word (3)
- sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ sva-sthaḥ sama-loṣṭa-aśma-kāñcanaḥ
- — equal in pain and pleasure (sama-duḥkha-sukha), abiding in the Self (sva-stha = self-established), equal to a clod of earth (loṣṭa), stone (aśma), and gold (kāñcana)
- tulya-priya-apriyo dhīraḥ
- — equal to the agreeable (priya) and disagreeable (apriya), the wise/firm one (dhīra = steady, resolute)
- tulya-nindā-ātma-saṃstutiḥ
- — equal in censure (nindā) and self-praise/laudation (saṃstuti) — the same inner state whether criticized or celebrated
Equal in pleasure and pain; self-established (abiding in the Self); equal to a clod of earth, stone, and gold; equal to agreeable and disagreeable; firm and wise; the same in censure and self-praise.
A modern analogy
Gold and clay both return to the earth eventually. Praise and blame are both sounds passing through the air. The guṇātīta sees through the overlay of value that the mind projects — dirt is dirt, gold is gold, but NEITHER defines who you are. This is sva-stha: at home in the Self, not in external valuations.
V24 expands the guṇātīta portrait with five specific sama (equal, balanced) qualities, organized in three pairs: (1) duḥkha-sukha (psychological: pain-pleasure); (2) loṣṭa-aśma-kāñcana (material: three levels of worldly value); (3) priya-apriya / nindā-saṃstuti (social: agreeable-disagreeable, censure-praise). Together they map the three domains where guṇas typically grab hold of the ego: inner feeling, material value, and social regard.
sva-stha ('self-established') is the central term: not that the guṇātīta has no experiences, but that their center of gravity is in the Self (Ātman), not in external circumstances. The experiences of pleasure/pain, contact with gold/clay, praise/blame all occur — but they register at the periphery, not the center. This is the same as Ch.2's sthitaprajña (V55-72) described from the guṇa-transcendence angle.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
He to whom pain and pleasure are alike, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth and stone and gold are alike, to whom the dear and the undear are alike, who is a man of wisdom, to whom censure and praise are the same. [1]
Alike in pleasure and pain, Self-abiding, regarding a clod of earth, a stone and gold alike; the same to agreeable and disagreeable, firm, the same in censure and praise. [4]
He to whom pleasure and pain are alike, who is self-centred, to whom a clod of earth, a stone, and gold are the same, to whom the agreeable and the disagreeable are alike, who is firm, the same whether blamed or praised. [9]
He who is the same in pleasure and pain, who is centred in his own self, to whom a lump of earth and stone and gold are the same, to whom the agreeable and the disagreeable are alike, the firm one, to whom censure and praise of himself are the same. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Hear the three-fold happiness from Me, O Bharata-bull — learned through practice, leading to the end of pain.
The self-conquered yogi finds the Supreme Self equally present through cold, heat, joy, pain, honour and dishonour.
Tāmasic sukha: deluding of the self both at start and in consequence — arises from sleep, laziness, and carelessness.
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
Once that joy is found, no other gain seems greater — established in it, even the heaviest sorrow cannot shake you.
One with no ego-doer-sense, whose buddhi is untainted — even while killing all these beings, kills not, is not bound.