सुखं त्व् इदानीं त्रिविधं शृणु मे भरतर्षभ । अभ्यासाद् रमते यत्र दुःखान्तं च निगच्छति ॥
sukhaṃ tv idānīṃ tri-vidhaṃ śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha | abhyāsād ramate yatra duḥkhāntaṃ ca nigacchati ||
Hear the three-fold happiness from Me, O Bharata-bull — learned through practice, leading to the end of pain.
Word by word (3)
- sukhaṃ tv idānīṃ tri-vidhaṃ śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha
- — now (idānīm) hear (śṛṇu) from Me (me) the three-fold (tri-vidham) happiness/pleasure (sukham), O bull of the Bharatas (bharata-ṛṣabha = Bharata-bull, Arjuna) — the announcement of the final guṇa-classification: sukha (happiness)
- abhyāsād ramate yatra duḥkhāntaṃ ca nigacchati
- — in which (yatra) one finds delight/rejoices (ramate = from ram = to delight) through practice/repetition (abhyāsāt = through repeated engagement), and (ca) where one reaches/attains (nigacchati = goes down to, reaches) the end of pain/suffering (duḥkha-antam = duḥkha-end) — the TWO qualities of all genuine happiness: it grows through practice AND leads to the end of pain
- abhyāsāt ramate
- — rejoices through/with-practice; abhyāsa (practice/repetition) as the means by which the happiness of V37-38 is experienced; this distinguishes deeper happiness from mere sensation — sāttvic happiness (V37) requires repeated practice before it blossoms; rājasic (V38) is immediately pleasant but requires no practice beyond simple sensory contact
Now hear from Me the three kinds of happiness, O bull of the Bharatas — in which one finds joy through practice and attains the end of pain.
A modern analogy
V36 is the chapter heading for the three-fold happiness analysis. Krishna frames all happiness by two criteria: (1) it grows through practice, and (2) it leads to the end of pain. Immediate pleasure that disappears with repetition and does not reduce overall suffering fails both criteria and tends toward tāmasic.
V36 opens the three-fold sukha analysis (V36-39) — the seventh and final classification in Ch.18's guṇa-analysis series. The pattern bharatarṣabha (bull of Bharatas) is a distinctive address Krishna uses when making an important categorical announcement. The two criteria (abhyāsāt ramate + duḥkhānta) frame all three types and help the reader understand why sāttvic happiness (V37: slow to begin, nectar at the end) is the genuine article: it alone fully satisfies both criteria.
Duḥkhānta (end of pain) as the GOAL of happiness is the Gita's consistent framing: the entire teaching is oriented toward mokṣa as the cessation of the fundamental pain of saṃsāric existence. Even within the domain of sukha (happiness), the Gita asks: does this happiness actually reduce suffering or merely mask it temporarily? Sāttvic happiness reduces it; rājasic happiness (V38) is pleasant first and painful later; tāmasic happiness (V39) produces only more confusion.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
MISSING from index. [1]
And now hear from Me, O bull of the Bharatas, of the threefold happiness that one learns to enjoy by habit, and by which one comes to the end of pain. [4]
MISSING from index. [9]
Hear from me of the three kinds of happiness. That in which one finds pleasure from repetition of enjoyment, which brings an end to pain. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Equal in pleasure-pain, clod-stone-gold, agreeable-disagreeable, censure-praise — the guṇātīta abides in self.
The self-conquered yogi finds the Supreme Self equally present through cold, heat, joy, pain, honour and dishonour.
Not hating, friendly, compassionate, without 'mine' or 'I', equal in pain and joy, forgiving — the dear devotee!
Move through the world free from longing, free from 'mine,' free from ego — that is how peace is reached.
Equal to enemy and friend, honor and dishonor, cold and heat, pleasure and pain — free from all attachment!
Sāttvic food enhances life, sattva, strength, health, joy, delight — savoury, oleaginous, substantial, heart-pleasing.