बुद्ध्या विशुद्धया युक्तो धृत्यात्मानं नियम्य च । शब्दादीन् विषयांस् त्यक्त्वा रागद्वेषौ व्युदस्य च ॥
buddhyā viśuddhayā yukto dhṛtyātmānaṃ niyamya ca | śabdādīn viṣayāṃs tyaktvā rāga-dveṣau vyudasya ca ||
Endued with pure buddhi, regulating self with dhṛti, renouncing sense-objects, setting aside rāga-dveṣa —
Word by word (3)
- buddhyā viśuddhayā yukto dhṛtyātmānaṃ niyamya ca
- — endued/connected with (yukto) purified intellect (buddhyā viśuddhayā = buddhi-that-is-purified), and (ca) restraining/regulating (niyamya) the self/inner instrument (ātmānam) with firmness/fortitude (dhṛtyā = through dhṛti) — first two qualities of the brahma-bhūta path: pure buddhi + dhṛti-regulated self
- śabdādīn viṣayāṃs tyaktvā rāga-dveṣau vyudasya ca
- — relinquishing/abandoning (tyaktvā) sense-objects starting with sound (śabda-ādīn = sound-and-others; the five sense-objects: śabda/sound, sparśa/touch, rūpa/form, rasa/taste, gandha/smell) and (ca) throwing away/setting aside (vyudasya = from vi + ud + as = throwing out) rāga (attraction) and dveṣa (aversion) — two more: renunciation of sense-objects + freedom from rāga-dveṣa
- buddhyā viśuddhayā
- — with purified buddhi; viśuddha = fully purified (vi + śudh = thoroughly-pure); the purified buddhi is the first prerequisite for brahma-bhūta; it is purified by sattva-cultivation, abhyāsa (practice), and the preceding steps (V49's jitātmā, asakta-buddhi, vigata-spṛha); this verse begins the qualitative description Krishna promised in V50
Endued with a pure intellect, restraining the self with firmness, abandoning sense-objects starting with sound, and setting aside rāga and dveṣa —
A modern analogy
V51 begins a two-verse portrait of the brahma-bhūta candidate (V51-52 together form the qualifications, V53 gives the final inner renunciations). The person moving from V49's naiṣkarmya-siddhi toward brahma-prāpti (V50) demonstrates these qualities: inner purity (viśuddha buddhi), self-regulation through dhṛti, detachment from sense-objects, and freedom from the push-pull of attraction-aversion.
V51 begins the two-verse list of brahma-bhūta qualities (V51-52, with V53 completing the inner renunciations). These are the qualities of the person who is fit for brahma-prāpti — not conditions to achieve first, but the natural state of one who has traversed the path. The sequence from V46 to V55 is: svadharma as worship (V46) → naiṣkarmya through sannyāsa (V49) → brahma-bhūta fitness (V51-53) → brahma-bhūta state (V54) → parā bhakti → jñāna of the Divine → entry into the Divine (V55). V51-52 are part of the same sentence continued in V53.
The ordering viśuddha-buddhi first is significant. In the Gita's epistemology, all spiritual progress depends on buddhi's purity: tamas obscures buddhi (Ch.14 V8); sattva purifies it (Ch.14 V11). Viśuddha buddhi (fully purified intellect) is the primary instrument of brahma-prāpti — not austerity or ritual but the luminous buddhi that can receive the truth of the Self. Dhṛtyātmānaṃ niyamya (regulating the self through dhṛti) ensures the purified buddhi is stabilized and not swept away by the mind-senses.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Endued with a pure reason, controlling the self with firmness, abandoning sound and other objects, and laying aside love and hatred; [1]
Endued with a pure intellect; subduing the body and the senses with fortitude; relinquishing sound and such other sense-objects; abandoning attraction and hatred; [4]
MISSING from index. [9]
Endued with a pure mind, and restraining his self by constancy, renouncing sound and other objects of sense, and casting off affection and aversion... [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
Learn briefly from Me how one who has attained siddhi attains Brahman — the supreme culmination of knowledge.
Abandon all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone — I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
Where yogeśvara Kṛṣṇa is, where archer Pārtha stands — there abide fortune, victory, flourishing, and steadfast dharma.
If you know the soul is indestructible — who kills whom?
No being — neither on earth nor among the devas in heaven — is free from these three guṇas born of Prakṛti.