यदृच्छालाभसन्तुष्टो द्वन्द्वातीतो विमत्सरः । समः सिद्धावसिद्धौ च कृत्वापि न निबध्यते ॥
yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭo dvandvātīto vimatsaraḥ | samaḥ siddhāv asiddhau ca kṛtvāpi na nibadhyate ||
Content with what comes by chance, beyond opposites, free from envy — equal in success and failure, not bound.
Word by word (3)
- yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭaḥ
- — content with whatever gain comes by chance/spontaneously · Yadṛcchā = what comes of itself, by chance, spontaneously (ya + dṛś = as it appears, as it comes). Lābha = gain, acquisition. Santuṣṭa = thoroughly content (sam+tuṣṭa = fully satisfied, from tuṣ = to be satisfied). The compound: deeply content with what appears spontaneously, without having sought it. Not passive — but not striving for results either.
- dvandva-atīta vimatsaraḥ
- — beyond the pairs of opposites, free from envy · Dvandva = the pairs: hot/cold, pleasure/pain, success/failure, honor/dishonor (from dvi = two, + dva = pair). Atīta = gone beyond, transcended. Vimatsara = free from envy/jealousy (vi = free from + matsara = envy, jealousy, the contracted feeling when others succeed). Beyond pairs AND beyond envy — the horizontal and the interpersonal dimensions of liberation.
- samaḥ siddhau asiddhau ca kṛtvā api na nibadhyate
- — equal in success and failure — though acting, is not bound · Sama = equal, the same (the fundamental yogic quality — equanimity). Siddhau = in success. Asiddhau = in failure/non-success. Ca = and. Kṛtvā api = though having acted (kṛ = to do + tvā gerund). Na nibadhyate = is not bound (from bandh = to bind). The liberating equation: samatā (equanimity) + acting = freedom. Not the stopping of action but the stopping of ego-investment in outcome.
Content with whatever gain comes spontaneously, beyond the pairs of opposites, free from envy — equal in success and failure — though acting, one is not bound.
A modern analogy
A traveler who takes what the road offers — shelter when shelter comes, exposure when it doesn't — without scheming to ensure a particular outcome. Not naïve or passive, but genuinely unbothered by the difference between the good day and the difficult day. V22: yadṛcchā (what comes by chance) — the gift of released expectation.
Take with you
- Yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭa: a specific practice — deep contentment with what arrives unsought.
- Dvandvātīta: the pairs (success/failure, heat/cold, praise/blame) cease to have binding power.
- Vimatsara: free from envy. Envy is a clear sign that you are measuring your outcome against others' — binding.
- Sama siddhau asiddhau: equanimity in both directions — not just acceptance of failure but also non-elation at success.
V22 gives the second portrait in the V21-23 cluster — three verses describing the inner and outer life of the liberated actor. V21 described the inner conditions (nirāśī, yata-cittātmā, tyakta-parigraha). V22 describes the relational and experiential conditions: yadṛcchā-santuṣṭa (received-based contentment vs. striving-based contentment), dvandvātīta (beyond the binary structure of experience), vimatsara (free from the competitive-comparative ego). Shankaracharya: the critical phrase is kṛtvāpi na nibadhyate — 'though acting, not bound.' The condition does not require withdrawal. The same action that binds the ego-attached person leaves the dvandvātīta person completely free. The difference is entirely inner.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Content with whatever comes unasked, beyond the pairs of opposites, free from envy, balanced in success and failure — though acting, he is not bound. [1]
Content with what comes without effort, beyond the pairs of opposites, free from envy, equal in success and failure — though acting, he is not bound. [4]
He is satisfied with whatever he may chance to receive; he is not affected by the pairs of opposites; he is free from envy; in success and failure he is the same — he is not bound even while acting. [6]
Who is content with whatever comes to him by chance, Having passed beyond the pairs of opposites, free from envy, Equal in success and failure — though he acts, he is not bound. [7]
Content with whatever comes to him unasked, who has passed beyond the pairs of opposites, who is free from envy, even-minded in success and failure — though acting, he is not bound. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The Vedas deal in the three qualities of nature — go beyond them: free from opposites, self-possessed.
No longing, controlled mind, no possessions — acting only through the body, one incurs no sin at all.
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!
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.