Bhagavad Gita 12.13
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 13 of 20
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च।निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी ॥
adveṣṭā sarvabhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca|nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ samaduḥkhasukhaḥ kṣamī ||
Not hating, friendly, compassionate, without 'mine' or 'I', equal in pain and joy, forgiving — the dear devotee!
Word by word (3)
- adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṃ
- — non-hating of all beings / one who does not hate any creature · adveṣṭā = non-hater (a = not; dveṣṭā = one who hates; from √dviṣ = to hate, to be hostile toward; dveṣa is one of the five kleśas in Patañjali: the fundamental aversion-impulse; adveṣṭā = one in whom this impulse is absent, not suppressed but genuinely dissolved). sarva-bhūtānāṃ = of all beings, toward all creatures (sarva = all; bhūta = being, that which has come into existence; bhūtānāṃ = genitive plural). The scope is total: adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṃ — not 'doesn't hate friends' or 'doesn't hate humans' but zero-hatred toward ALL existence. This is the FIRST quality named in the dear-devotee portrait, which is significant: before any positive spiritual achievement, the Gita begins with the removal of hatred. The portrait will continue for 8 more verses (V13-V20).
- maitraḥ sa-karuṇaḥ nirmamo nirahaṃkāraḥ
- — friendly, compassionate, without 'mine', without 'I' · maitraḥ = friendly, mitra-like (from mitra = friend, ally; mitra goes back to the Vedic deity Mitra = the god of covenants/friendship; maitraḥ = one who embodies mitra-quality = genuine friendliness, not social politeness but soul-warmth). sa-karuṇaḥ = compassionate (sa = with; karuṇa = compassion, the feeling that arises when one perceives suffering in another; karuṇa is one of the four brahmavihāras in Buddhism: compassion alongside loving-kindness, empathetic joy, and equanimity; here sa-karuṇaḥ = one who has compassion with them). nirmama = without 'mine' (nis = without; mama = mine, of-me; nirmama = one who has no mine-ness, no possessiveness, no territorial claiming of objects, persons, or outcomes as 'belonging to me'). nirahaṃkāra = without I-maker (nis = without; ahaṃkāra = the I-making function = the faculty that constantly constructs the narrative 'I am this, I am doing this, this is mine'; nirahaṃkāra = one in whom this construction has dissolved — no arrogance, no self-assertion, no pride-based separation).
- sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī
- — equal in pain and pleasure, forgiving · sama = equal, same, balanced (from √sam = to be even; sama = the quality of not tilting toward or away from; equanimity). duḥkha = pain, sorrow, suffering (du = bad + kha = axle-hole; the metaphor is a cart with a bad axle that grinds and causes trouble; duḥkha = that which grinds = suffering). sukha = pleasure, happiness, ease (su = good + kha = axle-hole; sukha = well-running, that which flows smoothly = pleasant experience). sama-duḥkha-sukha = one to whom pain and pleasure are equal — not insensate (not unable to feel) but unswayed — the experiences occur but they don't destabilize the inner equipoise. kṣamī = forgiving, patient (from √kṣam = to endure, to tolerate, to forgive; kṣamā = earth = that which bears all things without complaint; kṣamī = one who bears, one who forgives without keeping score). Note the progression: adveṣṭā (doesn't hate) → maitraḥ (actively friendly) → karuṇaḥ (compassionate with others' suffering) → nirmama (not possessive) → nirahaṃkāra (no I-maker) → sama-duḥkha-sukha (equanimous) → kṣamī (forgiving). Seven qualities in two verses (V13-V14).
He who hates no creature, who is friendly and compassionate, free from 'I' and 'mine', the same in pain and pleasure, patient and forgiving —
A modern analogy
Think of someone you know who genuinely has no enemies — not because they avoid everyone, but because they meet every person with warmth and no hidden agenda. They're the same with good news and bad. They hold no grudges. They don't think 'this is MINE.' That quality of presence is adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṃ. Krishna says: that person is dear to Me.
Sit with this: The portrait begins with adveṣṭā (non-hatred) rather than with devotion or knowledge. Why do you think non-hatred is listed first? What is the relationship between the inner removal of hatred and the capacity for genuine devotion?
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
[V13 missing from SH indexed] [1]
[V13 missing from SW indexed — combined with V14 portrait unit] [4]
Who hateth nought / Of all which lives, living himself benign, / Compassionate, from arrogance exempt, / Exempt from love of self, unchangeable / By good or ill; patient [7]
That devotee of mine, who hates no being, who is friendly and compassionate, who is free from egoism, and from (the idea that this or that is) mine, to whom happiness and misery are alike, who is forgiving [9]
He who has no hatred for any creature, who is friendly and compassionate also, who is free from egoism, who has no vanity, attachment, who is alike in pleasure and pain, who is forgiving [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Seers with sins destroyed, doubts cut, self-controlled, devoted to all beings' welfare — they attain brahma-nirvāṇa.
Do My work, hold Me supreme, be My devotee, attachment-free, without enmity toward all — such a one comes to Me!
Daivī wealth begins: abhaya, sattva-śuddhi, jñāna-yoga, dāna, dama, yajña, svādhyāya, tapa, ārjava.
Instrument, offering, fire, act, destination — all Brahman. One absorbed in Brahman-action reaches Brahman alone.
Your own mind is your best friend when mastered; your worst enemy when not.
Knowing Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifice and austerity, Great Lord of all worlds, Friend of all beings — peace comes.
Verse 13 of 20 · back to Chapter 12