Bhagavad Gita 12.17
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 17 of 20
यो न हृष्यति न द्वेष्टि न शोचति न काङ्क्षति।शुभाशुभपरित्यागी भक्ितमान्यः स मे प्रियः ॥
yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati|śubhāśubhaparityāgī bhakitamānyaḥ sa me priyaḥ ||
No thrill, no hatred, no grief, no craving — renouncing both good and evil — this full-devotee is dear to Me!
Word by word (3)
- yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati
- — who does not thrill, does not hate, does not grieve, does not crave · yo = who. na hṛṣyati = does not thrill/get excited (√hṛṣ = to bristle with excitement, to be thrilled; hṛṣyati = thrills; na hṛṣyati = the absence of reactive excitement at favorable outcomes; the same root as harṣa in V15; this is NOT the absence of joy but the absence of reactive excitement that depends on external conditions being favorable). na dveṣṭi = does not hate (√dviṣ = to hate; dveṣṭi = hates; na dveṣṭi = no reactive aversion-hatred; dveṣa is one of the fundamental kleśas; its absence here is the positive form of adveṣṭā from V13: the portrait confirms the same quality at the experiential level). na śocati = does not grieve (√śuc = to grieve, to mourn; śocati = grieves; na śocati = no grief over unfavorable outcomes; the Gita opened with Arjuna overcome by śoka = grief; this dear-devotee is free from it). na kāṅkṣati = does not crave/desire (√kāṅkṣ = to long for, to wish for; kāṅkṣati = craves; na kāṅkṣati = no grasping or craving after what is not present). Four negatives: na hṛṣyati / na dveṣṭi / na śocati / na kāṅkṣati = no excitement, no hate, no grief, no craving — the full arc of reactive experience has been transcended.
- śubhāśubha-parityāgī
- — renouncer of both the auspicious and the inauspicious · śubha = auspicious, good, favorable, agreeable (from √śubh = to shine, to be beautiful; śubha = that which shines = beautiful, auspicious). aśubha = inauspicious, bad, unfavorable, disagreeable (a + śubha). parityāgī = one who renounces, one who lets go. śubhāśubha-parityāgī = one who has renounced BOTH the auspicious and the inauspicious — not preferring good outcomes over bad. This is radical: most spiritual teachings say 'let go of bad outcomes'; this says let go of attachment to good outcomes TOO. The grasping at śubha (good) is as binding as aversion to aśubha (bad). The dear devotee has released both ends of the evaluation axis.
- bhaktimān yaḥ sa me priyaḥ
- — who is endowed with devotion — he is dear to Me · bhaktimān = one who possesses bhakti (bhakti = devoted love for the Divine; man = possessing; bhaktimān = one in whom bhakti is established as a quality — not someone who occasionally feels devotion but one who IS the devotee in their deepest identity). This is the fourth occurrence of the 'sa me priyaḥ' refrain. Unlike the previous versions, here the phrase is preceded by bhaktimān — the whole portrait-cluster is summed: this is the person who possesses bhakti AND manifests all these qualities. The two are not separate: bhakti produces these qualities, and these qualities deepen bhakti.
He who neither rejoices nor hates, neither grieves nor craves, who renounces both good and evil fortune and is full of devotion — he is dear to Me.
A modern analogy
Like a deeply experienced doctor who has seen so much suffering and recovery that they're no longer swept up in either the good outcomes or the bad — not because they stopped caring, but because their care is now steady rather than reactive. They're fully present for the patient without the emotional spikes. That steady-devoted presence is this verse's portrait.
Sit with this: This verse says the dear devotee renounces śubhāśubha — both the good AND the bad (as objects of attachment/aversion). Do you think it's possible to release attachment to GOOD outcomes without becoming passive or nihilistic? What replaces the motivation of 'I want good results'?
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
[V17 missing from SH indexed] [1]
He who neither rejoices, nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, renouncing good and evil, full of devotion, he is dear to Me. [4]
Who, counting praise and blame as one, / Hath passed beyond all heat and cold / Of this world's breath, and makes no case / Of gain or loss, of love or hate, / Untouched, untroubled — that man I love! [7]
He who is full of devotion to me, who feels no joy and no aversion, who does not grieve and does not desire, who abandons (both what is) agreeable and (what is) disagreeable, he is dear to me. [9]
He who has no joy, no aversion, who neither grieves nor desires, who renounces both good and evil, (and) who is full of faith in me, even he is dear to me. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
Not elated at pleasant, not disturbed at unpleasant — steady, undeluded, the brahma-vit rests in Brahman.
Brahman-become, serene, neither grieving nor desiring, equal to all beings — he attains supreme bhakti to Me.
Bow down, arrows scattered, warrior collapsed — this is where the Gita begins.
Even if the most sinful worships Me with undivided devotion — he must be deemed righteous, for he has rightly resolved.
Arjuna calls Duryodhana evil-minded — the last moment of moral clarity before grief clouds everything.
Verse 17 of 20 · back to Chapter 12