Bhagavad Gita 5.18
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 18 of 29
विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि। शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः॥५-१८॥
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini | śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ || 5.18 ||
The paṇḍita sees equally in a learned Brahmin, cow, elephant, dog, and outcaste — sama-darśana.
Word by word (9)
- vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
- — endowed with knowledge and humility / learned and humble
- brāhmaṇe
- — in a Brahmin / in a learned person of high standing
- gavi
- — in a cow
- hastini
- — in an elephant
- śuni
- — in a dog
- ca eva
- — and also / indeed
- śva-pāke
- — in a dog-eater / in an outcaste (one who cooks or eats dogs — lowest social station)
- paṇḍitāḥ
- — the learned / the wise / those who truly know
- sama-darśinaḥ
- — equal-seeing / those who see equally / sama-darśana
The wise look with equal eyes upon a learned and humble Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and an outcaste who eats dog's flesh.
A modern analogy
A doctor in an emergency room sees the same human life worth saving whether the patient is a billionaire or a homeless person. The roles differ; the fundamental worth — the life — is identical. Sama-darśana is that clarity applied not just to humans but to all living beings, grounded not in ethics but in direct perception of shared ātman.
What it does NOT mean
Sama-darśana does not mean ignoring real differences in roles, functions, or contexts. A Brahmin and a dog have different social roles. The equal seeing is at the level of the ātman — the same Self dwells in both. It does not collapse practical distinctions; it sees through them to a shared ground.
Take with you
- Sama-darśana is a perception, not a moral position. It cannot be forced by deciding to treat everyone equally — it arises from jñāna that actually sees the one Self in all.
- The list is deliberately extreme: highest (vidyā-vinaya-sampanna Brahmin) to lowest (śva-pāka), and across species (cow, elephant, dog). No category is excluded from equal seeing.
- paṇḍitāḥ here means 'those who truly know' — not book-scholars, but those whose knowledge has become direct perception. Book-knowledge that doesn't produce sama-darśana is not yet paṇḍita-level.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
"The paṇḍitas see equally in a learned and humble Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater." [1]
"The sages see with an equal eye a learned and humble Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater." [4]
"Sages see with equal eye the learned and humble Brahmin, the cow, the elephant, the dog, and the outcast." [5]
"The wise see with equal eyes a learned and humble Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and an eater of dogs." [6]
"The wise see one in all — in the learned Brahmin, the ox, the elephant, the dog, the eater of dogs." [7]
"The learned look equally on a Brahmin possessed of learning and humility, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater." [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Equanimous minds conquer birth here itself — Brahman is flawless and equal, thus they rest in Brahman.
Equal vision everywhere: the yogi sees the Self in all beings, and all beings within the Self — the same, everywhere.
Every being born — moving or unmoving — arises from the union of kṣetra and kṣetrajña alone.
Knowing this you will not fall into delusion again — you will see all beings in the Self, and thus in Me.
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Verse 18 of 29 · back to Chapter 5