2.15 yam hi na vyathayanthi EthE

SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

Chapter 2

<< Chapter 2 verse 14

SlOkam – Original

yam hi na vyathayanthi EthE purusham purusharshabha |
samadhu:kha sukham dhIram sO ’mruthathvAya kalpathE ||

word-by-word meaning

purusharshabha – Oh leader among men!
EthE – these contacts with worldly pleasures/pains
samadhu:khasukham – being neutral towards such pleasures/pains
dhIram – being bold
yam purusham – that man
na vyathayanthi – does not disturb mental strength
sa: – that man only
amruththvAya kalpathE – will be qualified to be liberated

Simple Translation

Oh leader among men! for that man who is neutral towards contacts with such pleasures/pains and being bold and whose mental strength is not disturbed, that man only will be qualified to be liberated.

Rendering based on ALkoNdavilli gOvindhAchArya swAmy’s English translation of gIthA bhAshyam

That bold[1. Bold means sagacious, wise.] man, O man-chief, who looks on pain as equal with pleasure, and whom, these (‘colds and heats’) cannot molest, is verily made for immortality[2. Such a man of trained will is ‘dear to me’, says Kṛishṇa (vide XII-18-19).]!

Be it mild or acute, no arrow-hits can torment a person of courage, – one who is able to look upon an inevitable pain as equal to pleasure. That is the person to whom the discharge of duties, incumbent on his status (caste, occupation, etc.) in society, – such as engaging in war (for a Kshatriya)- without anticipating any benefits therefrom – paves the way to immortality. Such a person wins immortality, Arjuna! not you who cannot suffer pain. That conduct (or character) i.e. bearing (up, or patient suffering without complaint) is a necessary sign of the eternality of ātmās (souls).

Whether it be the eternality of ātmās, or the decaying character of the bodies that is regarded, it has been shown by verse: viz:

‘The wise, grieve not either as respects bodies, or as respects ātmās, etc.’, (Bh: Gi: II-11)

that no cause, in any case, exists for regret.

This subject will now be expanded:

>> Chapter 2 verse 16

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