समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः ।
शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥
तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् ।
अनिकेतः स्थिरमतिर्भक्तिमान्मे प्रियो नरः ॥
samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ |
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ ||
tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit |
aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 12.18–19)
“A person possessed of bhakti [who is] equal towards an enemy and a friend and honor and dishonor, equal towards cold and heat, happiness and suffering, free from attachment, equal towards defamation and praise, silent, satisfied with whatever comes, non-attached to house, and of steady mind is dear to me.”
Commentary
kiṁ ca sama iti | śatrau ca mitre ca sama eka-rūpaḥ | mānāpamānayor api tathā sama eva harṣa-viṣāda-śūnya ity arthaḥ | śītoṣṇayoḥ sukha-duḥkhayoś ca samaḥ | saṅga-vivarjitaḥ kvacid apy anāsaktaḥ | kiṁ ca tulya-nindā-stutir iti | tulyā nindā-stutiś ca yasya saḥ | maunī saṁyata-vāk | yena kenacit yathā-labdhena santuṣṭaḥ | aniketo niyatāvāsa-śūnyaḥ | sthira-matir vyavasthita-cittaḥ | evaṁbhūto bhaktimān yaḥ sa naro mama priyaḥ |
(Subodhinī-ṭikā)
“Furthermore, samaḥ … [i.e., this verse is stated]. ‘Equal’ (samaḥ), that is, uniform, towards an enemy and a friend; ‘equal’ (samaḥ) also towards honor and dishonor, meaning, free from elation and dejection [based on them]; ‘equal’ (samaḥ) towards cold and heat, happiness and suffering; ‘free from attachment’ (saṅga-vivarjitaḥ), that is, non-attached to anything; furthermore, tulya-nindā-stutiḥ …, ‘equal’ (tulyā) towards defamation and praise; ‘silent’ (maunī), that is, of controlled speech; ‘satisfied with whatever comes’ (santuṣṭaḥ yena kenacit), that is, [satisfied] in accord with attainment [i.e. with whatever may be attained]; ‘non-attached to house’ (aniketaḥ), that is, free from a fixed residence; and ‘of steady mind’ (sthira-matiḥ), that is, of resolute mind—a person possessed of bhakti who is of such nature is dear to me.”
aniketaḥ prākṛta-svāspadāsakti-śūnyaḥ |
(Sārārtha-varṣiṇī-ṭīkā)
“Non-attached to house (aniketaḥ) means free from attachment to one’s own worldly dwelling.”
samaḥ śatrau ceti sphuṭārthaḥ | saṅga-varjitaḥ kusaṅga-śūnyaḥ | tulyeti nindayā duḥkhaṁ stutyā sukhaṁ ca yo na vindati | maunī yata-vāk sveṣṭa-manana-śīlo vā | yena kenacid adṛṣṭākṛṣṭena rukṣeṇa snigdhena vānnādinā santuṣṭaḥ | aniketo niyata-nivāsa-rahito niketa-moha-śūnyo vā | sthira-matir niścita-jñānaḥ | eṣv adveṣṭety ādiṣu saptasu yeṣu guṇānāṁ punar apy abhidhānaṁ tat teṣām atidaurlabhya-jñāpanārtham ity adoṣaḥ | saniṣṭhādīnāṁ tri-vidhānāṁ bhaktānāṁ sambhūya sthitā ete’dveṣṭṛtvādayo dharmā yathā-sambhava-tāratamyenaiva sudhībhiḥ saṅgamanīyāḥ |
(Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā)
“‘Equal’ (samaḥ) towards an enemy … the meaning [of these statements] is clear. ‘Free from attachment’ (saṅga-vivarjitaḥ) means free from wrongful attachment. [‘Equal towards defamation and praise’ means one] Who does not feel unhappiness because of defamation or happiness because of praise. ‘Silent’ (maunī) means of controlled speech, or, one who is disposed towards contemplation of one’s Iṣṭa [i.e., Iṣṭa-devatā]. ‘Satisfied’ (santuṣṭaḥ) ‘with whatever comes’ (yena kenacit) means with the food brought by destiny, be it dry or succulent, and so forth. ‘Non-attached to house’ (aniketaḥ) means free from a fixed residence, or, free from delusion based on a house. ‘Of steady mind’ (sthira-matiḥ) means of certain knowledge. The repetition of [mention of some] qualities within these seven verses beginning with adveṣṭā … is for the purpose of making known their great rarity. Thus, there is no fault [in such repetition]. These qualities of non-enmity and so on present collectively in the three types of bhaktas, the saniṣṭhas and so on, are to be understood by the wise in accord with [their] comparable value as far as possible.”