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CHAPTER 2

Sankhya Yoga
The second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is "Sankhya Yoga". This is the

most important chapter of the Bhagavad Gita as Lord Krishna condenses

the teachings of the entire Gita in this chapter. This chapter is the essence

of the entire Gita. "Sankhya Yoga" can be categorized into 4 main topics -

1. Arjuna completely surrenders himself to Lord Krishna and accepts his

position as a disciple and Krishna as his Guru. He requests Krishna to

guide him on how to dismiss his sorrow. 2. Explanation of the main cause

of all grief, which is ignorance of the true nature of Self. 3. Karma Yoga -

the discipline of selfless action without being attached to its fruits. 4.

Description of a Perfect Man - One whose mind is steady and one-pointed.

72 Verses

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VERSE 1

Sanjaya said: To him, who was thus overcome with pity, despondent, with

eyes full of tears and agitated, Madhusudana (the destroyer of Madhu) or

Krishna spoke these words.

VERSE 2
The Blessed Lord said, "From whence has this perilous strait come upon

you, this dejection which is unworthy of you, disgraceful, and which will

close the gates of heaven upon you, O Arjuna?"

VERSE 3

Do not yield to impotence, O Arjuna, son of Pritha. It does not befit you.

Cast off this mean weakness of the heart! Stand up, O conqueror of foes!

VERSE 4

Arjuna said, "O Madhusudana, how can I fight in battle with arrows against

Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of being worshipped, O destroyer of

enemies?"

VERSE 5

Better it is, indeed, in this world to accept alms than to slay the most noble

teachers. But if I were to kill them, even in this world, all my enjoyments of

wealth and fulfilled desires would be stained with their blood.

VERSE 6

I can hardly tell which would be better, that we should conquer them or that

they should conquer us. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, whom we do not

wish to slay, stand facing us.

VERSE 7
My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to my

duty. I ask Thee: Tell me decisively what is good for me. I am Thy disciple;

instruct me, who has taken refuge in Thee.

VERSE 8

I do not see that this sorrow that burns up my senses would be removed,

even if I were to attain prosperous and unrivaled dominion on earth or

lordship over the gods.

VERSE 9

Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus to Hrishikesha, the Lord of the senses,

Arjuna, the conqueror of sleep and destroyer of foes, said, "I will not fight,"

and became silent.

VERSE 10

To him who was despondent in the midst of the two armies, Krishna,

smiling, O Bharata, spoke these words.

VERSE 11

The Blessed Lord said, "You have grieved for those who should not be

grieved for; yet, you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for

the living nor for the dead."

VERSE 12
Nor, at any time, was I not, nor thou, nor these rulers of men; nor, verily,

shall we ever cease to be hereafter.

VERSE 13

Just as the embodied soul passes through childhood, youth, and old age in

this body, so too does it pass into another body; the steadfast one does not

grieve over this.

VERSE 14

The contact of the senses with the objects, O son of Kunti, which causes

heat and cold, pleasure and pain, has a beginning and an end; they are

impermanent; endure them bravely, O Arjuna.

VERSE 15

That firm man, whom surely these afflictions do not, O chief among men, to

whom pleasure and pain are the same, is fit for attaining immortality.

VERSE 16

The unreal has no being; there is no non-being of the real; the truth about

both has been seen by the knowers of the truth (or the seers of the

essence).

VERSE 17

Know that to be indestructible, by which all this is pervaded. No one can

cause the destruction of that, the Imperishable.

VERSE 18

These bodies of the embodied Self, which are eternal, indestructible, and

immeasurable, are said to have an end. Therefore, fight, O Arjuna.

VERSE 19

He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks it is slain, neither

of them knows. It does not slay, nor is it slain.

VERSE 20

It is not born, nor does it ever die; after having been, it again does not

cease to be; unborn, eternal, changeless, and ancient, it is not killed when

the body is killed.

VERSE 21

Whoever knows it to be indestructible, eternal, unborn, and inexhaustible,

how can that person slay, O Arjuna, or cause to be slain?

VERSE 22

Just as a man casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so too the

embodied Self casts off worn-out bodies and enters others that are new.

VERSE 23

Weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, wind cannot

dry it.
VERSE 24

This Self cannot be cut, burned, wetted, nor dried up; it is eternal, all-

pervasive, stable, immovable, and ancient.

VERSE 25

This Self is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable, and unchangeable.

Therefore, knowing this to be so, you should not grieve.

VERSE 26

But even if thou thinkest of It as constantly being born and constantly

dying, even then, O mighty-armed one, thou shouldst not grieve.

VERSE 27

For the born, death is certain, and for the dead, birth is certain; therefore,

you should not grieve over the inevitable.

VERSE 28

Beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their middle state, O

Arjuna, and unmanifest again in their end. What is there to grieve about?

VERSE 29

One sees this (the Self) as a wonder; another speaks of it as a wonder;

another hears of it as a wonder; yet, having heard, none understands it at

all.
VERSE 30

This indweller in the body of everyone is ever indestructible, O Arjuna;

therefore, you should not grieve for any creature.

VERSE 31

Further, having regard to your duty, you should not waver, for there is

nothing higher for a Kshatriya than a righteous war.

VERSE 32

Happy are the Kshatriyas, O Arjuna! who are called to fight in such a battle

that comes of its own accord as an open door to heaven.

VERSE 33

But if you will not fight this righteous war, then having abandoned your own

duty and reputation, you will incur sin.

VERSE 34

People will also recount your everlasting dishonor; and for one who has

been honored, dishonor is worse than death.

VERSE 35

The great chariot-warriors will think that you have withdrawn from the battle

out of fear, and you will be held in low esteem by those who have held you

in high regard.
VERSE 36

Your enemies, scoffing at your power, will speak many abusive words—

what could be more painful than this?

VERSE 37

Slain, you will obtain heaven; victorious, you will enjoy the earth; therefore,

stand up, O son of Kunti, resolved to fight.

VERSE 38

Having made pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat equal,

engage in battle for the sake of battle; thus, you shall not incur sin.

VERSE 39

This, which has been taught to you, is wisdom concerning Sankhya. Now

listen to wisdom concerning Yoga, endowed with which, O Arjuna, you

shall cast off the bonds of action.

VERSE 40

In this, there is no loss of effort, nor is there any harm produced, nor any

transgression. Even a little of this knowledge protects one from great fear.

VERSE 41

Here, O joy of the Kurus, there is only one single-pointed determination;

many-branched and endless are the thoughts of the indecisive.

VERSE 42

The unwise, taking pleasure in the eulogizing words of the Vedas, utter

flowery speech, saying, "There is nothing else," O Arjuna.

VERSE 43

Full of desires, with heaven as their goal, (they speak words that are

directed to ends) leading to new births as the result of their works, and

prescribe various methods abounding in specific actions, for the attainment

of pleasure and power.

VERSE 44

For those who are attached to pleasure and power, whose minds are

drawn away by such teachings, their determinate reason is not formed

which is steadily bent on meditation and Samadhi (superconscious state).

VERSE 45

The Vedas deal with the three attributes; be thou above these three

attributes. O Arjuna, free yourself from the pairs of opposites and ever

remain in the quality of Sattva, freed from acquisition and preservation, and

be established in the Self.

VERSE 46

To the Brahmana who has known the Self, all the Vedas are of as much

use as a reservoir of water would be in a place where there is a flood.

VERSE 47

Your right is only to work, but not to its results; do not let the results of

action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.

VERSE 48

Perform action, O Arjuna, being steadfast in Yoga, abandoning attachment

and balanced in success and failure; evenness of mind is called Yoga.

VERSE 49

Far lower than the Yoga of wisdom is action, O Arjuna. Seek thou refuge in

wisdom; wretched are those whose motive is the fruit.

VERSE 50

Endowed with wisdom and evenness of mind, one casts off in this life both

good and evil deeds; therefore, devote yourself to Yoga; Yoga is skill in

action.

VERSE 51

The wise, possessing knowledge, having abandoned the fruits of their

actions, and being freed from the bonds of birth, go to the place which is

beyond all evil.

VERSE 52
When your intellect passes beyond the mire of delusion, then you will attain

indifference to what has been heard and what has yet to be heard.

VERSE 53

When your intellect, which is perplexed by the Vedic texts you have read,

stands immovable and steady in the Self, then you will attain Self-

realization.

VERSE 54

Arjuna said, "O Krishna, what is the description of one who has steady

wisdom and is merged in the superconscious state? How does one of

steady wisdom speak, how do they sit, and how do they walk?"

VERSE 55

The Blessed Lord said, "When a man completely casts off, O Arjuna, all the

desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then he is said to

be one of steady wisdom."

VERSE 56

He whose mind is not shaken by adversity, who does not long for

pleasures, and is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of

steady wisdom.

VERSE 57
He who is everywhere without attachment, upon encountering anything

good or bad, neither rejoices nor hastens; his wisdom is firm.

VERSE 58

When, like the tortoise which withdraws all its limbs on all sides, he

withdraws his senses from the sense-objects, then his wisdom becomes

steady.

VERSE 59

The objects of the senses turn away from the abstinent man, leaving the

longing behind; but his longing also turns away upon seeing the Supreme.

VERSE 60

The turbulent senses, O Arjuna, can violently carry away the mind of a wise

person, even though they are striving to control them.

VERSE 61

Having restrained them all, he should sit steadfast, intent on Me; his

wisdom is steady whose senses are under control.

VERSE 62

When one thinks of objects, attachment to them arises; from attachment,

desire is born; from desire, anger arises.

VERSE 63
Anger leads to delusion, which causes loss of memory; this, in turn, leads

to the destruction of discrimination, resulting in destruction.

VERSE 64

But the self-controlled man, moving among objects with the senses

restrained and free from attraction and repulsion, attains peace.

VERSE 65

In that peace, all pains are destroyed; for the intellect of the tranquil-

minded soon becomes steady.

VERSE 66

There is no knowledge of the Self for the unsteady, and no meditation is

possible for the unsteady, and no peace for the unmeditative, and how can

there be happiness for one who has no peace?

VERSE 67

For the mind, which follows in the wake of the wandering senses, carries

away his discrimination, as the wind carries away a boat on the waters.

VERSE 68

Therefore, O mighty-armed Arjuna, his knowledge is steady whose senses

are completely restrained from sense objects.

VERSE 69
That which is night to all beings, in that the self-controlled man is awake;

when all beings are awake, that is night for the sage who sees.

VERSE 70

He attains peace into whom all desires enter, just as waters enter the

ocean which, filled from all sides, remains unmoved; but not the man who

is full of desires.

VERSE 71

That person attains peace who, abandoning all desires, moves about

without longing, without the sense of ownership, and without egoism.

VERSE 72

O son of Pritha, this is the eternal state, the Brahmic seat. Attaining this,

one is not deluded. Being established in it, one attains oneness with

Brahman even at the end of life.

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