न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम्।
स्थिरबुद्धिरसंमूढो ब्रह्मविद्ब्रह्मणि स्थितः।।
na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam
sthire-buddhir asammūḍho brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ
Word by Word
na (never) — prahṛṣyet (rejoices) — priyam (the pleasant) — prāpya (achieving) — na (never) — udvijet (becomes agitated) — prāpya (achieving) — ca (also) — apriyam (the unpleasant) — sthira-buddhiḥ (self-intelligent) — asammūḍhaḥ (unbewildered) — brahma-vit (one who knows the Supreme) — brahmaṇi (in the Supreme) — sthitaḥ (situated)
Translation
A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God, is already situated in transcendence.
Meaning
Kṛṣṇa describes the emotional steadiness of a self-realized person. Such a person does not get ‘high’ or overjoyed when something pleasant happens, nor do they become depressed or agitated when they meet with the unpleasant. They have achieved ‘sthira-buddhiḥ’, or a steady intellect.
They are ‘asammūḍho’, unbewildered by the temporary fluctuations of material life. They know that both a promotion and a demotion, or a victory and a defeat, are just passing waves on the ocean of time. Their happiness is anchored in something much deeper than their current circumstances.
Knowing the Supreme (‘brahma-vit’) means knowing that the soul’s worth is independent of worldly success. Kṛṣṇa is showing Arjuna how to be a ‘spiritual rock’. If he can maintain this steadiness, he can handle any outcome of the war with grace. Inner stability is the fruit of knowing the Absolute Truth.
