In the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, after giving Arjuna every practical and duty-bound reason to fight, Lord Krishna now delivers the master stroke. He synthesizes the two previous lines of argument—the knowledge of the eternal soul and the necessity of performing one’s duty—into a single, sublime principle. The Sukha-duhkhe Same Krtva verse introduces the foundational concept of Karma Yoga, the art of acting without accumulating sin.
Sanskrit Verse
सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ ।
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥ ३८ ॥Transliteration
sukha-duḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasiWord for Word Translation
sukha-duḥkhe — happiness and distress; same kṛtvā — having made equal; lābhālābhau — profit and loss; jayājayau — victory and defeat; tataḥ — thereafter; yuddhāya — for the sake of fighting; yujyasva — engage; na evam — in this way; pāpam — sin; avāpsyasi — you will incur.
English Translation
Having made happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat the same, engage in battle. In this way, you will not incur any sin.
Explanation
Each Bhagavad Gita verse whispers ancient truths, let’s listen closely with Vedic Stories…
This verse is the secret formula that resolves Arjuna’s core dilemma: how to act without incurring sin. Krishna provides the prerequisite mindset for spiritual action.
- Sukha-duḥkhe same kṛtvā: “Having made happiness and distress equal.” This is the principle of equanimity. It requires one to be `sama`, or equal, towards the dualities of life. Krishna expands on this by listing the pairs that are most relevant to a warrior: `lābhālābhau` (profit and loss) and `jayājayau` (victory and defeat).
- Tato yuddhāya yujyasva: “Then, for the sake of fighting, engage.” The word `tato` (“then” or “thereafter”) is crucial. The equanimity must be established *first*. The action—engaging in battle—comes only after one has achieved this internal state of balance. One is to fight not *for* victory or *to avoid* defeat, but simply because it is one’s duty. The fight becomes an end in itself, an offering to one’s Dharma.
- Naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi: “In this way, you will not incur sin.” This is the divine promise and the solution Arjuna was seeking. The sin (`pāpam`) is not in the action itself, but in the attachment to the results of the action. When one acts with a balanced mind, detached from personal gain or loss, the action is purified and does not create karmic entanglement.
Conclusion
This verse is the bridge between the path of knowledge (`Jñāna Yoga`) and the path of action (`Karma Yoga`). It teaches that true spirituality is not about inaction, but about right action performed with the right consciousness. By treating all outcomes—victory, defeat, happiness, pain—with an equal mind, one acts for the sake of duty alone. Such detached action does not bind the soul to the material world. This is the great secret of the Bhagavad Gita: how to live and act in the world without being of the world, thereby transforming work into worship.
Read Next: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 – Verse 39 – Esa Te Bhihita Sankhye
