Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 13, Verse 9

असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु । नित्यं च समचित्तत्वमिष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु

asaktiranabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putradāragṛhādiṣu | nityaṃ ca samacittatvamiṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu

Translation

Unattachment, absence of affection for son, wife, home and the like, and constant equanimity on the attainment of the desirable and the undesirable;

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

asaktiḥ

unattachment

anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ

non-self-identification

putradāragṛhādiṣu

among sons, and among wives, and, among houses, and

nityam

constant

ca

and

samacittatvam

equal-mindedness

iṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu

of desired, and, of undesired, in the befallings

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Unattachment: absence of liking for things which may form objects of attachment. Affection is an intense form of attachment and consists in complete identification with another, as in the case of a man who feels happy or miserable when another is happy or miserable. Unattachment and absence of affection are termed knowledge because they lead to knowledge. Constant equanimity consists in not being delighted on attaining the desirable, and in not chafing on attaining the undesirable.