Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 23
शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात् । कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṃ prākśarīravimokṣaṇāt | kāmakrodhodbhavaṃ vegaṃ sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ
Translation
He that is able, while still here, to withstand, before liberation from the body, the impulse of desire and anger, he is a Yogin, he is a happy man.
— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri
Word meanings
- śaknoti
- is able to
- iha
- here
- eva
- even
- yaḥ
- who
- soḍhum
- to bear
- prāk
- before
- śarīravimokṣaṇāt
- from the body, (from) liberation
- kāmakrodhodbhavam
- from desire, and, from anger, and, birth, whose, he
- vegam
- force
- saḥ
- he
- yuktaḥ
- united
- saḥ
- he
- sukhī
- happy
- naraḥ
- man
Śaṅkarācārya's commentary
"While still here": while yet living. "Before liberation from the body": up to the point of death. By thus marking death as the limit, the Lord teaches that the impulse of desire and anger is unavoidable during life, since its causes are innumerable, and that till the very moment of death it should not be trusted. Desire (kāma) is the longing for a pleasure-giving agreeable object. Anger (krodha) is the aversion for the disagreeable. The impulse of desire is the agitation of the mind as indicated by hairs standing on end and by a joyful countenance; the impulse of anger is indicated by the trembling of the body, by perspiration, lip-biting, fiery eyes, and the like. He who can withstand these impulses is a Yogin, and he is a happy man here on earth.