Chapter 12 · The yoga of devotion
Bhagavad Gita 12.13
Without hatred; friendly and compassionate.
Shri Bhagavan
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च ।
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी ॥
adveṣṭā sarvabhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca / nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ samaduḥkhasukhaḥ kṣamī
He bears no ill will towards any living being, is friendly and kind to all, free of the sense of mine and of pride, the same in pain and pleasure, and forgiving.
हिंदी · वह किसी भी प्राणी से द्वेष नहीं करता, सबके प्रति मैत्री और करुणा रखता है, ममता और अहंकार से मुक्त है, सुख-दुःख में समान है, और क्षमाशील है।
What it means
Without hatred; friendly and compassionate.
One who hates no being, who is friendly and compassionate, free of possessiveness and ego, equal in sorrow and joy, and forgiving —
This is the Trust’s own reading, written for this site. The verse above it is the text.
Where this verse stands
Qualities of the dear devotee
Chapter 1212.13–20
Non-hatred, friendliness, compassion, equanimity, restraint and freedom from agitation embody devotion.
This verse opens the movement.
Devotion becomes character
Non-hatred, friendliness and compassion begin a long description of the devotee dear to Krishna. Bhakti is therefore tested in disposition, not only ritual feeling.
Read deeper · Read through 12.13–20, then compare 16.1–3 and 17.14–16.
Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · The Gita for Life
Verses that share its vocabulary
Near it in the text’s own words.
- 13.8Detachment from the objects of the senses, the absence of the sense of I, and the habit of seeing clearly the pain and the flaw that lie in birth, death, old age and illness;
- 2.14Kaunteya, contact with things brings cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They come and they go. They do not last. Bear them, Bharata.
- 2.15Best of men, the one whom these do not trouble — steady, the same in pain and in pleasure — he is fit for what does not die.
- 2.38Treat pleasure and pain alike, gain and loss alike, victory and defeat alike, and then prepare for the fight. That way you take on no wrong.
- 2.56Untroubled in sorrow, without craving in happiness, free of longing, fear and anger — such a person is called a sage of steady understanding.
- 6.7In one who has mastered himself and is at peace, the highest self stays settled — through cold and heat, pleasure and pain, honour and dishonour alike.
Chosen by shared uncommon vocabulary, weighted so that a rare word counts for far more than a common one. A reading aid, not a claim that these verses mean the same thing.
Common questions
What does Bhagavad Gita 12.13 mean?
Without hatred; friendly and compassionate. One who hates no being, who is friendly and compassionate, free of possessiveness and ego, equal in sorrow and joy, and forgiving —
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 12.13?
Shri Bhagavan. The speaker is taken from the text’s own उवाच line as transcribed, not inferred from the verse number.