Bhagavad Gita — Karma Sannyasa Yoga, Shloka 23
Karma Sannyasa Yoga
शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात् । कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः ॥ ५.२३ ॥
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṃ prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt | kāma-krodhodbhavaṃ vegaṃ sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ || 5.23 ||
Celui qui, ici même, tant qu’il demeure dans ce corps, avant la délivrance du corps, est capable de supporter l’élan né du désir et de la colère, celui-là est uni au yoga, et celui-là est un homme heureux.
जो पुरुष इसी शरीर के रहते-रहते शरीर छूटने से पहले ही काम और क्रोध से उत्पन्न होने वाले वेग को सहन करने में समर्थ हो जाता है, वही योगयुक्त है और वही सुखी मनुष्य है।
Whoever, here itself (in this life), is able to endure—before the release from the body—the impulsive force arising from desire and anger, that person is disciplined (yukta) and is a happy human being.
Most traditional renderings (e.g., Gītā Press) read the verse as practical self-restraint ‘while still embodied’; academic-literal translations emphasize temporal markers (iha eva; prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt) and treat ‘vega’ as an internal surge/impulse rather than an external conflict. No widely noted substantive textual variant affects the core sense.
FAQs
The verse frames well-being as the capacity to tolerate and regulate strong affective surges—especially those rooted in desire and anger—rather than being driven by them. It presents self-control as a learned endurance of impulses (vega) within ordinary embodied life.
By placing the practice ‘before release from the body,’ the text implies that spiritual discipline is meaningful within embodied existence. ‘Yukta’ signals an integrated person whose faculties are harmonized; happiness (sukha) is linked to inner steadiness rather than external conditions.
In Chapter 5’s discussion of renunciation and disciplined action, this verse supports the idea that genuine renunciation is not merely social withdrawal but mastery over reactive tendencies. It complements nearby verses that describe peace arising from regulated senses and mind.
Applied today, it can be read as guidance for cultivating pause and restraint under provocation—e.g., noticing craving or irritation, delaying reaction, and choosing a considered response. Practices such as mindfulness, ethical reflection, and habit training align with the verse’s emphasis on enduring impulses without being compelled by them.