Bhagavad Gita 12.15: meaning and translation
Chapter 12: Bhakti Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that the person who does not disturb the world, and whom the world does not disturb, who is free from elation, anger (amarṣa), fear and agitation, is dear to him.
Click or tap a word for its meaning and its dictionary page.
Text and layers
Text and layers
These choices stay in this browser.
Bhagavad Gita 12.15
यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च यः ।हर्षामर्षभयोद्वेगैर्मुक्तो यः स च मे प्रियः ॥
Yasmannodvijate loko lokannodvijate cha yahHarshamarshabhayodvegairmukto yah sa cha me priyah
yasmānnodvijate loko lokānnodvijate ca yaḥ |harṣāmarṣabhayodvegairmukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ ||
Our explanation Krishna says that the person who does not disturb the world, and whom the world does not disturb, who is free from elation, anger (amarṣa), fear and agitation, is dear to him.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जिससे संसार को उद्वेग (बेचैनी) नहीं होता और जिसे संसार से उद्वेग नहीं होता, जो हर्ष, अमर्ष (क्रोध), भय और उद्वेग से मुक्त है, वह उन्हें प्रिय है।
Word by word
Every word, with its dictionary page
Word by word
- यस्मात् yasmāt · from whom (relative pronoun, ablative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
- उद्विजते udvijate · shrinks, is troubled (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: ud-vij, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 192, col. 1 “to shrink from, recede, leave off”
- लोकः lokaḥ · the world, people (nominative singular) Dictionary: loka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 906, col. 1 “the wide space or world”
- लोकात् lokāt · from the world (ablative singular) Dictionary: loka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 906, col. 1 “the wide space or world”
- न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
- उद्विजते udvijate · shrinks, is troubled (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: ud-vij, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 192, col. 1 “to shrink from, recede, leave off”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- यः yaḥ · who (relative pronoun, nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- हर्षामर्षभयोद्वेगैः harṣāmarṣabhayodvegaiḥ · from joy, anger, fear and anxiety (compound, instrumental plural) Dictionary: harṣa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1292, col. 2 “joy, pleasure, happiness”; a-marṣa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 81, col. 1 “impatience, indignation, anger, passion”; bhaya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 747, col. 1 “fear, alarm, dread, apprehension”; ud-vega, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 192, col. 1 “trembling, waving, shaking; agitation, anxiety”
- मुक्तः muktaḥ · free (past participle, nominative singular) Dictionary: mukta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 820, col. 3 “loosened, let loose, set free, relaxed; liberated, delivered, emancipated”
- यः yaḥ · who (relative pronoun, nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- सः saḥ · he (pronoun, nominative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- मे me · to "me" (pronoun, genitive singular) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”
- प्रियः priyaḥ · dear (nominative singular) Dictionary: priya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 710, col. 1 “beloved, dear to (gen., loc., dat. or comp.), liked, favourite”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 101.
He through whom the world is not agitated1, and who is not agitated by the world, who is free from joy and anger and fear and agitation, he too is dear to me.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - No disturbance results from him to other men, or from other men to him. Cf. Sutta Nipâta, p. 56. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 101.
He through whom the world is not agitated1, and who is not agitated by the world, who is free from joy and anger and fear and agitation, he too is dear to me.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - No disturbance results from him to other men, or from other men to him. Cf. Sutta Nipâta, p. 56. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 120.
He who harasseth not the world and whom the world also doth not harass, freed from the harassments of joy, anger and fear, he is dear to Me.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 249.
He by whom the world is not agitated and who cannot be agitated by the world, freed from joy, envy, fear and anxiety,—he is dear to Me.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 101. Bhagavad Gita 12.15.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 120. Bhagavad Gita 12.15.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 249. Bhagavad Gita 12.15.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 12.15: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/12/15/
Pujadeep’s explanations are free to quote with credit: name Pujadeep and link to the page. How to credit
Classical readings, by school
Each reading is named by its school. None is presented as the only meaning.
What Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita teach, in short
Madhva Dvaita
Madhva takes the 'joy' (harṣa) that this devotee is free from to mean a strong longing for what is not right.
Source: The Bhagavad-Gita: translation and commentaries in English according to Sri Madhwacharya's Bhashyas, by S. Subba Rau (Madras, 1906), commentary on 12.15, p. 241 (leaf n239). Summarised in our own words; none of its text is reproduced.
Share
Show the ways to share
Send one picture or the text to one chat. The picture names its source and the address of this page.
Drawing the picture
See the words
Bhagavad Gita 12.15
यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च यः ।
हर्षामर्षभयोद्वेगैर्मुक्तो यः स च मे प्रियः ॥
“He through whom the world is not agitated, and who is not agitated by the world, who is free from joy and anger and fear and agitation, he too is dear to me.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 101, public domain)
“He who harasseth not the world and whom the world also doth not harass, freed from the harassments of joy, anger and fear, he is dear to Me.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 120, public domain)
“He by whom the world is not agitated and who cannot be agitated by the world, freed from joy, envy, fear and anxiety,—he is dear to Me.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 249, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/12/15/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 12.15?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 12 (Bhakti Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Commentary
- The Bhagavad-Gita: translation and commentaries in English according to Sri Madhwacharya's Bhashyas, by S. Subba Rau (Madras, 1906) (Scan uploaded to archive.org (folkscanomy collection)). Summarised in our own words; none of its text is reproduced.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 27, 2026.