Bhagavad Gita 12.17: meaning and translation
Chapter 12: Bhakti Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that the one who neither rejoices nor hates, neither grieves nor craves, who has given up both the pleasant and the unpleasant (śubha and aśubha), and who is full of devotion, is dear to him.
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Bhagavad Gita 12.17
यो न हृष्यति न द्वेष्टि न शोचति न काङ्क्षति ।शुभाशुभपरित्यागी भक्तिमान्यः स मे प्रियः ॥
Yo na hrishyati na dveshti na shochati na kankshatiShubhashubhaparityagi bhaktimanyah sa me priyah
yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati |śubhāśubhaparityāgī bhaktimānyaḥ sa me priyaḥ ||
Our explanation Krishna says that the one who neither rejoices nor hates, neither grieves nor craves, who has given up both the pleasant and the unpleasant (śubha and aśubha), and who is full of devotion, is dear to him.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं: जो खुशी में फूल नहीं उठता, किसी से वैर नहीं रखता, दुख में नहीं डूबता और किसी चीज़ की लालसा नहीं रखता; जिसने शुभ-अशुभ (अच्छा और बुरा) दोनों छोड़ दिए हैं, और जिसके मन में भक्ति है, ऐसा व्यक्ति उन्हें प्रिय है।
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Word by word
- यः yaḥ · who (relative pronoun, nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- न na · neither, not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
- हृष्यति hṛṣyati · rejoices (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: hṛṣ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1303, col. 2 “to thrill with rapture, rejoice, exult, be glad or pleased”
- न na · nor (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
- द्वेष्टि dveṣṭi · hates (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 2. dviṣ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 506, col. 3 “to hate, show hatred against”
- न na · nor (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
- शोचति śocati · grieves (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. śuc, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1081, col. 1 “to suffer violent heat or pain, be sorrowful or afflicted”
- न na · nor (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
- काङ्क्षति kāṅkṣati · longs for (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: kāṅkṣ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 268, col. 1 “to wish, desire, long for, hope for”
- शुभाशुभपरित्यागी śubhāśubhaparityāgī · who gives up good and bad (compound, nominative singular) Dictionary: śubhāśubha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1083, col. 3 “pleasant and unpleasant, agreeable and disagreeable”; pari-tyāgin, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 595, col. 2 “leaving, quitting, forsaking, renouncing (mostly ifc.)”
- भक्तिमान् bhaktimān · full of devotion (nominative singular) Dictionary: bhakti-mat, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 743, col. 2 “accompanied by devotion or loyalty”
- 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”
- 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 who is full of devotion to me, who feels no joy and no aversion, who does not grieve and does not desire, who abandons (both what is) agreeable and (what is) disagreeable, he is dear to me.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 101.
He who is full of devotion to me, who feels no joy and no aversion, who does not grieve and does not desire, who abandons (both what is) agreeable and (what is) disagreeable, he is dear to me.
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 121.
He who neither loveth nor hateth, nor grieveth, nor desireth, renouncing good and evil, My devotee, he is dear to Me.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 250.
He who neither rejoices, nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, renouncing good and evil,—he who is full of devotion, 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 12.17.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 121. Bhagavad Gita 12.17.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 250. Bhagavad Gita 12.17.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 12.17: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/12/17/
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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 says the negatives here carry the sense of 'never': such a devotee never rejoices, hates, grieves or craves. The good (śubha) that is given up does not include knowledge, devotion, detachment (vairāgya) and the like; those are kept.
Source: The Bhagavad-Gita: translation and commentaries in English according to Sri Madhwacharya's Bhashyas, by S. Subba Rau (Madras, 1906), commentary on 12.17, p. 242 (leaf n240). Summarised in our own words; none of its text is reproduced.
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Bhagavad Gita 12.17
यो न हृष्यति न द्वेष्टि न शोचति न काङ्क्षति ।
शुभाशुभपरित्यागी भक्तिमान्यः स मे प्रियः ॥
“He who is full of devotion to me, who feels no joy and no aversion, who does not grieve and does not desire, who abandons (both what is) agreeable and (what is) disagreeable, he 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 neither loveth nor hateth, nor grieveth, nor desireth, renouncing good and evil, My devotee, he is dear to Me.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 121, public domain)
“He who neither rejoices, nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, renouncing good and evil,—he who is full of devotion, is dear to Me.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 250, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/12/17/ 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 12.17?
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.