Bhagavad Gita 18.10 Meaning: Na dveshtyakushalam karma

Bhagavad Gita 18.10

न द्वेष्ट्यकुशलं कर्म कुशले नानुषज्जते ।त्यागी सत्त्वसमाविष्टो मेधावी छिन्नसंशयः ॥

Na dveshtyakushalam karma kushale nanushajjateTyagi sattvasamavishto medhavi chhinnasanshayah

na dveṣṭyakuśalaṃ karma kuśale nānuṣajjate |tyāgī sattvasamāviṣṭo medhāvī chinnasaṃśayaḥ ||

How to read these English letters (IAST)

Our explanation Krishna describes the one who gives up in this way. Filled with sattva, wise and free of doubt, such a person does not dislike unpleasant work and is not attached to pleasant work.

हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण ऐसे त्यागी का वर्णन करते हैं। सत्त्व से भरा, मेधावी और संशय से मुक्त ऐसा व्यक्ति अप्रिय कर्म से द्वेष नहीं करता और प्रिय कर्म में आसक्त नहीं होता।

Word by word

Every word, with its dictionary page

Word by word

न na · not (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”
अकुशलम् akuśalam · unpleasant, not good (adjective (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: a-kuśala, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 2, col. 2 “inauspicious, evil”
कर्म karma · action (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: karman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 258, col. 2 “act, action, performance, business”
कुशले kuśale · to the pleasant, good (adjective (neuter), locative singular) Dictionary: kuśala, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 297, col. 2 “right, proper, suitable, good”
न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
अनुषज्जते anuṣajjate · is attached (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: anu-ṣañj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 39, col. 3 “to cling to, adhere, be attached to”
त्यागी tyāgī · the one who gives up (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: tyāgin, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 456, col. 3 “giving up, resigning (ifc.)”
सत्त्वसमाविष्टः sattvasamāviṣṭaḥ · filled with sattva (compound (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: sat-tva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1135, col. 2 “the quality of purity or goodness”; sam-ā-viṣṭa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1162, col. 3 “entered together or at once, seized, occupied, possessed by or filled with (instr. or comp.)”
मेधावी medhāvī · wise (adjective (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: medhā-vin, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 833, col. 1; medhā-vat, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 833, col. 1 “possessing wisdom, intelligent, wise”
छिन्नसंशयः chinnasaṃśayaḥ · whose doubts are cut away (compound (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: chinna-saṃśaya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 406, col. 3 “one whose doubts are dispelled, confident”

2 printings differ

Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.

The printed edition reads: न द्वेष्ट्यकुशलं कर्म कुशलं नानुषज्जते ।
त्यागी सत्त्वसमाविष्टो मेधावी छिन्नसंशयः ॥ The print shows कुशलं (an anusvara and no e-sign over श, leaf n250). Read as a printing flaw and corrected to कुशले: the verb anuṣajjate ('is attached to') takes the locative, the line contrasts akuśalaṃ karma with kuśale, and both proofreading references read कुशले. Same kind of flaw as 12.18 and 14.26 (GOAL.md, 12 Oct 2026). Review 2 re-read leaf n250 enlarged: the print is plainly कुशलं. It is kept as a flaw, not logged as a variant, because the accusative would leave anuṣajjate without the locative it takes and would break the contrast with akuśalaṃ karma; neither e-text nor any edition used here reads it.
Spelling The 1922 Madras printing reads: न द्वेष्ट्यकुशलं कर्म कुशलं नानुषज्जते The 1922 base printing (leaf n250) reads कुशलं, a printing flaw corrected to कुशले; see normalisations.

I. e. who has the frame of mind necessary for a good abandonment. ↩

Such as bathing at midday in summer. ↩

I. e. who has the frame of mind necessary for a good abandonment. ↩

Such as bathing at midday in summer. ↩

Bhagavad Gita 18.10: meaning and translation

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