Bhagavad Gita 18.53: meaning and translation
Chapter 18: Moksha Sannyasa Yoga. Krishna says
Having given up pride, force, arrogance, desire, anger and possessions, free of the sense of "mine" and at peace, such a person, Krishna says, becomes fit to become Brahman (brahma-bhūya).
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Bhagavad Gita 18.53
अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम् ।विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥
Ahankaram balam darpam kamam krodham parigrahamVimuchya nirmamah shanto brahmabhuyaya kalpate
ahaṅkāraṃ balaṃ darpaṃ kāmaṃ krodhaṃ parigraham |vimucya nirmamaḥ śānto brahmabhūyāya kalpate ||
Our explanation Having given up pride, force, arrogance, desire, anger and possessions, free of the sense of "mine" and at peace, such a person, Krishna says, becomes fit to become Brahman (brahma-bhūya).
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि अहंकार, बल, दर्प, काम, क्रोध और परिग्रह (संग्रह) को छोड़कर, ममता से रहित और शांत ऐसा व्यक्ति ब्रह्मभाव (ब्रह्म होने) के योग्य होता है।
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- अहङ्कारम् ahaṅkāram · ego (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: ahaṃ-kāra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 124, col. 2 “conception of one's individuality, self-consciousness”
- बलम् balam · force (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: bala, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 722, col. 3 “power, strength, might, vigour, force, validity”
- दर्पम् darpam · arrogance (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: darpa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 470, col. 2 “pride, arrogance, haughtiness, insolence, conceit”
- कामम् kāmam · desire (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: kāma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 271, col. 3 “wish, desire, longing”
- क्रोधम् krodham · anger (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: krodha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 322, col. 1 “anger, wrath, passion”
- परिग्रहम् parigraham · possessions (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: pari-graha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 593, col. 1 “getting, attaining, acquisition, possession, property”
- विमुच्य vimucya · having let go (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: 1. vi-muc, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 980, col. 2 “to leave, abandon, quit, desert, give up, relinquish”
- निर्ममः nirmamaḥ · free from "mine" (compound (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: nir-mama, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 541, col. 3 “unselfish, disinterested, (esp.) free from all worldly connections”
- शान्तः śāntaḥ · calm (past participle (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: 2. śānta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1064, col. 2 “appeased, pacified, tranquil, calm, free from passions, undisturbed”
- ब्रह्मभूयाय brahmabhūyāya · for becoming Brahman (compound (neuter), dative singular) Dictionary: brahma-bhūya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 739, col. 2 “identification with or absorption into Brahmă”
- कल्पते kalpate · becomes fit (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: kḷp, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 308, col. 2 “to be fit for”
1 printing differs
Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.
- The printed edition reads: अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम्
विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥ The print has no danda after the first half (परिग्रहम्, leaf n265, p. 256); the danda is supplied in the display text, as for 12.16.
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 128.
who abandoning egoism1, stubbornness, arrogance, desire, anger, and (all) belongings, has no (thought that this or that is) mine, and who is tranquil, becomes fit for assimilation with the Brahman.
This sentence begins in 18.51.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - See p. 52. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 128.
who abandoning egoism1, stubbornness, arrogance, desire, anger, and (all) belongings, has no (thought that this or that is) mine, and who is tranquil, becomes fit for assimilation with the Brahman.
This sentence begins in 18.51.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - See p. 52. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 162–163.
Having abandoned egoism, violence, arrogance, desire, wrath, covetousness, devoid of worldly affection and peaceful—he is fit to become Brahman.
This sentence begins in 18.51.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 343.
Forsaking egoism, power, pride, lust, wrath, property; freed from the notion of "mine," and tranquil, he is fit for becoming Brahman.
This sentence begins in 18.51.
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. 128. Bhagavad Gita 18.53.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), pp. 162–163. Bhagavad Gita 18.53.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 343. Bhagavad Gita 18.53.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 18.53: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/53/
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Bhagavad Gita 18.53
अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम् ।
विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥
“who abandoning egoism, stubbornness, arrogance, desire, anger, and (all) belongings, has no (thought that this or that is) mine, and who is tranquil, becomes fit for assimilation with the Brahman.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 128, public domain)
This sentence begins in 18.51.
“Having abandoned egoism, violence, arrogance, desire, wrath, covetousness, devoid of worldly affection and peaceful—he is fit to become Brahman.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), pp. 162–163, public domain)
This sentence begins in 18.51.
“Forsaking egoism, power, pride, lust, wrath, property; freed from the notion of "mine," and tranquil, he is fit for becoming Brahman.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 343, public domain)
This sentence begins in 18.51.
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/53/ 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 18.53?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 18 (Moksha Sannyasa 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.
- 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 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026