Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Bhagavad Gita 2.66: Nasti buddhirayuktasya

Krishna says that a person without discipline has no steady understanding and no deep reflection (bhāvanā).

Bhagavad Gita 2.66

नास्ति बु­द्धि­र­यु­क्त­स्य न चायुक्तस्य भावना ।न चाभावयतः शा­न्ति­र­शा­न्त­स्य कुतः सुखम् ॥

Nasti bud­dhi­ra­yuk­tas­ya na cha­yuk­tas­ya bhavana
Na cha­bha­va­ya­tah shan­ti­ra­shan­tas­ya kutah sukham

nāsti bud­dhi­ra­yuk­tas­ya na cāyuktasya bhāvanā |
na cā­bhā­va­ya­taḥ śān­ti­ra­śān­tas­ya kutaḥ sukham ||

Our meaning Krishna says that a person without discipline has no steady understanding and no deep reflection (bhāvanā). Without reflection there is no peace, and without peace, he asks, how can there be happiness?

हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जो युक्त (संयमित) नहीं है, उसमें न स्थिर बुद्धि होती है, न भावना (गहरा चिंतन)। भावना के बिना शांति नहीं मिलती, और वे पूछते हैं कि अशांत व्यक्ति को सुख कहाँ?

Word by word

Every word, with its dictionary page

Word by word

  1. न na not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 ind. not, no, nor, neither
  2. अस्ति asti is (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. as, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 117, col. 2 to be, live, exist, be present
  3. बुद्धिः buddhiḥ understanding (noun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: buddhi, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 733, col. 3 intelligence, reason, intellect, mind, discernment, judgment
  4. अयुक्तस्य ayuktasya of the undisciplined (adjective (masculine), genitive singular) Dictionary: a-yukta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 85, col. 3
  5. न na not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 ind. not, no, nor, neither
  6. च ca and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 ind. and, both, also, moreover, as well as
  7. अयुक्तस्य ayuktasya of the undisciplined (adjective (masculine), genitive singular) Dictionary: a-yukta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 85, col. 3
  8. भावना bhāvanā contemplation (noun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: bhāvanā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 755, col. 1 reflection, contemplation
  9. न na not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 ind. not, no, nor, neither
  10. च ca and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 ind. and, both, also, moreover, as well as
  11. अभावयतः abhāvayataḥ of one without contemplation (negative causative present participle, genitive singular) Dictionary: 3. a, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1, col. 1 having a negative or privative or contrary sense ; 1. bhū, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 760, col. 2 arise, come into being, exist
  12. शान्तिः śāntiḥ peace (noun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: śānti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1064, col. 3 tranquillity, peace, quiet, peace or calmness of mind
  13. अशान्तस्य aśāntasya of one without peace (adjective (masculine), genitive singular) Dictionary: a-śānta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 113, col. 1 restless, unresigned
  14. कुतः kutaḥ from where (indeclinable) Dictionary: kutas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 290, col. 2 from where? whence?
  15. सुखम् sukham happiness (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: sukha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1221, col. 1 ease, easiness, comfort, prosperity, pleasure, happiness

Public-domain translations

Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 51.

He who is not self-restrained has no steadiness of mind; nor has he who is not self-restrained perseverance1 in the pursuit of self-knowledge; there is no tranquillity for him who does not persevere in the pursuit of self-knowledge; and whence can there be happiness for one who is not tranquil?

  1. For a somewhat similar use of the word bhâvanâ in this sense, comp. Dhammapada, stanza 301. ↩
English translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882); public domain. archive.org (page 51, scan leaf n64). Shown verbatim.
Compare 3 translations

Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 51.

He who is not self-restrained has no steadiness of mind; nor has he who is not self-restrained perseverance1 in the pursuit of self-knowledge; there is no tranquillity for him who does not persevere in the pursuit of self-knowledge; and whence can there be happiness for one who is not tranquil?

  1. For a somewhat similar use of the word bhâvanâ in this sense, comp. Dhammapada, stanza 301. ↩
English translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882); public domain. archive.org (page 51, scan leaf n64). Shown verbatim.

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Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 37.

There is no Buddhi for the non-harmonized, nor for the non-harmonized is there concentration1; for him without concentration there is no peace, and for the unpeaceful how can there be happiness?

  1. Bhâvanâ. ↩
English translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895); public domain. archive.org (page 37, scan leaf n43). Shown verbatim.

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Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 59.

No knowledge (of the Self) has the unsteady. Nor has he meditation. To the unmeditative there is no peace. And how can one without peace have happiness?

English translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909); public domain. archive.org (page 59, scan leaf n70). Shown verbatim.

You are reading this one

Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep with AI help and reviewed. Source and changes

Questions families ask

Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 2.66?

Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 2 (Sankhya 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 with AI help and reviewed. See the source

Is the meaning on this page a translation?

Explanation written for this site with AI help from the sources listed here, and reviewed. 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.
Sanskrit text
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. Used only to date the text. The Devanagari on this page is a reading text and is not copied from this printing.
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 with AI help from the sources listed here, and reviewed. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Review
AI review: 2 independent reviews against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.

Sources and licences

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