सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ। ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि।।2.38।।
sukhaduḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jaya‑ajayau; tataḥ yuddhāya yujyasva na evam pāpam avāpsyasi.
Translation
Treat happiness and distress alike, profit and loss, victory and defeat as equal; then engage in battle. By doing so you will never incur sin.
Word Meanings
sukha — happiness; duḥkhe — and distress; same — in equanimity; kṛtvā — doing so; lābha‑alābhau — both profit and loss; jaya‑ajayau — both victory and defeat; tataḥ — thereafter; yuddhāya — for the sake of fighting; yujyasva — engage (fight); na — never; evam — in this way; pāpam — sinful reaction; avāpsyasi — you will gain.
Understanding the Verse
Verse 2.38 marks a pivotal moment in Krishna's instruction to Arjuna, emphasizing the mental posture required for selfless action. The first half of the verse, "sukhaduḥkhe same kṛtvā," instructs Arjuna to see pleasure (sukha) and pain (duḥkha) as identical. This is not a denial of the reality of emotions but a call to rise above their fleeting nature. By recognizing that both happiness and suffering are temporary manifestations of the material world, a practitioner can maintain inner stability and avoid being swayed by external circumstances.
The next pair, "lābhālābhau," extends this equanimity to financial or material gain and loss. In the battlefield of Kurukshetra, the stakes appear high—kingdoms, honor, and life itself. Krishna reminds Arjuna that material outcomes, whether profit or loss, are merely transitory results of action. When a warrior sees them as equal, his focus shifts from attachment to the fruits of his deeds toward the righteousness of the duty itself.
Following this, "jaya‑ajayau" brings the same principle to success and failure. Victory and defeat are often the most potent triggers of ego—either inflating it in success or crushing it in loss. By equating them, Arjuna is urged to cultivate a steady mind that does not rejoice in triumph nor despair in defeat, thereby preventing the ego from dictating his choices.
Having established this balanced mindset, Krishna moves to the imperative: "tataḥ yuddhāya yujyasva," meaning "thereafter, engage in the fight." The word "yujyasva" is rooted in the same root as "yoga," signifying a disciplined union of action with divine purpose. The verse thus frames the battlefield as a field of spiritual practice, where the warrior's surrender to duty becomes an expression of yoga—action performed without attachment.
The final clause, "na evam pāpam avāpsyasi," seals the teaching with a moral guarantee: by acting in this way, one does not incur sin. Sin, in the Gita's context, arises from actions motivated by selfish desire and ignorance. When actions are rooted in equanimity and performed as a duty (dharma), they are purified and become a means of spiritual elevation rather than a source of karmic bondage.
In summary, verse 2.38 condenses the essence of Karma‑yoga: a disciplined, detached engagement with the world. It teaches that the true battle is internal—against the fluctuations of the mind. By mastering this inner equilibrium, the warrior not only fulfills his dharma without accruing sin but also steps onto the path of self‑realization, where every action becomes a step toward liberation.
