Sanskrit
प्रजहाति यदा कामान्सर्वान्पार्थ मनोगतान् । आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते ॥
prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha manogatān ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ sthitaprajñas tadocyate
Translation
When a man abandoneth, O Pârtha, all the desires of the heart, and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then is he called stable in mind.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The chapter’s closing portrait of the sthitaprajna — the person of steady wisdom — begins here. Its mark: abandoning every desire that arises in the mind and finding contentment in the self alone, by the self alone. This is the practical, psychological complement to the metaphysical teaching earlier in the chapter — if the self is what’s real and permanent, resting satisfaction there, rather than in outcomes, is what stability of mind actually looks like. Ātmani eva ātmanā tuṣṭaḥ — satisfied in the self, by the self — makes contentment a closed loop with no external input, which is why it can’t be disturbed from outside. The desires being dropped are specifically manogata, mind-born; the discipline is upstream, at the point where wanting forms.
Study deeper
Word by word
- prajahātiप्रजहाति
- one casts away
- yadāयदा
- when
- kāmān sarvānकामान् सर्वान्
- all desires
- pārthaपार्थ
- O Pārtha
- manogatānमनोगतान्
- that arise in the mind (manaḥ-gatān)
- ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥआत्मन्य् एवात्मना तुष्टः
- content in the self, by the self alone (ātmani + eva + ātmanā + tuṣṭaḥ)
- sthitaprajñasस्थितप्रज्ञस्
- of steady wisdom
- tadocyateतदोच्यते
- then he is called (tadā + ucyate)
Commentary
Site Commentary
“Satisfied in the Self by the Self” doubles the same word deliberately — the contentment described here isn’t just internally located, it’s internally generated and internally addressed at once, a closed loop. Ordinary satisfaction usually needs an external referent to complete it; this verse describes one that doesn’t.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Notice the moments you're waiting for someone else's reaction to know whether you did well — then practice locating a version of satisfaction that doesn't need any input arriving from outside you to complete itself.
Professional
- Don't peg your sense of a job well done entirely to a manager's approval or a metric moving — build an internal bar for good work that doesn't need external confirmation to register as met.
Family & Social
- Don't make your day's peace of mind entirely contingent on a partner's mood or approval — practice a baseline contentment that doesn't need their reaction to complete it, even while still caring how they feel.
Ask yourself
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