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Bhagavad Gita 2.14
The traditional text
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत॥
Roman reading aid
mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ |
āgamāpāyino ’nityās tāṃs titikṣasva bhārata ||
Meaning in everyday language
Contact between the senses and their objects brings cold and heat, pleasure and discomfort, O son of Kunti. These experiences arrive and pass away; they do not last. Meet them with endurance, O Bharata.
Understand the teaching
Arjuna is overwhelmed by the prospect of fighting people he loves. Krishna begins to distinguish the changing body and its experiences from the enduring Self. Here the immediate lesson is about the rise and passing of sensory experience: what feels pleasant now can feel unpleasant under different conditions. The verse names this instability before asking for steadiness.
Titiksha is endurance that leaves room for thoughtful action. In study, a frustrating exercise need not decide whether you are capable of learning. You can notice the frustration, take a sensible break and return. This practical example draws on the verse; the spiritual teaching itself belongs to Krishna’s larger account of the Self and liberation.
Words and phrases
- मात्रास्पर्शाः (mātrā-sparśāḥ)
- sense contacts
- शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः (śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ)
- giving cold, heat, pleasure and pain
- आगमापायिनः (āgamāpāyinaḥ)
- coming and passing away
- अनित्याः (anityāḥ)
- impermanent
- तितिक्षस्व (titikṣasva)
- bear with endurance
Pause and think
A difficult exercise makes you want to abandon the subject. What could endurance look like?
See an explained answer
I can name the frustration, pause briefly and attempt one smaller step. A passing feeling can inform my next action without deciding my whole future.