Verse 12.13
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च | निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी ||१३||
Transliteration (IAST)
adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca | nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī ||13||
Word-by-Word Meanings
adveṣṭā-non-hating
sarva-bhūtānām-toward all beings
maitraḥ-friendly
karuṇaḥ-compassionate
nirmamaḥ-free from possessiveness
nirahaṅkāraḥ-free from ego
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ-equal in pain and pleasure
kṣamī-forgiving
Translation
One who hates no being, who is friendly and compassionate to all, free from possessiveness and egoism, equal in pain and pleasure, and forgiving -
Commentary
Krishna begins the celebrated description of the ideal devotee (12.13-19). Shankaracharya notes that 'adveṣṭā' (non-hatred) comes first because it is the foundation - one cannot be truly friendly (maitraḥ) while harboring enmity. Ramanuja emphasizes that these qualities arise naturally from devotion rather than being cultivated through willpower alone.
Themes
bhaktidharmayoga