Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 12 · Verse 15

यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको

A source-grounded reference to a quality Krishna describes as dear to him: a devotee who does not become a source of disturbance to the world and who is not inwardly thrown into agitation by the world, while becoming free from the verse’s cluster of joy, intolerance, fear and disturbance.

Canonical SanskritIASTKrishna · Bhagavad GitaVerified 24 August 2026

Canonical text

यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च यः ।
हर्षामर्षभयोद्वेगैर्मुक्तो यः स च मे प्रियः ॥१२.१५॥

IAST transliteration

yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate ca yaḥ |
harṣāmarṣabhayodvegair mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ || 12.15 ||

Text witness note: SlokaSandra preserves the Devanagari as printed in the Sanskrit Wikisource Bhaktiyoga witness and cross-checks its placement against the public-domain Besant/Bhagavan Das edition. IAST is a transliteration of the checked Sanskrit, not a replacement canonical text.

Phrase by phrase

Read disturbance in both directions

The verse does not describe only private calm. Its first half is relational: one’s conduct should not make the world shrink in agitation, while external events should not continually overturn one’s own inner steadiness.

yasmāt na udvijate lokaḥ

From whom the world is not disturbed

The grammatical direction matters. The devotee is not merely someone who feels peaceful; the person’s conduct should not become a source of harmful agitation for others. Ramanuja makes this practical conduct dimension especially explicit.

lokāt na udvijate ca yaḥ

Who is not disturbed by the world

The direction then reverses. The practitioner develops steadiness amid external situations. This does not mean denying danger, injustice or grief. It describes a spiritual discipline, not the impossibility of being affected by real events.

harṣa

Elation or excited delight

Shankara glosses this through the inner surge associated with obtaining something pleasing. SlokaSandra avoids turning the term into a ban on ordinary happiness; the commentary is describing freedom from destabilizing emotional reactivity in its ascetic/devotional frame.

amarṣa

Intolerance or resentful inability to bear

The Sanskrit term is not simply “anger” in every context. Traditional commentary describes a reactive inability to tolerate. That distinction is useful because it keeps the translation from collapsing several different terms into one modern emotion label.

bhaya

Fear

The verse includes fear among the reactions from which the ideal devotee is free. That is a spiritual description of the ideal, not a claim that experiencing fear is moral failure or that devotion guarantees physical safety.

udvega

Agitation or disturbance

The word gathers the verse’s theme: disturbance caused and disturbance received. It should not be repackaged as a clinical label for anxiety disorders or as evidence that someone in distress has failed spiritually.

Chapter context

Verse 12.15 belongs to a longer portrait of the devotee

Bhagavad Gita chapter 12 turns from Arjuna’s question about modes of worship toward qualities associated with devotion to Krishna. Verses 12.13 onward form a linked sequence of descriptions rather than isolated slogans. Verse 12.13 begins with non-hatred toward beings, friendliness and compassion; verse 12.14 continues with contentment, discipline, resolve and dedication of mind and intellect. Verse 12.15 adds the reciprocal language of not disturbing the world and not being disturbed by it. Verse 12.16 continues with freedom from expectation, purity, skill, impartiality and freedom from distress in its own traditional vocabulary.

The public-domain Besant/Bhagavan Das witness independently preserves this sequence. That matters because a clipped quotation of 12.15 can sound like a command simply to remain emotionally untouched. In context, however, the verse is one feature within a broader devotional ethic that includes how one relates to other beings, how one disciplines oneself and how one directs mind and understanding toward Krishna.

The phrase sa ca me priyaḥ — “and that person is dear to Me” — also recurs in this chapter’s portrait. SlokaSandra therefore presents 12.15 as part of a cumulative description of the devotee, not as a standalone formula for emotional invulnerability.

Traditional readings

Shankara and Ramanuja preserve different emphases

Shankara / Advaita: the Sanskrit commentary on 12.15 explains the person as one from whom the world does not become agitated and who is likewise not agitated by the world. Shankara then glosses the emotional cluster: harṣa as the uplift or surge arising with attainment of something pleasing, amarṣa as intolerance, bhaya as fear, and udvega as agitation. His presentation belongs to the larger ascetic and knowledge-oriented vocabulary of his Gita commentary.

Ramanuja / Viśiṣṭādvaita: Ramanuja emphasizes conduct. He explains that the world is not disturbed on account of this person because the person does not perform acts that cause disturbance. Conversely, the devotee is not disturbed on account of the world, in the context of confidence that the person is not acting in opposition toward others. His reading makes the social/ethical direction of the verse especially visible.

Why separation matters: the two commentators overlap in seeing steadiness and non-disturbance as virtues, but their philosophical systems and explanatory emphases are not identical. SlokaSandra names the sources instead of synthesizing them into an anonymous claim that “the Gita says never feel upset.”

Learn carefully

Practice the verse in four sense units

यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोकोyasmān nodvijate loko
लोकान्नोद्विजते च यःlokān nodvijate ca yaḥ
हर्षामर्षभयोद्वेगैर्मुक्तो यःharṣāmarṣabhayodvegair mukto yaḥ
स च मे प्रियःsa ca me priyaḥ

Audio status: Awaiting verified recitation.

No recitation is published on this page. SlokaSandra does not label generated or unreviewed pronunciation as traditional or authoritative. If reviewed audio is added later, the normal experience remains in-site listening with play, slow and repeat controls — not an audio download feature.

Claims boundary

Steadiness is not a guarantee against real-world harm

This verse is not presented as mental-health treatment and does not mean that fear, grief, trauma responses or anxiety make a person morally inferior. It must not be used to blame someone for being disturbed by abuse, violence, discrimination, illness, disability, poverty, bereavement or danger. Spiritual discipline and clinical care are different domains.

SlokaSandra also does not use Bhagavad Gita 12.15 to promise conflict-free relationships, physical protection, business success, employment, examination results, legal victory, wealth, health or any other guaranteed outcome. The verse describes a devotional ideal within chapter 12; it is not an insurance policy against uncertainty.

Follow the Gita’s thematic context

Bhagavad Gita 6.5 addresses disciplined relation to self/mind in chapter 6. Bhagavad Gita 9.22 belongs to chapter 9’s discussion of sustained devotion and yoga-kṣema. Bhagavad Gita 12.15 belongs to the chapter 12 portrait of the devotee dear to Krishna. These passages can inform one another without being reduced to one slogan.

Read Bhagavad Gita 6.5 →
Read Bhagavad Gita 9.22 →
Read Bhagavad Gita 18.66 →

Sources & verification

Textual and commentary witnesses

Verified: 24 August 2026. Canonical Sanskrit and the Shankara/Ramanuja commentary context were checked against Sanskrit Wikisource’s Bhaktiyoga page. Verse placement was independently checked against the public-domain Besant/Bhagavan Das Discourse 12 witness. IIT Kanpur’s Gita Supersite is retained as an additional structured citation for chapter/verse commentary verification.