Word meanings
- yam
- whom
- hi
- verily
- na
- not
- vyathayanti
- distressed
- ete
- these
- puruṣam
- person
- puruṣa-ṛṣabha
- the noblest amongst men, Arjun
- sama
- equipoised
- duḥkha
- distress
- sukham
- happiness
- dhīram
- steady
- saḥ
- that person
- amṛtatvāya
- for liberation
- kalpate
- becomes eligible
Translations
That firm man, whom surely these afflictions do not, O chief among men, to whom pleasure and pain are the same, is fit for attaining immortality.
The hero whose soul is unmoved by circumstances, who accepts pleasure and pain with equanimity, is only fit for immortality.
O Arjuna, who is foremost among men, verily, the person whom these do not torment, the wise man to whom sorrow and happiness are the same—he is fit for immortality.
कारण कि हे पुरुषोंमें श्रेष्ठ अर्जुन! सुख-दुःखमें सम रहनेवाले जिस धीर मनुष्यको ये मात्रास्पर्श (पदार्थ) व्यथित (सुखी-दुःखी) नहीं कर पाते, वह अमर होनेमें समर्थ हो जाता है अर्थात् वह अमर हो जाता है।Commentary
Dehadhyasa or identification of the Self with the body is the cause of pleasure and pain. The more you are able to identify yourself with the immortal, allpervading Self, the less will you be affected by the pairs of opposites (Dvandvas, pleasure and pain, etc.)Titiksha or the power of endurance develops the willpower. Calm endurance in pleasure and pain, and heat and cold is one of the alifications of an aspirant on the path of Jnana Yoga. It is one of the Shatsampat or sixfold virtues.
It is a condition of right knowledge. Titiksha by itself cannot give you Moksha or liberation, but still, when coupled with discrimination and dispassion, it becomes a means to the attainment of Immortality or knowledge of the Self. (Cf.XVII.53)