Bhagavad Gita · Gunatraya Vibhaga YogaChapter 14, Shloka 23 (14.23)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येव योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते
॥ 14.23 ॥
udāsīnavadāsīno guṇairyo na vicālyate
guṇā vartanta ityeva yo'vatiṣṭhati neṅgate
Translation
"— one who, seated as if indifferent, is not shaken by the gunas; who, knowing 'it is only the gunas doing (their) work', remains steady and does not waver —"
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. yathā udāsīnaḥ na kasyacit pakṣaṃ bhajate — just as a neutral person takes no one's side; vivekadarśanāvasthātaḥ — not shaken from the state of discerning vision.
Acharya Ramanuja. guṇavyatiriktātmāvalokanatṛptyā anyatra udāsīnavad āsīnaḥ — content with seeing the Self as distinct from the gunas, one is as if indifferent to everything else; guṇāḥ sveṣu kāryeṣu prakāśādiṣu vartante iti anusaṃdhāya yaḥ tūṣṇīm avatiṣṭhate — remembering "the gunas are at their own work", one remains quietly established.
Madhusudana Saraswati. A beautiful image of the "indifferent one": yathodāsīno dvayor vivadamānayoḥ kasyacit pakṣam abhajamāno na rajyati na vā dveṣṭi — like a neutral bystander between two people quarrelling — taking neither one's side nor resenting the other — so the knower of the Self is svasvarūpa evāsīnaḥ — seated in their own true nature.
Shridhara Swami. He regards 14.23–14.25 as parasaṃvedyaṃ lakṣaṇam — signs (conduct) visible to others; 14.22 was svasaṃvedya (experienced by oneself).
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.