FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 5.18

विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि । श‍ुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिता: समदर्शिन: ॥ १८ ॥
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
[vidyaa-vinaya-sampanne]
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
[braahmane gavi hastini]
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
[shuni chaiva shva-paake cha]
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
[panditaah sama-darshinah]
Word-for-word
vidyā — with education vinaya — and gentleness sampanne — fully equipped brāhmaṇe — in the brāhmaṇa gavi — in the cow hastini — in the elephant śuni — in the dog ca — and eva — certainly śva - pāke — in the dog-eater (the outcaste) ca — respectively paṇḍitāḥ — those who are wise sama - darśinaḥ — who see with equal vision .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
vidyā
with education
vinaya
and gentleness
sampanne
fully equipped
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
brāhmaṇe
in the brāhmaṇa
gavi
in the cow
hastini
in the elephant
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
śuni
in the dog
ca
and
eva
certainly
śva - pāke
in the dog-eater (the outcaste)
ca
respectively
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
paṇḍitāḥ
those who are wise
sama - darśinaḥ
who see with equal vision .
Important Words
  • vidyā-vinaya-sampanne — fully equipped with education and gentleness
    A telling triplet. Vidyā — learning. Vinaya — humility. Sampanna — endowed. Even the most refined member of society, fully decorated with learning and gentleness, is one of the five examples — no privileged place above the others.
  • śva-pāke — in the dog-eater (the outcaste)
    Śva — dog. Pāka — cooker. 'Dog-cooker' — the most degraded social position recognized in classical India. Kṛṣṇa places this figure on the same line of sight as the learned brāhmaṇa. The grammatical equality is deliberate and shocking.
  • paṇḍitāḥ — those who are wise
    Returns from verse 4. The Gītā's paṇḍita is now further specified: not just the one who sees sāṅkhya and yoga as one, but the one whose seeing extends across all life-forms equally. The chapter steadily expands what paṇḍita means.
  • sama-darśinaḥ — who see with equal vision
    Sama — equal. Darśin — seer. The compound names a kind of seeing, not a kind of believing. Equal-seeing is the spontaneous output of having seen the one ātman everywhere; you cannot fake it by trying to be egalitarian on principle.
  • gavi hastini śuni — in the cow, in the elephant, in the dog
    Three locatives in a row. The grammatical parallelism enforces the spiritual parallelism. Cow, elephant, dog — vastly different bodies, vastly different cultural valuations — share the same locative case because they share the same ātmā.
The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Five locatives sweep the spectrum from cultured brāhmaṇa to outcaste dog-cooker. The wise are sama-darśin: they see the same self within each. Birth, species, social rank do not perturb their seeing of the indwelling ātman.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
One of the Gītā's most radical verses on the equality of beings. Sama-darśana does not deny empirical difference — the brāhmaṇa is learned, the elephant is large, the śva-pāka is socially marginal — but at the level of the ātman, what is seen is identical. The verse anchors bhakti's later non-hierarchical openness (9.32). Cross-ref 6.32, 13.28.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
पण्डिताः विद्या-विनय-सम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि शुनि च एव श्व-पाके च सम-दर्शिनः ।
paṇḍitāḥ vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni ca eva śva-pāke ca sama-darśinaḥ |
The wise are equal-seers — in a brāhmaṇa endowed with learning and humility, in a cow, in an elephant, even in a dog and in a dog-eater.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
विद्या-विनय-सम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि । शुनि च एव श्व-पाके च पण्डिताः सम-दर्शिनः ॥
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini | śuni ca eva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
विद्या-विनय-सम्पन्ने vidyā-vinaya-sampanne विद्या (f.) + विनय (m.) + सम्पन्न p.p.p. (past passive participle) loc.sg. (locative singular)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) endowed with learning and humility
ब्राह्मणे brāhmaṇe ब्राह्मण (m.) loc.sg. (locative singular) in a brāhmaṇa
गवि gavi गो (f.) loc.sg. (locative singular) in a cow
हस्तिनि hastini हस्तिन् (m.) loc.sg. (locative singular) in an elephant
शुनि śuni श्वन् (m.) loc.sg. (locative singular) in a dog
च ca ind. (indeclinable) and
एव eva ind. (indeclinable) even, indeed
श्व-पाके śva-pāke श्वन् + पाक (m.) loc.sg. (locative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) in a dog-cooker, outcaste
पण्डिताः paṇḍitāḥ पण्डित (m.) nom.pl. (nominative plural) the wise
सम-दर्शिनः sama-darśinaḥ सम (adj.) + दर्शिन् (m.) nom.pl. (nominative plural), karmadhāraya equal-seers
Purport

A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The brāhmaṇa and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow and an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramātmā, is present in everyone’s heart. Such an understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge. As far as the bodies are concerned in different castes or different species of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramātmā regardless of the circumstances of the living entities. The Lord as Paramātmā is present both in the outcaste and in the brāhmaṇa, although the body of a brāhmaṇa and that of an outcaste are not the same. The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality. The similarity in the quality of the soul and the Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in quantity, for the individual soul is present only in that particular body whereas the Paramātmā is present in each and every body. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has full knowledge of this, and therefore he is truly learned and has equal vision. The similar characteristics of the soul and Supersoul are that they are both conscious, eternal and blissful. But the difference is that the individual soul is conscious within the limited jurisdiction of the body whereas the Supersoul is conscious of all bodies. The Supersoul is present in all bodies without distinction.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
18. The wise man sees equally the brāhmaṇa endowed with knowledge and good conduct, the cow, the elephant, the dog and dog-eater.
Commentary

Those who are beyond the guṇas have no desire to see any object made of the guṇas in comparative terms of better or worse. They have equal vision. They do not see those in the mode of sattva, such as brāhmaṇas and cows, those in the mode of passion such as the elephant, and those in the mode of ignorance, such as dogs and dog-eaters, as superior or inferior. Being learned, they see equally. Equally (sama) means that they are beyond the guṇas, so that they do not see the particular distinctions due to the guṇas. They have the ability to see Brahman which is beyond the guṇas.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
18. The wise man sees paramātmā as equal in creating the brāhmaṇa endowed with knowledge and good conduct, the cow, the elephant, the dog and dog eater.
Commentary

This verse praises those persons. Those who see paramātmā as being equal (sama) in creating unequal bodies for the learned brāhmaṇa and dog eater, differing by actions or duties; and for the cow, elephant and dog, differing in form by species,—they are truly wise. Paramātmā is equal (sama) everywhere, like rainfall, [Note: As the rain falls everywhere and different seeds sprout up, so the Lord equally inspires all jīvas, who develop different bodies according to their karmas.] since the respective species receive their forms according to their respective karmas, not through the Lord’s like or dislike of certain jīvas.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Here, knowledge refers not only knowledge that one is not this body, but also knowledge of the Supersoul. The brahmana and the cow ‑ are in the mode of goodness. The elephant ‑ is in the mode of passion. The dog and the dog‑eater ‑ in the mode of ignorance. Viswanatha C. Thakura says in this verse: "Such a 'pandit' is 'sama‑darsinah' ‑ one who sees with equal vision." But being a bhakta 'per excellence', Srila Viswanatha brings it up to the platform of 'Bhagavan' realization by saying: " SA‑ MA. Such a person has a vision to see MA (Laksmidevi) and SA (with). Who is with Laksmi? Narayana. So he sees Laksmi‑Narayana or ultimately Radha‑Krsna." On different levels, on the Paramatma level is true and also in the highest Krsna consciousness level.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Equality of vision – Liberated self-realized soul can see everything and everyone equally

He, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle Brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog eater

Focus of Learning

(a) “Species” and “Caste” – two basis of mundane differentiation

(b) What is the basis of “equal vision”

Spiritual equality of living entities as spirit soul
Lord neutrally present in the heart of all as Paramatma and thus treats everyone as a friend regardless of the circumstances of the living entities
Bodies are the material productions of different modes of material nature

(c) Similarity in the quality of the soul and Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in

quantity

Individual soul is only present in that particular body
Paramatma is present in each and every body

(a) Meaning of the word “Supreme” used in translation – Krishna is the “Supreme Reality”

The whole Bhagavad-gita centers around the declaration that “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead”
‘Para-tattva’ means the Supreme reality, who is understood by the knowers of the Supreme as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan
Bhagavan is the last word in the Absolute. Two references for this
Ref. Bg. 7.7 –“mattah parataram…”
Ref. Bg. 14.27 – “brahmano hi…”

(b) How a Krishna conscious person proceeds steadily on the path of liberation

By fixing one’s mind, intelligence, faith and refuge in Krishna one is washed of all misgivings
One achieves perfect knowledge in everything concerning transcendence – Thus achieves thorough understanding that there is duality in Krishna (Simultaneous identity and individuality)
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.18 Panditah, the learned ones; sama-darsinah, look with equanimity; brahmane, on a Brahmana; vidya-vinayasampanne, endowed with learning and humility-vidya means knowledge of the Self, and vinaya means pridelessness-, on a Brahmana who has Self-knowledge and modesty; gavi, on a cow; hastini, on an elephant; ca eva, and even; suni, on a dog; ca, as well as; svapake, on an eater of dog's meat.Those learned ones who are habituated to see (equally) the unchanging, same and one Brahman, absolutely untouched by the qualities of sattva etc. and the tendencies created by it, as also by the tendencies born of rajas and tamas, in a Brahmana, who is endowed with Knowledge and tranquillity, who is possessed of good tendencies and the quality of sattva; in a cow, which is possessed of the middling quality of rajas and is not spiritually refined; and in an elephant etc., which are wholly and absolutely imbued with the quality of tamas-they are seers of equality.Objection: On the strength of the text, 'A sacrificer incurs sin by not adoring equally one who is an equal, and by adoring equally one who is an equal, to himself' (Gau. Sm. 17.20), are not they sinful, whose food should not be eaten?Reply: They are not open to the charge.Objection: How?
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.18 The sages are those who know the real nature of the self in all beings. They see the selves to be of the same nature, though they are perceived in extremely dissimlar embodiments such as those of one endowed with learning and humility, a mere Brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog, a dog-eater etc., because they all have the same form of knowledge in their nature as the Atman. The dissimilarity of the forms observed is due to Prakrti (body) and not to any dissimilarity in the self; conseently they, the wise, perceive the self as the same everywhere, because all selves, though distinct, have the same form of knowledge.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.18 Vidya-etc. So, regarding a Brahmana these men of Yoga entertain no such veiw as 'I shall become a man of merit by serving him' and so on; regarding a cow, no [idea] like 'It is purifying and sacred' and so on; regarding an elephant, no thought of wealth and so on; regarding a dog, no conviction that it is impure, mischievous and so on; and with regard to a dog-cooker no opinion that he is a sinner, is impure and so on. That is why it is said that 'they look eally [upon these]' and not that 'they act eally [with them]. This has been said as - The Self, which is of the nature of pure Consciousness, [shines] in he bodies of all; no discriminating factor exists anywhere. Hence, the person who has conered the cycle of birth-and-death, remains consdering all as fully absorbed in That (Consciousness) (VB, verse 100). Here too nothing but this stream of thought has been mentioned by 'remains considering'. The proper mental disposition of a man of wisdom, says [the Lord], would be like this :
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.18 Sages look with an eal eye on a Brahmana endowed with learning and humility, on a cow, on an elephant, and even on a dog and an outcaste.
Commentary

5.18 विद्याविनयसंपन्ने upon one endowed with learning and humility? ब्राह्मणे on a Brahmana? गवि on a cow? हस्तिनि on an elephant? शुनि on a dog? च and? एव even? श्वपाके on an outcaste? च and? पण्डिताः sages? समदर्शिनः eal seeing.Commentary The liberated sage or Jivanmukta or a Brahmana has eal vision as he beholds the Self only everywhere. This magnificent vision of a Jnani is beyond description. Atman or Brahman is not at all affected by the Upadhis or limiting adjuncts as He is extremely subtle? pure? formless and attributeless. The suns reflection falls on the river Ganga? on the ocean or on a dirty stream. The sun is not at all affected in any way. This makes no difference to the sun. So is the case with the Supreme Self. The Upadhis (limiting adjuncts) cannot affect Him. Just as the ether is not affected by the limiting adjuncts? viz.? a pot? the walls of a room? cloud? etc.? so also the Self is not affected by the Upadhis.The Brahmana is Sattvic. The cow is Rajasic. The elephant? the dog and the outcaste are Tamasic. The sge sees in all of them the one homogeneous immortal Self Who is not affected by the three Gunas and their tendencies. (Cf.VI.8?32XIV.24)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.18 The learned ones look with eanimity on a Brahmana endowed with learning and humality, a cow, an elephant and even a dog as well as an eater of dog's meat.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.18 Sages look equally upon all, whether he be a minister of learning and humility, or an infidel, or whether it be a cow, an elephant or a dog.
Related values & verses
Related values
Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)
Related verses
BG 6.29 BG 6.32 BG 18.54 SB 7.5.13 SB 1.18.22 SB 3.29.15 CC Madhya 22.78 CC Ādi 4.72 CC Antya 4.176 Īśa Upaniṣad 6 Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.8.7
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Sciences essays referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The truly learned see equally a learned brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater.
Practical Applications
  • Cultivate equality of vision in actual encounters, not just abstract belief.
  • Treat the lowest in society with the same dignity as the highest.
  • Use this verse to check your reactions to people of different stations.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom in my circle have I been mentally ranking?
  • What would equal vision change about that relationship?
Analogy

The same gold thread runs through every garment in the king's wardrobe — the silk of the brāhmaṇa's shawl, the cotton of the field-worker's wrap, the fur of the dog's blanket. The tailor who sees only the cloth ranks them; the king who knows the thread sees one substance in all. The paṇḍita's vision is the king's vision.

Stories
Lord Caitanya embracing all classes

Mahāprabhu embraced Rāmānanda Rāya the high śūdra, Haridāsa Ṭhākura born in a Muslim family, learned brāhmaṇas like Sārvabhauma, and untouchable washermen alike. He sat in the homes of those whose food no orthodox sannyāsī would have accepted. When Sanātana Gosvāmī, suffering from a skin disease, embraced Mahāprabhu against the latter's wishes, the Lord embraced him anyway.

The Caitanya-caritāmṛta is emphatic: He saw the ātman in each, and the rest was external classification belonging to the body, not to the seer.

Vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ — Mahāprabhu's daily life is the verse made flesh. The mature paṇḍita sees evenly because there is one substance to see.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 5