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Bhagavad-gītā 5.23

शक्न‍ोतीहैव य: सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात् । कामक्रोधोद्भ‍वं वेगं स युक्त: स सुखी नर: ॥ २३ ॥
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ
[shaknoteehaiva yah sodhum]
prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt
[praak shareera-vimokshanaat]
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ
[kaama-krodhodbhavam vegam]
sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ
[sa yuktah sa sukhee narah]
Word-for-word
śaknoti — is able iha eva — in the present body yaḥ — one who soḍhum — to tolerate prāk — before śarīra — the body vimokṣaṇāt — giving up kāma — desire krodha — and anger udbhavam — generated from vegam — urges saḥ — he yuktaḥ — in trance saḥ — he sukhī — happy naraḥ — human being .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ
śaknoti
is able
iha eva
in the present body
yaḥ
one who
soḍhum
to tolerate
prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt
prāk
before
śarīra
the body
vimokṣaṇāt
giving up
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ
kāma
desire
krodha
and anger
udbhavam
generated from
vegam
urges
sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ
saḥ
he
yuktaḥ
in trance
saḥ
he
sukhī
happy
naraḥ
human being .
Important Words
  • soḍhum — to tolerate
    Infinitive of √sah — 'to bear, to endure.' The verse names tolerance as the active capacity. Not suppression, not avoidance — the capacity to bear the urge while it crests. The same root behind sahana and titikṣā in classical yoga vocabulary.
  • kāma-krodha-udbhavam — generated from desire and anger
    Udbhava — arising, rising up. The compound names the urge as something that *arises*, not as something the yogī is. The grammatical separation between yogī and urge is itself the practice.
  • vegam — urges
    From √vij, related to speed and rush. The Gītā's word for the urge is the word for velocity — the thing has momentum, force, surge. Toleration is meeting the velocity without being carried.
  • vimokṣaṇāt — giving up
    Vi + √muc — 'to release thoroughly.' Ablative form: 'from the giving up.' Coupled with prāk earlier in the line, it specifies the time-window: before the body's release. The Gītā's emphasis on this-life perfection sharpens here.
  • sukhī naraḥ — happy human being
    Naraḥ — human. The Gītā specifies the species. Of all bodies, the human form alone has the structural capacity to tolerate the kāma-krodha vega and be happy because of that toleration. Other species lack the discriminative power.
Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world.
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)
The test is concrete and immediate: can one withstand the surge of kāma and krodha while still in the body, before death's release? The one who can is yukta and sukhin right now — not only post-mortem, but iha eva, here.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
Vega — surge, force — is a vivid term: desire and anger arrive like waves, with their own momentum. Yoga is the capacity to receive and absorb the wave without being swept by it. The verse insists on liberation in this very life (jīvanmukti), not posthumous. Cross-ref 2.62–63, 16.21 (kāma, krodha, lobha as triple-gate).
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
यः शरीर-विमोक्षणात् प्राक् इह एव काम-क्रोध-उद्भवम् वेगम् सोढुम् शक्नोति सः युक्तः सः सुखी नरः ।
yaḥ śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt prāk iha eva kāma-krodha-udbhavam vegam soḍhum śaknoti saḥ yuktaḥ saḥ sukhī naraḥ |
He who, here in this body, before release from the body, is able to endure the surge born of desire and anger — he is yoked, he is the happy man.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
शक्नोति इह एव यः सोढुम् प्राक् शरीर-विमोक्षणात् । काम-क्रोध-उद्भवम् वेगम् सः युक्तः सः सुखी नरः ॥
śaknoti iha eva yaḥ soḍhum prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt | kāma-krodha-udbhavam vegam saḥ yuktaḥ saḥ sukhī naraḥ ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
शक्नोति śaknoti √शक् pres. (present) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) is able
इह एव iha eva ind. (indeclinable) right here
यः yaḥ rel. pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. who
सोढुम् soḍhum √सह् inf. (infinitive) to bear, endure
प्राक् prāk ind. (indeclinable) before
शरीर-विमोक्षणात् śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt शरीर (n.) + विमोक्षण (n.) abl.sg. (ablative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) from release of the body
काम-क्रोध-उद्भवम् kāma-krodha-udbhavam काम + क्रोध + उद्भव (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) arising from desire and anger
वेगम् vegam वेग (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) surge, force
सः saḥ dem. (demonstrative) pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. he
युक्तः yuktaḥ युक्त p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. yoked, integrated
सुखी sukhī सुखिन् (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. happy
नरः naraḥ नर (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) man, human
Purport

If one wants to make steady progress on the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals, and forces of the tongue. One who is able to control the forces of all these different senses, and the mind, is called gosvāmī, or svāmī. Such gosvāmīs live strictly controlled lives and forgo altogether the forces of the senses. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Therefore, one must practice to control them before one gives up this material body. One who can do this is understood to be self-realized and is thus happy in the state of self-realization. It is the duty of the transcendentalist to try strenuously to control desire and anger.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
23. He who can tolerate in this world the agitation arising from lust and anger before being liberated from the body is a yogī and is happy.
Commentary

Though fallen in the ocean of saṁsāra, this person alone is the yogī (yuktaḥ), and he alone is happy.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
23. He who can tolerate the agitation arising from lust and anger when they arise till the time of giving up the body has attained realization of ātmā and is blissful in that realization.
Commentary

The disturbance of lust and anger is unfavorable for steadiness in jñāna. Therefore one who is endeavoring for steadiness in jñāna should tolerate them. He who can tolerate the agitation (vegam) in the form of disturbances and problems to mind, eye or other organs, arising from lust and anger, he who can control them (soḍhum) at the time they arise (iha), by the joy of realization of ātmā, until the time he gives up the body, has attained samādhi in realization of ātmā (yuktaḥ), and he is blissful with realization of ātmā (sukhī). Therefore, with intense effort one must tolerate these disturbances.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

One has to question himself: "Here I am, and how long do I have to tolerate this?" Sometimes we review Krsna consciousness like "one day we will wake up and suddenly will become liberated, maya will be gone, we will not have to strugle with our mind with its attractions and repulsions". This is a dream practically speaking. This verse answers this question: "How long I must tolerate this situation?" Until this body is dead. Until then we have to tolerate all this. We must learn to tolerate it now and not just surrender to any stupid, foolish and whimsical desire that our mind comes up with. We might as well realize that we will go on practicing the tolerance of the mind until the body drops down dead. And how is it possible to be so tolerant? By fixing one's consciousness on the Supersoul or Krsna. One can not do it without that. One cannot tolerate the pushings and pullings of the mind unless one's consciousness is fixed on the Supreme Lord. Then one can be happy in this world, if one learns how to do that. Whether one is practicing to do that or whether one has already achieved it, one should not take pleasure in the sources of misery. One should not rejoice when achieving something pleasurable nor lament upon obtaining something unpleasant has to be self‑intelligent. " A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self‑intelligent, w unbewildered, and who knows the science of God, is already situated in transcendence."(Text 20) One has to know the science of God ‑ that is called "to be fixed up".

[ 2 . Tolerating and checking bodily and mental urges, his happiness, activities, and goals are within. He works for the welfare of all, is free from sin, is absorbed in endeavoring for perfection, and is soon liberated in the Supreme. (24‑26) ]

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

Tolerate the urges till the end of life – One should patiently tolerate the “urges of material senses”

and the “forces of desire and anger” before giving up this present body

Focus of Learning

(a) Liberated soul is not interested in material pleasures – enjoys unlimited transcendental bliss

Ref. Padma Purana – “Ramante yogino...”
Meaning of ‘Rama’ – Mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasure from the Absolute Truth, therefore Supreme Absolute Truth is known as Rama
SB. 5.5.1 (Teachings of Lord Rsbhadeva)
Human life should not be used to labor very hard for sense pleasure like stool-eaters (hogs)
Human Life should be used for performing penances and purifying the existence
As a result of proper penances, you will enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss

(a) Example of higher taste – Yamunacarya

(b) Brahma-yoga stage – One who is absorbed in Krishna consciousness, looses taste for sense

pleasure

(c) Test in spiritual realization – One can work with great vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids

Highest material pleasure – sex pleasure:
Spiritual realisation and sex pleasure go ill together

(d) Krishna conscious person is not attracted to any kind of sense pleasure, due to his being liberated

soul

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 5.23 & 5.24:

The pleasure of spiritual realization is the topic of the next verse

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.23 Yah saknoti, one who can, is able to; sodhum, withstand; iha eva, here itself, while alive; prak, before; sarira-vimoksanat, departing from the body, till death-. Death is put as a limit because the impulse of desire and anger is certanily inevitable for a living person. For this impulse has got infinite sources. One should not relax until his death. That is the idea. Kama, desire, is the hankering, thirst, with regard to a coveted object-of an earlier experience, and which is a source of pleasure-when it comes within the range of the senses, or is heard of or remembered. And krodha, anger, is that repulsion one has against what are adverse to oneself and are sources of sorrow, when they are seen, heard of or remembered. That impulse (veda) which has those desire and anger as its source (udbhava) is kama-krodha-udbhava-vegah. The impulse arising from desire is a kind of mental agitation, and has the signs of horripilation, joyful eyes, face, etc. The impulse of anger has the signs of trembling of body, perspiration, bitting of lips, red eyes, etc. He who is able to withstand that impulse arising from desire and anger, sah narah, that man; is yuktah, a yogi; and sukhi, is happy, in this world. What kind of a person, being established in Brahman, attains Brahman? The Lord says:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.23 When a man is able to withstand, i.e., to control the impulses of emotions like desire and anger by his longing for the experience of self, he is released 'here itself from the body,' i.e., even during the state when he is practising the means for release, he gains the capacity for experiencing the self. But he becomes blessed by the experience and gets immersed in the bliss of the self only after the fall of the body (at the end of his Prarabdha or operative Karma). [The implication is that in this system there is no Jivan-Mukti or complete liberation even when the body is alive. Only the state of Sthita-prajna or of 'one of steady wisdom' can be attained by an embodied Jiva.]
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.23 Saknoti etc. It is not easy to accomplish this; [for], if this force of wrath and desire, hard to bear is endured till the last moment of the body, not for a moment alone-then is the total Bliss achievement.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.23 He who is able, while still here (in this world) to withstand, before the liberation from the body, the impulse born out of desire and anger he is a Yogi, he is a happy man.
Commentary

5.23 शक्नोति is able? इह here (in this world)? एव even? यः who? सोढुम् to withstand? प्राक् before? शरीरविमोक्षणात् liberation from the body? कामक्रोधोद्भवम् born out of desire and anger? वेगम् the impulse? सः he? युक्तः united? सः he? सुखी happy? नरः man.Commentary Yukta means harmonised or steadfast in Yoga or selfabiding.Desire and anger are powerful enemies of peace. It is very difficult to annihilate them. You will have to make very strong efforts to destroy these enemies.When the word Kama (desire) is used in a general sense it includes all sorts of desires. It means lust in a special sense.While still here means while yet living. The impulse of desire is the agitation of the mind which is indicated by hairs standing on end and cheerful face. The impulse of anger is agitation of the mind which is indicated by fiery eyes? perspiration? biting of the lips and trembling of the body. In this verse you will clearly understand that he who has controlled desire and anger is the most happy man in this world? nor he who has immense wealth? a beautiful wife and beautiful children. Therefore you must try your level best to eradicate desire and anger? the dreadful enemies of eternal bliss.Kama (desire) is longing for a pleasant and agreeable object which gives pleasure and which is seen? heard of? or remembered. Anger is aversion towards an unpleasant and disagreeable object which gives pain and which is seen? heard or? or remembered.A Yogi controls the impulse born of desire and anger? destroyes the currents of likes and dislikes,and attains to eanimity of the mind? by resting in the innermost Self? and so he is very happy.(Cf.VI.18)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.23 One who can withstand here itself-before departing from the body-the impulse arising from desire and anger, that man is a yogi; he is happy.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.23 He who, before he leaves his body, learns to surmount the promptings of desire and anger is a saint and is happy.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Arjava (Simplicity / Straightforwardness)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
BG 2.62 BG 2.63 BG 16.21 SB 7.15.22 SB 11.14.29 SB 5.5.1 CC Madhya 19.160 CC Antya 6.220 CC Madhya 22.32 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.24BRS 1.2.256
Concepts
Maya
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
He who tolerates the urges of desire and anger before leaving the body is a yogi, happy in this world.
Practical Applications
  • Treat tolerance of desire and anger as the trial-ground.
  • Don't react instantly; let the urge crest and pass.
  • Build a few-second pause as a rule before action under those urges.
Reflection Questions
  • Which urge has had the most grip on me lately?
  • What is my reliable practice for letting it pass?
Analogy

A wave rises in the sea — a desire, an angry surge — and either crashes over the boat or passes under it. The skilled boatman waits out the wave; he does not paddle into it or away from it. He simply tolerates the crest. The yogī's discipline is the boatman's: let the wave crest and pass; do not act inside its arc.

Stories
Haridāsa Ṭhākura and the prostitute

The atheist landlord Rāmacandra Khāñ sent a beautiful prostitute to seduce Haridāsa Ṭhākura. She came three nights in a row, sitting before him as he chanted his three lakhs of names. He simply continued chanting and asked her to wait until his quota was finished.

Desire and anger had every opportunity to crest in him — desire at her presence, anger at the landlord's scheme. He did neither. He tolerated the urges. By the third night the prostitute herself was transformed; she fell at his feet, begged initiation, and became a great devotee.

Śaknoti soḍhum prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt kāma-krodha-udbhavaṁ vegam. Haridāsa is the verse's living definition of yuktaḥ and sukhī — the man happy in this world because the urges crest in him and pass through him.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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