Bhagavad Gita · Karma Sanyasa Yoga — The Yoga of Renunciation of Action
Chapter 5, Verse 18
विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि। शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः॥
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
Meaning
The truly wise, endowed with real knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and humble brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste.
विद्या और विनम्रता से सम्पन्न ब्राह्मण में, गाय में, हाथी में, कुत्ते में, और चाण्डाल में भी, ज्ञानी पुरुष समान दृष्टि रखते हैं।
Explanation
This verse presents one of the Gita's most direct statements on genuine spiritual wisdom: the capacity to see the same underlying reality in beings that social convention treats as radically unequal — a respected scholar and an outcaste, a domesticated animal and a wild one. The list is deliberately provocative for its time, moving from the highest-status figure in traditional society (a learned brahmin) to the lowest-status one (an outcaste who handled dog meat, considered ritually impure), by way of animals in between. The point isn't that these beings are identical in every practical sense, but that a wise person's vision penetrates past social rank and species to something shared and equal underneath.
Life Lesson
This verse is frequently cited as an early scriptural basis for the idea of fundamental equality across social distinctions, an idea whose radical framing (equal vision toward the most and least socially privileged in the same breath) still lands as a direct challenge to hierarchy-based thinking, ancient or modern.
Context
Spoken by Krishna in Chapter 5, which examines the relationship between renunciation (sanyasa) and action (karma yoga), arguing they lead to the same ultimate goal when practiced correctly. This verse describes the vision of someone who has achieved that understanding.
Why this verse matters
This is one of the most quoted verses of the Gita in discussions of equality and social justice within Hindu philosophy, often cited as evidence that the tradition’s own scripture challenges rigid social hierarchy rather than endorsing it uncritically.
Related verses
Connects thematically to Chapter 6, Verse 5 on the discipline of the mind that makes this kind of equal vision possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Bhagavad Gita 5.18 mean?
The truly wise, endowed with real knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and humble brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste.
What is the life lesson of this verse?
This verse is frequently cited as an early scriptural basis for the idea of fundamental equality across social distinctions, an idea whose radical framing (equal vision toward the most and least socially privileged in the same breath) still lands as a direct challenge to hierarchy-based thinking, ancient or modern.
What is the context of this verse?
Spoken by Krishna in Chapter 5, which examines the relationship between renunciation (sanyasa) and action (karma yoga), arguing they lead to the same ultimate goal when practiced correctly. This verse describes the vision of someone who has achieved that understanding.