Verified verses
Bhagavad Gita on Patience
In short
The Gita's teaching on patience is to endure what passes: heat and cold, pleasure and pain arise from contact and are fleeting, so bear them steadily (2.14); meet success and failure with the same even mind (2.48); and trust that dharma is restored in its own time (4.7).
“mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ”
Bhagavad Gita 2.14 · Chapter 2, Sankhya YogaHeat and cold, pleasure and pain come and go and do not last. Endure them with patience, dear one.
Spoken by Krishna to the warrior Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra — the Gita sits within the Mahabharata's Bhishma Parva — as Arjuna, overcome with grief and unwilling to fight his own kin, laid down his bow before the war.
“yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya”
Bhagavad Gita 2.48 · Chapter 2, Sankhya YogaSteady in spirit, do your work and let go of attachment, calm alike in success and failure. This evenness of mind is yoga.
Spoken by Krishna to the warrior Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra — the Gita sits within the Mahabharata's Bhishma Parva — as Arjuna, overcome with grief and unwilling to fight his own kin, laid down his bow before the war.
“yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata”
Bhagavad Gita 4.7 · Chapter 4, Jnana-Karma-Sannyasa YogaWhenever righteousness fades and wrong arises, I take form and come, age after age.
Spoken by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra (within the Mahabharata's Bhishma Parva), revealing that He takes form age after age, whenever righteousness fades.
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Frequently asked questions
What does the Bhagavad Gita say about patience?
Bhagavad Gita 2.14 counsels patient endurance: difficult states, like the seasons, come and go — learn to bear them without being overturned. Evenness (2.48) is the steady mind patience grows from.
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