6.9 Friend, enemy, stranger alike Krishna speaks
सुहृन्मित्रार्युदासीनमध्यस्थद्वेष्यबन्धुषु
साधुष्वपि च पापेषु समबुद्धिर्विशिष्यते
suhṛin-mitrāryudāsīna-madhyastha-dveṣhya-bandhuṣhu
sādhuṣhvapi cha pāpeṣhu sama-buddhir viśhiṣhyate
One who regards alike a well-wisher, a friend, an enemy, a stranger, a mediator, someone hateful, a relative, the good and the bad — that one stands out.
Explanation
Nine kinds of person, and the same regard for all of them.
- a well-wisher, a friend, an enemy
- a stranger, a mediator, someone hateful
- a relative, the good, the bad
The list is exhaustive on purpose — it leaves nobody out to make an exception of. And the mediator is a wonderfully specific inclusion: even the person you have no feelings about is on the list.
Word by word
- su-hṛit
- toward the well-wishers
- mitra
- friends
- ari
- enemies
- udāsīna
- neutral persons
- madhya-stha
- mediators
- dveṣhya
- the envious
- bandhuṣhu
- relatives
- sādhuṣhu
- pious
- api
- as well as
- cha
- and
- pāpeṣhu
- the sinners
- sama-buddhiḥ
- of impartial intellect
- viśhiṣhyate
- is distinguished
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