Same in win or loss

sukhaduḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jayājayautato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṃ pāpamavāpsyasi

Hold pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat the same. Then act, and no wrong will touch you.

What it means

Here Krishna turns a corner. He has given reasons to act. Now he teaches how. Treat pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat alike. Act from steadiness, not craving or fear. Action done this way, he says, carries no pāpa, no wrongdoing that binds.

The story

Arjuna had feared that fighting would stain him. Krishna answers that the stain comes not from the act itself, but from the hunger and hatred behind it. It's the first glimpse of the teaching that will define the Gita.

In your life

Picture a lawyer preparing a case, giving it everything, but not needing the verdict to feel whole. That calm makes the work better. Before your next big task, say, my job is to do it well, not to control the result.