मात्सर्य

Mātsarya means envy. It is the tradition’s word for the mind’s pain at another’s good fortune, and it is not a word of the Gita itself. Verse 4.22 uses vimatsara, “free from envy”, and this entry is written for what that word negates.

In 4.22 the person who is content with whatever comes unasked, who has risen above the pairs of opposites, who is vimatsara and even-minded in success and failure, is not bound even while acting. Envy is a good example of how binding actually happens. The work itself may be fine, yet the mind keeps comparing, and the comparison becomes the bondage.

Common misreading: treating every wish to improve as envy, or the opposite, treating envy as harmless background noise.

Better sense: ambition can continue without the sourness. Freedom from envy grows with contentment in what comes, which is how verse 4.22 places it.

To read further, see the topic Karma and Akarma.