Sanskrit
यः शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य वर्तते कामकारतः । न स सिद्धिमवाप्नोति न सुखं न परां गतिम् ॥
yaḥ śāstravidhim utsṛjya vartate kāmakārataḥ na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṃ na parāṃ gatim
Translation
He who, having cast aside the ordinances of the Scriptures, followeth the promptings of desire, attaineth not to perfection, nor happiness, nor the highest goal.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The chapter pulls back from hell and cosmology to a narrower, almost legalistic point: someone who discards scriptural injunction (śāstravidhi) and acts purely on desire (kāmakārataḥ) attains neither accomplishment, happiness, nor the highest goal. This verse directly sets up the opening question of Chapter 17 — Arjuna will ask what happens to someone who acts with real faith but skips the scriptural rulebook, and this verse’s blunt answer here — nothing good — is exactly the premise his question will push back against. It’s worth noting the text doesn’t distinguish between someone who ignores scripture out of laziness and someone who does so out of a differently-directed sincerity; that distinction is left for Krishna to draw later. The chapter’s coda turns to authority: the śāstra-vidhi, the ordinance of scripture, as a check on kāma-kārataḥ, “acting from the impulse of desire.” Given verses 7–20, the point is practical — desire is not a reliable guide, so a person still shaping their discernment needs an external standard. Chapter 17 will refine which scriptural acts are worth doing.
Study deeper
Word by word
- yaḥ śāstravidhim utsṛjyaयः शास्त्रविधिं उत्सृज्य
- who, casting off the ordinance of scripture (yaḥ + śāstra-vidhim + utsṛjya)
- vartate kāmakārataḥवर्तते कामकारतः
- acts under the impulse of desire (vartate + kāma-kārataḥ)
- na sa siddhim avāpnotiन स सिद्धिं अवाप्नोति
- he does not attain perfection (na + saḥ + siddhim + avāpnoti)
- na sukhaṃ na parāṃ gatimन सुखं न परां गतिं
- nor happiness, nor the supreme goal (na + sukham + na + parām + gatim)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Param gatim — “the highest goal” — is the exact phrase verse 22 used for what’s reached by renouncing the three gates of darkness; here the same phrase names what’s denied to someone acting purely on desire instead of scriptural guidance. The chapter is quietly offering two different roads keyed to the same single destination, which makes this verse read less like a new topic and more like a second, independent test for the same finish line already named one verse earlier.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you're evaluating whether a habit or shortcut is serving you, ask whether it's actually pointed at the same goal your better disciplines are aimed at, or a different one entirely. This verse and the one before it name the identical destination reached by two different tests — worth checking which test the thing you're doing is passing.
Professional
- When comparing two different approaches a team could take to reach the same outcome, check that they're actually being measured against the same finish line rather than two different implicit goals — this verse and its predecessor name one identical target and then apply two different, independent tests to reaching it.
Family & Social
- If you and a family member seem to disagree about the right way to reach a shared goal, check whether you're actually both aiming at the same finish line but applying different tests for reaching it. This verse pairs exactly that: one destination, two independent gates to it.
Ask yourself
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