Sanskrit
एतव दृष्टिमवष्टभ्य नष्टात्मानोऽल्पबुद्धयः । प्रभवन्त्युग्रकर्माणः क्षयाय जगतोऽहिताः ॥
etava dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmāno 'lpabuddhayaḥ prabhavanty ugrakarmāṇaḥ kṣayāya jagato 'hitāḥ
Translation
Holding this view, these ruined selves of small understanding, of fierce deeds, come forth as enemies for the destruction of the world.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Holding that worldview, Krishna says, these people become “naṣṭātmānaḥ” — of ruined or destroyed self — and turn to fierce action for the world’s destruction. One textual note: this edition’s Devanagari reads “एतव दृष्टिम्” where most printed editions of this verse have “एतां दृष्टिम्” (etāṃ dṛṣṭim, “holding this view”); no correction marker appears in the source, so it’s preserved verbatim here and transliterated as printed, but it reads as a transcription variant worth flagging. The philosophical move worth noticing is causal: the chapter treats a cosmology of no truth, no god, no accountability as directly productive of real-world harm, not just personal error. The consequence of BG 16.8’s worldview: ugra-karmāṇaḥ, doers of fierce deeds, “for the ruin of the world.” The demonic type is not merely self-destructive but world-destructive — the mirror image of lokasaṅgraha, holding the world together.
Study deeper
Word by word
- etava dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhyaएतव दृष्टिं अवष्टभ्य
- holding fast to such a view (etava + dṛṣṭim + avaṣṭabhya)
- naṣṭātmāno 'lpabuddhayaḥनष्टात्मानो ऽल्पबुद्धयः
- lost souls of small understanding (naṣṭa-ātmānaḥ + alpa-buddhayaḥ)
- prabhavanty ugrakarmāṇaḥप्रभवन्त्य् उग्रकर्माणः
- they arise, doers of cruel deeds (prabhavanti + ugra-karmāṇaḥ)
- kṣayāya jagato 'hitāḥक्षयाय जगतो ऽहिताः
- as enemies, for the ruin of the world (kṣayāya + jagataḥ + ahitāḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
It’s worth noticing which word the verse reaches for: not “wicked” or “cruel” first, but alpa-buddhayaḥ — of small or limited intellect. A worldview that denies accountability and higher structure is often associated, in other contexts, with rigorous skepticism; this verse instead frames it as an intellectual shortfall, a failure of understanding rather than an excess of it. That’s a substantive claim buried in a single adjective, not just color commentary.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you catch yourself dismissing a moral framework as naive, check whether that's actually a considered judgment or just a comfortable label — this verse pins 'small intellect' on a position its own adherents might call rigorous skepticism, a reminder that a dismissive label is sometimes doing rhetorical work, not analytical work.
Professional
- When a colleague dismisses a proposal as 'unsophisticated' rather than engaging with its actual claims, notice the move — this verse does something similar, pinning 'small intellect' on a worldview rather than arguing against its content. Watch for when a label is substituting for an actual counter-argument.
Family & Social
- When you're tempted to write off a family member's view as simply less intelligent rather than engaging with it, notice that move for what it is — a label standing in for an argument. This verse does exactly that to the position it disagrees with, worth naming when you catch yourself doing it too.
Ask yourself
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