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Chapter 1 · Verse 38 · Arjuna Visada Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 1.38

contemplative Karma & Action Dharma & Duty Self & Identity

Sanskrit

यद्यप्येते न पश्यन्ति लोभोपहतचेतसः। कुलक्षयकृतं दोषं मित्रद्रोहे च पातकम्।।1.38।।

Transliteration

yady apy ete na paśhyanti lobhopahata-chetasaḥ kula-kṣhaya-kṛitaṁ doṣhaṁ mitra-drohe cha pātakam

हिंदी अर्थ

लोभ से मोहित हुए ये लोग कुल के नाश से होने वाले पाप और मित्र के साथ विश्वासघात के पाप को नहीं देख पाते हैं। भले ही वे इन बुराइयों को समझते नहीं हैं, लेकिन ये काम बहुत बड़े पाप हैं।

Word by Word

yadi api even though
ete they
na not
paśhyanti see
lobha greed
upahata overpowered
chetasaḥ thoughts
kula-kṣhaya-kṛitam in annihilating their relatives
doṣham fault
mitra-drohe to wreak treachery upon friends
cha and
pātakam sin
Simplified Perspective

Arjuna names the deepest blindness: when greed darkens the intellect, we lose the very capacity to see sin itself. This is not mere moral failure—it is spiritual amnesia, where the atman's clarity vanishes beneath layers of desire.

The ancient rishis understood that those who silence their conscience through wealth and craving become incapable of recognizing the destruction they cause to family, friendship, and their own soul. When we feel tempted to justify harm for personal gain, we must pause and ask: have I already lost the ability to see clearly?

Listen

Bhagavad Gita 1.38 — BG 1.38

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Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

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