Chapter 16 · Verse 19 · Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 16.19
Sanskrit
तानहं द्विषतः क्रूरान्संसारेषु नराधमान्।क्षिपाम्यजस्रमशुभानासुरीष्वेव योनिषु।।16.19।।
Transliteration
tān ahaṁ dviṣhataḥ krūrān sansāreṣhu narādhamān kṣhipāmy ajasram aśhubhān āsurīṣhv eva yoniṣhu
In plain words
When you find yourself trapped in cruelty—when you're drinking away your pain, when you're sabotaging your marriage, when you're choosing harm over healing—you're not being punished from outside. Krishna says: you're building your own prison, brick by brick, and only you can choose to stop. The way out is not self-hatred; it's the courage to turn toward dharma, toward what's true and kind, even when it's harder than staying angry.
Word by Word
Krishna speaks here not as a judge imposing punishment, but as the law of consciousness itself—those who cultivate cruelty and aversion to dharma naturally descend into darker wombs, not through vengeance but through the gravitational pull of their own choices. The universe is a mirror; what we sow in hatred and delusion we harvest in limitation and suffering.
This teaching invites us to examine our own inner cruelty—the harsh judgments, the deliberate harm, the resistance to truth—and recognize that every act of cruelty is a vote for our own bondage. In modern life, this verse asks: Are you building your own prison through contempt, cynicism, and deliberate harm, or are you choosing the difficult path of dharma that leads toward freedom?
Listen
Bhagavad Gita 16.19 — BG 16.19
Your Mantra Prescription
This mantra is prescribed for clarity and purpose. Is that what you're going through?
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