Chapter 16 · Verse 21 · Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 16.21
Sanskrit
त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः।कामः क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत्।।16.21।।
Transliteration
tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśhanam ātmanaḥ kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet
In plain words
When desire pulls at you, when anger flares, when you grip too hard at what you think you need—you're not being punished from outside, you're being locked from within. Krishna says: these three are doors that close you off from yourself, and you have the power to turn away from them. Notice when they're alive in you, name them clearly, and choose something truer instead.
Word by Word
Krishna names the three gates of hell—desire, anger, and greed—not as external punishments but as inner prisons that bind the atman to cycles of suffering and forgetting. These are not sins to be condemned but chains to be recognized and dissolved through clear seeing and turning within.
When you notice these three arising in your own heart, pause and ask: Am I being pulled away from my true nature, or am I standing as the witness of these movements?
Listen
Bhagavad Gita 16.21 — BG 16.21
Your Mantra Prescription
This mantra is prescribed for clarity and purpose. Is that what you're going through?
2.2M people trust Mahakatha