Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 16, Verse 19

तानहं द्विषतः क्रूरान्संसारेषु नराधमान्।क्षिपाम्यजस्रमशुभानासुरीष्वेव योनिषु।।
tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān sansāreṣu narādhamān kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu
also searched as "tan aham dvishatah kruran sansareshu naradhaman"

Translation

Those who are hateful, cruel, the vilest and most inauspicious of mankind, I hurl forever into the cycles of births and deaths, into the wombs of demons.

Vāṇi's rendering

These cruel and hate-filled ones I cast, birth after birth, into ever darker wombs.

Word by word

Sanskrit & transliterationMeaning
तान्tānthose ones
अहम्ahaṁI
द्विषतःdviṣataḥthe hating, the ones who hate
क्रूरान्krūrāncruel, pitiless
संसारेषुsansāreṣuin the rounds of birth and death
नराधमान्narādhamānlowest among men (nara + adhama)
क्षिपामिkṣipāmyI hurl, I cast down (kṣipāmi, joined with the next word)
अजस्रम्ajasramceaselessly, again and again
अशुभान्aśubhānthe impure, the inauspicious
आसुरीषुāsurīṣvdemonic, of the asuras (āsurīṣu, joined with eva)
एवevaonly, precisely
योनिषुyoniṣuin wombs, in births

Commentary

Krishna says "I cast" — and the sentence is meant to be uncomfortable. He does not hand the work off to fate or to some law grinding away at a distance; he claims it. But look at what is cast, and where. Hatred is not punished with something foreign to itself. It is given more of itself. The cruel are placed among the cruel, birth after birth, until the shape hardens. That is the darkness — not fire, but repetition. Each time you feed a resentment, you are choosing the company you will keep. Krishna only makes the choosing complete.

Frequently asked

What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 Verse 19 mean?
Krishna states plainly what becomes of those who live by hatred and cruelty: they are cast again and again into births that match what they have become. It is not arbitrary punishment. The demonic temperament is given surroundings shaped like itself, so that the pattern deepens until something breaks it.
What does tan aham dvishatah kruran sansareshu naradhaman mean?
"Those hate-filled and cruel ones, lowest among men, I hurl ceaselessly into demonic wombs." The words are deliberately hard. Krishna is not describing an outburst of anger but a consequence with its own logic — āsurī nature drawing āsurī birth, ceaselessly, ajasram, until the momentum is spent.
Is Krishna being cruel in this verse?
He is being exact. Nothing is added to the cruel that they did not already carry; they are simply given more room to be what they chose. Krishna claims the act rather than hiding behind fate, because he will not let you imagine the universe is indifferent to how you treat others.
How does this verse apply to my life?
Watch what you rehearse. A resentment held daily is not a passing mood; it is a groove being cut, and grooves decide where the next moment lands. Long before any question of birth arises, you already live among the things you have practised. Notice what you are practising today.

Themes in this verse

Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.

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