Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 16, Verse 21
त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः।कामः क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत्।।
tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet
also searched as "tri-vidham narakasyedam dvaram nashanam atmanah"
Translation
Desire, wrath, and greed—these are the three gateways to Naraka, ruinous to the self. Therefore, one should abandon these three.
Vāṇi's rendering
Three gates open onto hell, and each destroys the self: craving, anger, greed. Abandon all three.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| त्रिविधम्tri-vidham | of three kinds, threefold |
| नरकस्यnarakasya | of hell (sandhi: narakasya + idam) |
| इदम्idam | this |
| द्वारम्dvāram | gate, doorway |
| नाशनम्nāśanam | destroying, ruinous |
| आत्मनःātmanaḥ | of the self |
| कामःkāmaḥ | craving, desire |
| क्रोधःkrodhaḥ | anger (sandhi: krodhaḥ + tathā) |
| तथाtathā | likewise, and also |
| लोभःlobhaḥ | greed (sandhi: lobhaḥ + tasmāt) |
| तस्मात्tasmāt | therefore |
| एतत्etat | these |
| त्रयम्trayam | three, the triad |
| त्यजेत्tyajet | one should abandon, let go of |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 Verse 21 mean?
Krishna names three doorways into ruin — kāma, krodha, lobha: craving, anger, greed. He calls them gates because they are entered, not inflicted. Each one dismantles the self from inside. The instruction is a single word, tyajet: let them go. Not manage them, not balance them. Abandon all three.
Trividham narakasyedam dvaram — what are the three gates of hell in the Gita?
Craving, anger and greed. Krishna arranges them in a working order: kāma wants, krodha erupts when the wanting is refused, lobha hardens when the wanting is fed. They are not three separate faults but one appetite wearing three faces. Close the first and the others lose their entrance.
Why does Krishna say these three destroy the self?
Because nothing external does the damage. Craving, anger and greed work from within, spending the very steadiness they claim to protect. Krishna says nāśanam ātmanaḥ — ruinous to the self. The one who wants is the one consumed by wanting. That is why the remedy is abandonment, not satisfaction.
How do I actually let go of desire, anger and greed?
Krishna does not ask you to destroy them; he asks you to stop walking through the door. Watch the moment craving takes hold — before anger flares, before greed calculates. That instant is where the choice lives. Everything after it is momentum. Meet it early, and the gate simply stays shut.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Krishna calls them gates, not sins. A gate is something you walk through, and it stands open whether or not you enter. Craving, anger, greed — each is a door, and each leads to the same ruin: nāśanam ātmanaḥ, the destruction of the self. Not punishment arriving from outside. The self dismantled from within, by its own wanting. Arjuna is being shown the anatomy of the fall he fears. Notice the order — craving comes first; anger is what craving does when blocked, greed is what it does when fed. Shut the first gate and the other two have nothing to open onto.