Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 16, Verse 23
यः शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य वर्तते कामकारतः।न स सिद्धिमवाप्नोति न सुखं न परां गतिम्।।
yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ
na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim
also searched as "yah shastra-vidhim utsrijya vartate kama-karatah"
Translation
He who, abandoning the injunctions of the Sastras, acts under the influence of desire, attains neither perfection nor pleasure, nor the supreme state.
Vāṇi's rendering
Throw out the scriptures' guidance and live on impulse, and you find no perfection, no happiness, no highest goal.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यःyaḥ | the one who |
| शास्त्रविधिम्śāstra-vidhim | the guidance laid down in scripture |
| उत्सृज्यutsṛjya | having thrown out, cast aside |
| वर्ततेvartate | lives, conducts himself |
| कामकारतःkāma-kārataḥ | at the bidding of desire, on impulse |
| नna | not |
| सःsa | he |
| सिद्धिम्siddhim | perfection, the thing coming right |
| अवाप्नोतिavāpnoti | reaches, obtains |
| नna | nor |
| सुखम्sukhaṁ | happiness |
| नna | nor |
| पराम्parāṁ | highest, supreme |
| गतिम्gatim | goal, destination |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 Verse 23 mean?
It means that a life run by impulse loses on every count. Krishna names three losses — siddhi, the thing coming right; sukha, plain happiness; and the parā gati, the highest goal. The one who discards scripture's guidance is not rewarded even with the pleasure he chased. Desire is a poor paymaster.
What is the meaning of yah shastra vidhim utsrijya vartate kama karatah?
Whoever casts aside the ordering of scripture and moves at desire's bidding. Kāma-kārataḥ is the sharp phrase: not choosing, but being driven. Krishna is not scolding pleasure here. He is pointing out that a man who obeys every want has stopped deciding anything at all, and calls that condition liberty.
Why does Krishna say scripture is necessary if freedom is the goal?
Because the scripture is not a cage set against your freedom; it is what keeps desire from becoming your only voice. Guidance narrows the field so that choosing becomes possible. Remove it and you do not get more options — you get one, whatever the strongest craving wants this hour.
Does this verse say people who ignore scripture can never be happy?
It says the impulse cannot deliver what it advertises. Sukha here is ordinary contentment, and Krishna denies it to the desire-driven life precisely because such a life never rests satisfied. Each want fulfilled makes room for the next. The trouble is not punishment from outside; it is the structure of wanting itself.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Impulse feels like freedom. Krishna calls it the opposite — kāma-kārataḥ, moving at desire's command, which is not moving at your own. The one who throws out the guidance has not escaped a master; he has exchanged a visible one for an invisible one that never sleeps. And look at what is lost: not only the highest goal, but happiness too. Even the small prize the impulse promised. Arjuna wants to walk off the field because something in him urgently wants to. Krishna will not let urgency count as reason. Before you call something freedom, ask who is issuing the order.