Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 5
अशास्त्रविहितं घोरं तप्यन्ते ये तपो जनाः।दम्भाहङ्कारसंयुक्ताः कामरागबलान्विताः।।
aśāstra-vihitaṁ ghoraṁ tapyante ye tapo janāḥ
dambhāhankāra-sanyuktāḥ kāma-rāga-balānvitāḥ
also searched as "ashastra vihitam ghoram tapyante ye tapo janah"
Translation
Those men who practice terrible austerities not enjoined by the scriptures, given to ostentation and conceit, and prompted by the force of sensual desires and passions;
Vāṇi's rendering
Some put themselves through savage austerities the scriptures never asked for — driven by show, ego, craving, and obsession.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अशास्त्रविहितंaśāstra-vihitaṁ | not laid down by the scriptures; self-appointed |
| घोरंghoraṁ | savage, terrible |
| तप्यन्तेtapyante | they burn themselves, they undergo |
| येye | those who |
| तपःtapo | austerity, hard practice |
| जनाःjanāḥ | people |
| दम्भाहङ्कारसंयुक्ताःdambha-ahankāra-sanyuktāḥ | yoked to show and to the sense of being someone (dambha + ahankāra joined by sandhi) |
| कामरागबलान्विताःkāma-rāga-bala-anvitāḥ | carried along by the force of craving and obsession (bala + anvitāḥ joined by sandhi) |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 5 mean?
It names a hard practice that no teaching ever asked for. Krishna describes people burning themselves with savage austerity, held together by dambha — display — and ahankāra, the sense of being someone. Craving drives it, dressed as discipline. The severity is real; the sanction is invented. That is the whole indictment.
What does ashastra vihitam ghoram tapyante ye tapo janah mean?
Aśāstra-vihitaṁ means not ordained by scripture. Ghoraṁ means savage. Krishna is pointing to the practice you devised for yourself and then called holy — the punishment no teacher prescribed. When austerity has no source outside your own wanting, look closely at what is doing the wanting.
Is Krishna saying all difficult spiritual practice is wrong?
No. Tapas is praised throughout the Gītā. What Krishna condemns is austerity with no authority behind it but ego — hardship chosen because it looks impressive or because craving has taken an ascetic disguise. Difficulty is not the problem. Difficulty you assigned yourself in order to be admired is.
How do I know if my discipline comes from ego?
Watch what happens when nobody sees it. If the practice loosens when the audience leaves, dambha was holding it up. If it hardens when someone doubts you, ahankāra was. Genuine tapas is quiet and it is asked of you. The rest is craving wearing rough cloth.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Notice what Krishna attacks here: not the severity, but the source. There are people who fast past hunger, stand in fire, sleep on stone — and none of it was asked of them. The scriptures never requested it. So something else did: the wish to be seen doing it, the pleasure of being the one who can endure, a craving that has simply changed clothes. Pain can be an ornament. Arjuna wanted to walk off the field and call it renunciation; Krishna keeps returning him to motive. Before you tighten the discipline again, ask who asked for it. If the answer is your own reflection, the fire is cosmetic.