Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 6
कर्षयन्तः शरीरस्थं भूतग्राममचेतसः।मां चैवान्तःशरीरस्थं तान्विद्ध्यासुरनिश्चयान्।।
karṣayantaḥ śarīra-sthaṁ bhūta-grāmam acetasaḥ
māṁ caivāntaḥ śarīra-sthaṁ tān viddhy āsura-niścayān
also searched as "karshayantah sharirastham bhutagramam achetasah"
Translation
These foolish men, who torture the group of elements in their bodies and Me, who dwell within the body—know them to be demoniacal in their resolves.
Vāṇi's rendering
Mindless, they torture the body's living elements — and me, who lives within it. Know their resolve as dark.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कर्षयन्तःkarṣayantaḥ | emaciating, wearing down, torturing |
| शरीरस्थम्śarīra-sthaṁ | seated in the body |
| भूतग्रामम्bhūta-grāmam | the gathered elements — the living body as a community of forces |
| अचेतसःacetasaḥ | without thought, mindless |
| माम्māṁ | me |
| चca | and |
| एवeva | indeed, as well (ca + eva joins with the next word as caivāntaḥ) |
| अन्तःantaḥ | within, inside |
| शरीरस्थम्śarīra-sthaṁ | dwelling in the body |
| तान्tān | them |
| विद्धिviddhi | know (viddhi joins the next word as viddhy āsura-) |
| आसुरनिश्चयान्āsura-niścayān | whose resolve is demonic, fixed in darkness |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 6 mean?
It means that austerity aimed at damaging the body is not holiness. Krishna says such people wear down the bhūta-grāma, the assembly of elements that is the body, and in doing so wear down him, since he dwells inside it. Their determination is real, but it is turned against life. He calls that resolve āsura — dark.
What does karshayantah sharirastham bhutagramam achetasah mean?
Those wearing down the gathered elements seated in the body, without thought. Karṣayantaḥ is the word for dragging something thin, exhausting it. Acetasaḥ is gentler than cruel — it means not thinking. The harm here comes not from malice but from never once asking who is being harmed.
Is Krishna saying fasting and hardship are wrong?
No. He praises tapas elsewhere and calls bodily discipline part of it. What he refuses is severity that serves display or self-hatred rather than steadiness. The line is not how much it hurts. The line is whether you remember that someone lives in the body you are treating as an obstacle.
Why does Krishna say they torture him too?
Because he is antaḥ śarīra-sthaṁ, dwelling within the body. He is not watching from a distance while you punish the flesh. The body is not the enemy's territory; it is where he is seated. Every austerity practised in contempt of the body lands on the guest inside it.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Fasting to punish yourself is not discipline. Krishna has just described penance done for show, and now he names what it does: it starves the body's elements — and the one seated inside them. That is the sting. You cannot injure the house without injuring the guest. He calls such people acetasaḥ, mindless — not wicked, not damned, simply not thinking about who lives there. Their resolve is firm; firmness is not the measure. Arjuna asked about faith; the test turns out to be what your faith costs your body. Ask what your hardness on yourself is actually serving. If the answer is an image of yourself, put the whip down.