Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 53
अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम्।विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते।।
ahankāraṁ balaṁ darpaṁ kāmaṁ krodhaṁ parigraham
vimucya nirmamaḥ śānto brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
also searched as "ahankaram balam darpam kamam krodham parigraham"
Translation
Forsaking egoism, power, pride, desire, wrath, and possessions, with no feeling of 'mine' and tranquil, he becomes worthy of the state of Brahman.
Vāṇi's rendering
Ego, force, arrogance, craving, anger, grasping — all dropped; nothing 'mine'; at peace — ready for the eternal.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अहङ्कारम्ahankāraṁ | the I-maker; the sense of being a separate self that claims and asserts |
| बलम्balaṁ | force — strength used to press one's will on others |
| दर्पम्darpaṁ | arrogance; the swagger of the one who thinks he stands above |
| कामम्kāmaṁ | craving; the reaching for what is not here |
| क्रोधम्krodhaṁ | anger; craving turned hard when it is refused |
| परिग्रहम्parigraham | grasping; the accumulating and holding of things around oneself |
| विमुच्यvimucya | having let go, having released the hold on all of these |
| निर्ममःnirmamaḥ | without 'mine'; owning without being owned |
| शान्तःśānto | at peace, quieted (śāntaḥ, softened before the next word) |
| ब्रह्मभूयायbrahma-bhūyāya | for becoming the eternal; for the state of being Brahman |
| कल्पतेkalpate | becomes fit, becomes ready — not seizes, but is made suitable for |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 53 mean?
It names six ways the self holds on — ego, force, arrogance, craving, anger, grasping — and says that when the holding is released, and nothing is called 'mine,' peace remains. Such a one is not rewarded with the eternal. Krishna says only kalpate: he has become fit for it.
What does 'ahankaram balam darpam kamam krodham parigraham' mean?
Ego, force, arrogance, craving, anger, grasping. Six names, one gesture — the closing of a hand around what it wants to keep. Krishna lists them together because they are not six separate faults to be fought one by one. Open the hand and all six loosen at once.
Does this verse mean I must give up all my possessions?
Parigraha is the grasping, not the thing grasped. Nirmamaḥ does not say you have nothing; it says nothing has you. A householder can hold a house without the house holding him. Watch what you would be unwilling to lose. That, not the inventory, is what the verse is pointing at.
Why does Krishna say 'becomes fit' rather than 'attains'?
Because the eternal is not a prize at the end of an effort. Kalpate means becomes suitable, becomes ready. Nothing is added to you. Something clenched simply stops clenching, and what was always there is finally able to be received. Your work is the opening, not the arriving.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Six words, and they are one motion — a hand closing. Ego names the hand, force is its strength, arrogance its display, craving its reach, anger its refusal, grasping its hold. Krishna does not ask Arjuna to destroy them. Vimucya means let go — the grip opens, and what was held falls away by itself. Then nirmamaḥ: not that you own nothing, but that nothing is 'mine.' Peace is not added afterward; it is what remains when the clenching stops. And kalpate says only 'becomes fit.' You do not seize the eternal. You become the kind of open hand it can rest in.