Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 58
मच्चित्तः सर्वदुर्गाणि मत्प्रसादात्तरिष्यसि।अथ चेत्त्वमहङ्कारान्न श्रोष्यसि विनङ्क्ष्यसि।।
mac-cittaḥ sarva-durgāṇi mat-prasādāt tariṣyasi
atha cet tvam ahankārān na śroṣyasi vinaṅkṣyasi
also searched as "machchittah sarva durgani mat prasadat tarishyasi"
Translation
Focusing your thoughts on Me, you shall, by My grace, cross over all difficulties. If, however, out of self-conceit, you do not heed Me, you will perish.
Vāṇi's rendering
Mind in me, my grace will carry you past everything. Let pride close your ears, and you are lost.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मच्चित्तःmac-cittaḥ | with your mind on me; from mat + cittaḥ, the t hardening to c before the following sound |
| सर्वदुर्गाणिsarva-durgāṇi | all hard passages — every fort, gorge and impassable stretch |
| मत्प्रसादात्mat-prasādāt | by my grace, by the clearing of my favour |
| तरिष्यसिtariṣyasi | you will cross over |
| अथatha | but then, on the other hand |
| चेत्cet | if |
| त्वम्tvam | you |
| अहङ्कारात्ahankārān | out of the I-making pride; ahankārāt joined to the following na, its t becoming n |
| नna | not |
| श्रोष्यसिśroṣyasi | you will listen |
| विनङ्क्ष्यसिvinaṅkṣyasi | you will be lost, you will come to ruin |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 58 mean?
It sets two outcomes side by side. Hold your mind on Krishna and the impassable places are crossed by his grace, not by your effort. Refuse to listen out of pride, and you are lost. The deciding factor is not strength or merit but whether the ear stays open.
What does machchittah sarva durgani mat prasadat tarishyasi mean?
Mind fixed on me, you will cross all hard passages by my grace. Durgāṇi are forts and ravines — terrain no one walks through easily. Krishna does not promise the road will flatten. He promises the crossing, and says whose doing it is.
Why does Krishna say pride leads to destruction here?
Because ahaṅkāra does not usually fight the teaching. It simply declines to hear it. A person convinced they already know cannot be reached by anything said to them, however true. That closed ear is the ruin — not punishment sent down, but help that finds no opening.
Does this verse mean I do nothing and grace does everything?
Krishna asks one thing of you: mac-cittaḥ, mind on him. That is not nothing, and it is not the same as carrying the crossing yourself. You keep your attention where it belongs. The difficult ground is handled by someone else. Your part is small and it is yours.
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Commentary
Two doors, and Krishna names them both. The first: keep your mind on him, and the hard ground — durgāṇi, the forts, the impassable places — is crossed, not by your strength but by his grace. The second he states just as plainly. Pride does not argue with the teaching; it simply stops listening. Arjuna has heard seventeen chapters, and even now he could walk away deaf. So could you. Notice that what ruins a person here is not disobedience but the closed ear — the small refusal to be told anything. Grace can carry you anywhere. It cannot carry someone who will not hear it.