Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 34
अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम्।
संभावितस्य चाकीर्तिर्मरणादतिरिच्यते।।
संभावितस्य चाकीर्तिर्मरणादतिरिच्यते।।
akīrtiṁ cāpi bhūtāni
kathayiṣyanti te ’vyayām
sambhāvitasya cākīrtir
maraṇād atiricyate
also searched as "akirtim chapi bhutani kathayishyanti te avyayam"
Translation
Further, people will speak ill of you for all time, and for one accustomed to being honored, dishonor is worse than death.
Vāṇi's rendering
People will tell of your disgrace forever. For a man of honour, disgrace cuts deeper than death.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अकीर्तिम्akīrtim | dishonour, ill fame |
| चca | and |
| अपिapi | also, moreover |
| भूतानिbhūtāni | beings, people, everyone alive |
| कथयिष्यन्तिkathayiṣyanti | will tell, will keep recounting |
| तेte | your, of you |
| अव्ययाम्avyayām | unending, never wearing out (joined as te 'vyayām) |
| संभावितस्यsambhāvitasya | for one who has been held in honour |
| चca | and (joined as cākīrtir) |
| अकीर्तिःakīrtiḥ | dishonour |
| मरणात्maraṇāt | than death |
| अतिरिच्यतेatiricyate | is greater, goes beyond |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 34 mean?
Krishna tells Arjuna that if he walks off the field, the telling of it will outlive him. For a man whose standing is his life, that ruin bites harder than dying. It is not a spiritual argument. It is Krishna naming exactly what Arjuna already fears, out loud.
What is the meaning of akirtim chapi bhutani kathayishyanti te avyayam?
People will speak of your disgrace, and they will not stop. Avyayām means unspending, inexhaustible — a story with no end to it. Krishna is pointing at the long afterlife of a single act of flinching, heard in every mouth Arjuna will never meet.
Why does Krishna appeal to reputation after teaching about the eternal soul?
Because Arjuna has not absorbed the higher teaching yet. Krishna meets him where he actually lives — in the world of honour, shame and being seen. A teacher who only speaks from the summit leaves the student at the base. Krishna comes down and walks him up.
Is the Gita saying I should care what people think of me?
No. It is saying you already do, and Krishna will use that until you no longer need it. The verse is diagnostic, not prescriptive. Find the place where the fear of being badly spoken of still governs you — that is the exact spot where you are not yet free.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has just spoken of the deathless self. Now he speaks of gossip. It is a startling descent, and it is deliberate — Arjuna is not yet living at the height of the earlier verses, so Krishna argues at the altitude where Arjuna stands. A warrior's whole life is built on the word others use for him. Take that away and something in him dies before his body does. Notice Krishna does not call this noble. He calls it true. Wherever your worth depends on being spoken well of, that is where you are most easily moved — and the one who knows it can move you.