Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 32
ये त्वेतदभ्यसूयन्तो नानुतिष्ठन्ति मे मतम्।
सर्वज्ञानविमूढांस्तान्विद्धि नष्टानचेतसः।।
सर्वज्ञानविमूढांस्तान्विद्धि नष्टानचेतसः।।
ye tvetad abhyasūyanto nānutiṣṭhanti me matam
sarva-jñāna-vimūḍhāns tān viddhi naṣṭān acetasaḥ
also searched as "ye tvetad abhyasuyanto nanutisthanti me matam"
Translation
But those who slander it, and those who do not practice this teaching of Mine—know them to be utterly senseless and devoid of all knowledge, and thus lost.
Vāṇi's rendering
Those who sneer at what I teach and will not live it — know them as lost, blind to everything.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| येye | those who |
| तुtu | but (joined in sandhi as tv- before etad) |
| एतत्etad | this |
| अभ्यसूयन्तःabhyasūyantaḥ | sneering at it, finding fault, carping (appears as abhyasūyanto by sandhi) |
| नna | not (joined in sandhi as nā- with anutiṣṭhanti) |
| अनुतिष्ठन्तिanutiṣṭhanti | do not put into practice, do not live by |
| मेme | my |
| मतम्matam | teaching, considered view |
| सर्वज्ञानविमूढान्sarva-jñāna-vimūḍhān | confused about every kind of knowing (appears as vimūḍhāns before tān) |
| तान्tān | them |
| विद्धिviddhi | know, recognise |
| नष्टान्naṣṭān | lost, ruined |
| अचेतसःacetasaḥ | without discernment, mind unawake |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 32 mean?
It names the opposite of the faithful follower described just before. Those who sneer at Krishna's teaching and refuse to live by it are not merely mistaken — they are called lost and undiscerning, confused about every kind of knowing. Contempt is the barrier, not ignorance. The mockery and the not-practising are one and the same refusal.
What does ye tvetad abhyasuyanto nanutishthanti me matam teach?
That fault-finding and non-practice travel together. Abhyasūyā is the habit of belittling what one has not tested, and it conveniently removes any obligation to try. Krishna does not call such a person evil. He calls him acetasaḥ — unawake — because a mind busy sneering has no room left to learn.
Why does Krishna call them devoid of all knowledge?
Because the flaw is not in one opinion but in the faculty itself. Sarva-jñāna-vimūḍhān means confused across the whole range of knowing. When contempt becomes the first response, every teaching arrives already dismissed. Nothing can enter. That is why the verse speaks of blindness rather than error.
Is this verse condemning people who disagree with the Gita?
Honest disagreement is not what is described. Abhyasūyā is scorn that skips examination — deriding a teaching precisely so one need not attempt it. Krishna's charge is against that evasion, not against questioning. Arjuna himself questions constantly, and is answered. Ask, argue, test. Only refuse to sneer.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has just praised those who follow with faith. Now the other side of the ledger. Notice what he names first — not disbelief, but the sneer. Abhyasūyā is the impulse that finds fault before it examines, that protects itself from a teaching by making it small. Sneering and not living it are one motion; the mockery is what excuses the not-doing. Such a person is not called wicked here. He is called blind — cut off from every kind of knowing, because contempt closes the eye that learning needs open. Watch, in yourself, the moment a teaching becomes something you laugh at instead of something you try.