Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 40
श्री भगवानुवाच
पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते।
नहि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति।।
पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते।
नहि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति।।
śrī bhagavān uvāca
pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśas tasya vidyate
na hi kalyāṇa-kṛt kaścid durgatiṁ tāta gacchati
also searched as "partha naiveha namutra vinashas tasya vidyate"
Translation
The Lord said, "Neither here in this world nor there in the next is there destruction for him. For no one who does good ever comes to an evil end."
Vāṇi's rendering
Neither in this world nor beyond is such a one destroyed. No one who does good ever comes to grief.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्रीśrī | holy, revered |
| भगवान्bhagavān | the Blessed One — Krishna |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| पार्थpārtha | O Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| नna | not |
| एवeva | indeed, truly (joined as naiva) |
| इहiha | here, in this world |
| नna | not (joined as nāmutra) |
| अमुत्रamutra | there, in the world beyond |
| विनाशःvināśaḥ | ruin, being destroyed (vināśas before tasya) |
| तस्यtasya | for him, of such a one |
| विद्यतेvidyate | exists, is found |
| नna | not |
| हिhi | for, surely |
| कल्याणकृत्kalyāṇa-kṛt | one who does good, a maker of what is wholesome |
| कश्चित्kaścid | anyone at all |
| दुर्गतिम्durgatim | a bad end, a wretched state |
| तातtāta | dear one — what a father calls a son |
| गच्छतिgacchati | goes, comes to |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 40 mean?
Arjuna has asked what becomes of the seeker who strives sincerely and still fails. Krishna answers that no such person is destroyed, here or hereafter. Good effort is never wasted and never lost. The one who does what is wholesome, kalyāṇa-kṛt, does not come to a wretched end — in this life or any that follows.
What is the meaning of 'partha naiveha namutra vinashas tasya vidyate'?
Neither in this world nor beyond is such a one destroyed. Krishna doubles the negation deliberately — na iha, na amutra — closing both doors through which Arjuna's fear might escape. There is no realm, seen or unseen, in which sincere effort turns into ruin. The verse is a refusal, twice spoken.
Why does Krishna call Arjuna 'tata' in this verse?
Tāta is what a father says to his child. Krishna has been teacher, charioteer, friend; here, answering a frightened question about failure, he speaks as a parent. The doctrine could have been stated coldly. Instead the reassurance arrives wrapped in tenderness — because Arjuna needed to be held before he could be taught.
What happens to a spiritual seeker who fails or gives up?
Krishna's answer is that nothing is subtracted. The practice you abandoned is not undone by the abandoning; it remains as ground already covered. A seeker who stops has not returned to the beginning. Whatever was gained holds, and waits, and the next beginning starts from where the last one ended.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna has just asked whether the seeker who tries and falls apart is lost — torn like a cloud, holding neither earth nor sky. Krishna does not reason first. He says no, twice, and then calls Arjuna tāta — dear one, the word a father uses for a son. The answer is affectionate before it is argued. Nothing good you have done is erased by the fact that you stopped. Effort toward the light is not a wager that can be lost. If you have begun and broken off, you are not back where you started. You are further along than you think.