Bhagavad Gita 16.19

Verse 19

तानहं द्विषतः क्रूरान्संसारेषु नराधमान् | क्षिपाम्यजस्रमशुभानासुरीष्वेव योनिषु || १९ ||

Transliteration

tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṁsāreṣu narādhamān kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu

Synonyms

tān—these; aham—I; dviṣataḥ—envious; krūrān—mischievous; saṁsāreṣu—in the material world; narādhamān—the lowest of mankind; kṣipāmi—I put; ajasram—repeatedly; aśubhān—inauspicious; āsurīṣu—demoniac; eva—certainly; yoniṣu—in the wombs.

Translation

These hateful, cruel, lowest among men—I hurl them repeatedly into the cycles of existence in demoniac wombs.

Multi-Tradition Commentary

Swami Sivananda

This verse should not be read as divine vengeance but as the law of karma operating through divine governance. The Lord does not externally punish these beings; rather, their own orientation and accumulated tendencies draw them naturally toward embodiments that match their character. The demoniac nature, left unchecked, perpetuates itself across lives through the inexorable logic of karma.

Practical Application (Modern Life)

The principle here is that habitual patterns of character deepen over time and become the foundation of future experience. The cruel person who never reflects or reforms does not escape—their cruelty shapes them into the kind of being for whom kindness becomes increasingly impossible. This is why early intervention and sincere effort are so important: tendencies become destiny if left unaddressed.

Chapter Content

View all shlokas in Chapter 16

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