A declaration · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Three inner forces open the way to ruin; dropping them protects the self.”
Desire, anger, and greed are the three gates of ruin. Abandon these three.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallythreefold · of ruin · this · gate · destroyer · of the self · desire · anger · and also · greed · therefore · these · three · should abandon
Desire, anger, and greed are the three forces that drag a person downward. Krishna says they must be given up.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga" (The Divine and Demoniac Natures).
Verse 21 sits in Chapter 16 of the Bhagavad Gita — Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga, "The Divine and Demoniac Natures". The chapter has 24 verses in total.
You open your phone to send one sharp message, then another, then another. The urge feels justified, but it is really pulling you into a smaller version of yourself. Stop there.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts the mind from impulse-driven reaction to deliberate restraint.
What this verse means
Desire, anger, and greed are the three forces that drag a person downward. Krishna says they must be given up.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield, Arjuna is frozen between duty and collapse. Krishna now names the inner enemies that make clear action impossible: desire, anger, and greed. He says these must be dropped before a person can act rightly.
Why this verse still matters
You open your phone to send one sharp message, then another, then another. The urge feels justified, but it is really pulling you into a smaller version of yourself. Stop there.
“You do not have to obey every impulse. Freedom begins when you stop feeding the forces that trap you.”
Explore related themes: kama (23 verses), self mastery (16 verses), adharma (12 verses)