A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Public shame can hurt more than physical danger.”
Your enemies will speak many unworthy words, mocking your strength. What could be more painful than that?
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyunworthy words · and · many · they will speak · your · enemies · mocking · your · strength · than that · more painful · indeed · what
Your enemies will mock your ability and say cruel things about you. For a respected person, that kind of public shame can feel worse than death.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Verse 36 sits in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, "The Yoga of Knowledge". The chapter has 72 verses in total.
You back out of the hard conversation, and later people call you weak behind your back. The wound is not the criticism itself — it is watching your own courage get rewritten.
Did you like this verse?
It exposes how fear of ridicule can paralyze action, and pushes the mind back toward duty.
What this verse means
Your enemies will mock your ability and say cruel things about you. For a respected person, that kind of public shame can feel worse than death.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna stands frozen while Krishna presses him to act. After warning him about disgrace, Krishna adds that enemies will ridicule his strength itself. The verse deepens Arjuna's fear of public humiliation.
Why this verse still matters
You back out of the hard conversation, and later people call you weak behind your back. The wound is not the criticism itself — it is watching your own courage get rewritten.
“Shame can sting harder than pain when your identity is on the line.”