A declaration · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“A corrupted mind cannot recognise what would free it.”
The deluded, the lowest among people, the wrongdoers, and those whose understanding has been stolen by the veil do not turn to me. They take refuge in a shadowed nature instead.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallynot · to me · wrongdoers · deluded · take refuge · lowest among people · by the veil · whose understanding has been stolen · shadowed · nature · having taken refuge in
People who are deeply confused, morally corrupt, and trapped by the veil do not turn toward the divine. They lean into a destructive nature instead.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Jnana Vijnana Yoga" (Knowledge and Wisdom).
Verse 15 sits in Chapter 7 of the Bhagavad Gita — Jnana Vijnana Yoga, "Knowledge and Wisdom". The chapter has 30 verses in total.
Someone hears the truth twice, then laughs it off a third time. The issue is no longer lack of information; the refusal has become a habit of character.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts attention from asking why truth is absent to seeing how inner resistance blocks it.
What this verse means
People who are deeply confused, morally corrupt, and trapped by the veil do not turn toward the divine. They lean into a destructive nature instead.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield, Krishna explains why some people never seek him even when truth is near. After describing the veil of appearance, he names the kinds of minds that stay trapped in it: confused, harmful, and pulled toward a destructive nature.
Why this verse still matters
Someone hears the truth twice, then laughs it off a third time. The issue is no longer lack of information; the refusal has become a habit of character.
“It is sobering to see how confusion can harden into character, not just opinion.”
Explore related themes: delusion (19 verses)