Bhagavad Gita BG 16.10
Chapter 16, Verse 10 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
काममाश्रित्य दुष्पूरं दम्भमानमदान्विताः । मोहाद्गृहीत्वासद्ग्राहान् प्रवर्तन्तेऽशुचिव्रताः ॥
kamam ashritya dushpuram dambha-mana-madanvitah mohad grhitvacad-grahan pravartante 'shuci-vratah
Meaning
Taking shelter in insatiable desire, possessed by hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance, holding false views through delusion — they act with impure resolves.
Understanding
The demonic's inner life is mapped: kamam ashritya dushpuram (taking shelter in desire that is dushpura — impossible to fill, insatiable; dus + pura = hard to satisfy). This is the samsaric quality of kama: every satisfaction generates new desires. Dambha-mana-mada-anvitah (possessed by hypocrisy/dambha, pride/mana, and intoxication/mada — the triple poison of the demonic ego). Mohad grhitva sad-grahan (through delusion/moha, holding false views — sad-graha = false/wrong opinions/beliefs; the seizing of wrong views). Pravartante 'shuci-vratah (they act with impure resolves/vows — ashuci = impure, vrata = resolve/vow). The demonic person's inner life is organized around an insatiable void, filled with ego-poisons, acting from false views, and committing to impure purposes. Each element feeds the others.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| दुष्पूरम् | dushpuram | insatiable, impossible to fill (dus + pura) |
| मदान्विताः | madanvitah | possessed by intoxication/arrogance (mada = intoxication from pride) |
| मोहात् | mohat | through delusion, from confusion (ablative — delusion as cause) |
| असद्ग्राहान् | asad-grahan | false views, wrong beliefs seized upon (asat = unreal/false + graha = grasping) |
| अशुचिव्रताः | ashuci-vratah | with impure resolves/vows (ashuci = impure, vrata = vow/resolve) |
| कामम् | kāmam | desire |
| आश्रित्य | āśritya | taking refuge in |
| दुष्पूरम् | duṣpūram | insatiable |
| दम्भ-मान | dambha-māna | hypocrisy and pride |
| मद-अन्विताः | mada-anvitāḥ | filled with intoxication |
| मोहात् | mohāt | from delusion |
| गृहीत्वा | gṛhītvā | having taken up |
| असत्-ग्राहान् | asat-grāhān | false views |
| प्रवर्तन्ते | pravartante | they engage |
| अशुचि-व्रताः | aśuci-vratāḥ | with impure vows |
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