Bhagavad Gita BG 16.11
Chapter 16, Verse 11 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
चिन्तामपरिमेयां च प्रलयान्तामुपाश्रिताः । कामोपभोगपरमा एतावदिति निश्चिताः ॥
cintam aparimeyam ca pralayantam upashritah kamopabhoga-parama etavad iti nishcitah
Meaning
Bound by immeasurable anxieties ending only at death, devoted to the gratification of desire as their supreme goal — convinced that this is all there is.
Understanding
The existential quality of the demonic life: cintam aparimeyam (immeasurable/boundless anxiety/worry — apari + meya = not measurable, infinite in extent). Pralayantam (ending only at pralaya/death — the anxiety does not cease, it is pralaya-anta = having death as its end). Upashritah (clinging to, taking shelter in this anxiety-bound existence). Kamopabhoga-parama (with the gratification of desire — kamopabhoga — as their ultimate/highest value — parama). Etavad iti nishcitah (convinced with certainty that this is all there is — etavad = this much, just this). This verse is one of the Gita's most psychologically precise: the demonic life is characterized by infinite anxiety that ends only at death, an unshakeable conviction that sensory gratification is the highest value, and the certainty that there is nothing beyond.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| चिन्ताम् | cintam | anxiety, worry, constant preoccupation |
| अपरिमेयाम् | aparimeyam | immeasurable, boundless, without limit |
| प्रलयान्ताम् | pralayantam | ending at death/dissolution (pralaya = dissolution, anta = end) |
| कामोपभोगपरमाः | kamopabhoga-parama | those for whom gratification of desire is the supreme goal |
| एतावत् | etavat | just this much, only this, no more than this |
| चिन्ताम् | cintām | worry, anxiety |
| अपरिमेयाम् | aparimeyām ca | and immeasurable |
| प्रलयान्ताम् | pralayāntām | ending only at death |
| उपाश्रिताः | upāśritāḥ | taking shelter of |
| काम-उपभोग-परमाः | kāma-upabhoga-paramāḥ | devoted to sense gratification |
| एतावत् | etāvat | this much, only this |
| इति | iti | thus |
| निश्चिताः | niścitāḥ | convinced, certain |
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