Bhagavad Gita BG 3.16
Chapter 3, Verse 16 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
एवं प्रवर्तितं चक्रं नानुवर्तयतीह यः । अघायुरिन्द्रियारामो मोघं पार्थ स जीवति ॥ १६ ॥
evaṃ pravartitaṃ cakraṃ nānuvartayatīha yaḥ aghāyur indriyārāmo moghaṃ pārtha sa jīvati
Meaning
O Partha, one who does not follow this wheel of creation set in motion — who lives in sin, indulging only the senses — lives in vain.
Understanding
Having built up the cosmic wheel through five verses (v11-15), Krishna now issues the warning: to step outside the wheel is to live meaninglessly. The wheel (cakra) here is the great cycle of yajna — action sustaining nature, nature sustaining life, life offering back. Aghāyuḥ means 'one whose life is sinful' or 'one who accumulates agha (sin)'; indriyārāmaḥ means 'one who finds delight only in the senses.' Such a person lives mogham — in vain, for nothing, wasting the priceless human life. This is not a threat but a statement of cosmic fact: the human life is the one precious opportunity to consciously participate in the sacred cycle.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| चक्रम् | cakram | wheel / cycle / cosmic order |
| अनुवर्तयति | anuvartayati | follows / keeps turning / maintains |
| अघायुः | aghāyuḥ | one living sinfully / whose life accumulates agha (sin) |
| इन्द्रियारामः | indriyārāmaḥ | one who delights only in the senses |
| मोघम् | mogham | in vain / fruitlessly / for nothing |
| एवम् | evam | thus / in this way |
| प्रवर्तितम् | pravartitam | set in motion / established |
| न | na | not (who does not follow) |
| इह | iha | here / in this world |
| यः | yaḥ | he who / one who |
| पार्थ | pārtha | O Partha (Arjuna) |
| सः | saḥ | he (that sinful one) |
| जीवति | jīvati | lives / exists (in vain) |