Bhagavad Gita BG 3.32
Chapter 3, Verse 32 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
ये त्वेतदभ्यसूयन्तो नानुतिष्ठन्ति मे मतम् । सर्वज्ञानविमूढांस्तान्विद्धि नष्टानचेतसः ॥ ३२ ॥
ye tv etad abhyasūyanto nānutiṣṭhanti me matam sarva-jñāna-vimūḍhāṃs tān viddhi naṣṭān acetasaḥ
Meaning
But those who, out of envy (abhyasūya), ignore and refuse to follow this teaching of Mine — know them to be confused in all knowledge, senseless, and lost.
Understanding
The contrast with v31 is stark. Those who follow with faith are freed; those who reject out of envy are lost. Abhyasūya is envy mixed with resentment — not intellectual disagreement but a wilful, ego-driven refusal to accept truth because accepting it would require changing. Sarva-jñāna-vimūḍhāḥ (confused in all knowledge) — they may be learned in many subjects but are confused at the root because they resist the knowledge that would actually free them. Acetasaḥ (senseless / without proper consciousness). Naṣṭān (lost). This verse is not a condemnation but a diagnosis: envy and resentment toward transformative teaching is its own punishment — it keeps the person trapped.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अभ्यसूयन्तः | abhyasūyantaḥ | those who envy / resent / wilfully reject out of spite |
| सर्वज्ञानविमूढान् | sarva-jñāna-vimūḍhān | confused in all knowledge / deluded about everything |
| नष्टान् | naṣṭān | lost / ruined / destroyed |
| अचेतसः | acetasaḥ | senseless / without proper consciousness / mindless |
| विद्धि | viddhi | know / understand / recognise |
| ये तु | ye tu | but those who / however those who |
| एतत् | etat | this (My teaching) |
| न अनुतिष्ठन्ति | nānutiṣṭhanti | do not follow / do not practise |
| मे | me | my (teaching) |
| मतम् | matam | teaching / view / opinion |
| तान् | tān | them / those (the deluded) |