Bhagavad Gita BG 6.38
Chapter 6, Verse 38 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश् छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति । अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि ॥
kaccin nobhaya-vibhrastas chinnabhram iva nashyati apratistho maha-baho vimudho brahmanah pathi
Meaning
O mighty-armed one, does he not — fallen from both (yoga and action), without support, deluded on the path of Brahman — perish like a torn cloud?
Understanding
This is Arjuna's most poignant question in the entire chapter. The yogi who abandons worldly duties to practice meditation, yet fails to reach perfection in yoga — what becomes of him? He has abandoned both: the path of karma (action-based dharma) and the path of yoga. Like a cloud torn apart by wind — which belongs neither to the sky in one place nor to the earth as rain — such a person seems to belong nowhere. 'Apratisthah' (without foothold/support) captures the existential anxiety: no grounding in the old life, no arrival at the new. 'Vimudha brahmanah pathi' — bewildered on the path of Brahman — the seeker who has glimpsed the path but cannot complete the journey. This question represents the anxiety of every sincere aspirant who fears incomplete practice might leave them worse off than if they had never begun.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| उभयविभ्रष्टः | ubhaya-vibhrashtah | fallen from both, deviated from both paths |
| छिन्नाभ्रम् | chinnabhram | like a torn/split cloud |
| अप्रतिष्ठः | apratishthah | without support, without foothold, groundless |
| विमूढः | vimudha | deluded, bewildered, confused |
| ब्रह्मणः पथि | brahmanah pathi | on the path of Brahman (the spiritual path) |
| कच्चित् | kaccit | is it not so / perhaps / does he not (question) |
| न | na | not (does he not perish?) |
| इव | iva | like / as (like a torn cloud) |
| नश्यति | naśyati | perishes / vanishes / is destroyed |
| महाबाहो | mahā-bāho | O mighty-armed (Arjuna) |