Bhagavad Gita BG 9.12

Chapter 9, Verse 12 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation

मोघाशा मोघकर्माणो मोघज्ञाना विचेतसः । राक्षसीमासुरीं चैव प्रकृतिं मोहिनीं श्रिताः ॥

mogha-sha mogha-karmano mogha-jnana vicetasah rakshasim asurim caiva prakrtim mohinim shritah

Meaning

Of vain hopes, vain actions, vain knowledge — of deluded mind — they take shelter in the demonic and deluding nature.

Understanding

A description of those who mock or ignore the divine (v11's context: those who consider Krishna an ordinary human). Three-fold 'mogha' (vain, futile, empty): mogha-asha (vain hopes — their desires lead nowhere), mogha-karma (vain actions — their deeds bring no real fruit), mogha-jnana (vain knowledge — their learning doesn't liberate). Vicetasah (those of confused/deluded mind — vi- indicates distortion). They take shelter in: rakshasim (the demonic/fierce) and asurim (the asuric/anti-divine) prakriti, which is mohini (deluding, bewildering). The contrast with v13 (mahatmanah who take shelter in the divine prakriti) is sharp: two fundamentally different orientations, two radically different outcomes.

Word by Word

Word	IAST	Meaning
मोघाशाः	mogha-sha	of vain/futile hopes (mogha = empty, fruitless)
मोघकर्माणः	mogha-karmanah	of vain/futile actions — whose actions bear no true fruit
मोघज्ञानाः	mogha-jnanah	of vain/futile knowledge — whose learning does not liberate
विचेतसः	vicetasah	of deluded/confused mind (vi + cetas = distorted consciousness)
मोहिनीम्	mohinim	deluding, bewildering, causing delusion
मोघ-आशाः	mogha-āśāḥ	with futile hopes
मोघ-कर्माणः	mogha-karmāṇaḥ	with futile actions
मोघ-ज्ञानाः	mogha-jñānāḥ	with futile knowledge
विचेतसः	vicetasaḥ	senseless, without discrimination
राक्षसीम्	rākṣasīm	demoniac
आसुरीम्	āsurīm	atheistic
च	ca	and
एव	eva	verily
प्रकृतिम्	prakṛtim	nature
मोहिनीम्	mohinīm	deluding
श्रिताः	śritāḥ	having taken shelter of

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