Shloka 40

Devanagari script

अज्ञक्षाश्रद्धानक्ष संशयात्मा विनश्यति । नायं लोको<5स्ति न परो न सुखं संशयात्मन:,विवेकहीन और श्रद्धारहित संशययुक्त मनुष्य परमार्थसे अवश्य भ्रष्ट हो जाता है।* ऐसे संशययुक्त मनुष्यके लिये न यह लोक है, न परलोक है और न सुख ही हैः

Transliteration

ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca saṁśayātmā vinaśyati | nāyaṁ loko 'sti na paro na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ ||

Translation

Arjuna dit : L’ignorant, dépourvu de foi et dominé par le doute, court à sa perte. Pour celui dont l’être intérieur est gouverné par le doute, il n’y a ni accomplissement en ce monde, ni bien dans l’autre — pas même le bonheur.

Word by Word

अज्ञःignorant

अश्रद्धानःfaithless

संशयात्माone whose nature is doubt (doubting person)

विनश्यतिperishes / is ruined

नnot

अयम्this

लोकःworld

अस्तिexists

नnot

परःother (i.e., the next world)

नnot

सुखम्happiness

संशयात्मनःof the doubting person

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Doubt that undermines faith and understanding blocks both worldly stability and spiritual progress; without trust in right knowledge and practice, one cannot attain happiness here or benefit hereafter.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva’s battlefield dialogue context, Arjuna voices a moral-spiritual warning: a person who is ignorant, faithless, and inwardly doubtful collapses in purpose and cannot secure well-being in either this life or the next.