Shloka 21

Devanagari script

सम्बन्ध-- आयुरस्वभाववाले मनुष्योंकोी लगातार आयुरी योनियोंके और घोर नरकोंके प्राप्त होनेकी बात युनकर यह जिज्ञासा हो सकती है कि उनके लिये इस दुर्गीतिसे बचकर परम गतिको प्राप्त करनेका क्या उपाय है; इसपर कहते हैं-- त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मन: । काम: क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्‌ त्रयं त्यजेत्‌,काम, क्रोध तथा लोभ--ये तीन प्रकारके नरकके द्वार आत्माका नाश करनेवाले अर्थात्‌ उसको अधोगतिमें ले जानेवाले हैं।। अतएव इन तीनोंको त्याग देना चाहिये

Transliteration

trividhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ | kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet ||

Translation

Arjuna said: “There are three gates to hell, destructive of the self: desire, anger, and greed. Therefore one should abandon this triad.”

Word by Word

त्रिविधम्threefold

नरकस्यof hell

इदम्this

द्वारम्gate

नाशनम्destruction

आत्मनःof the self

कामःdesire

क्रोधःanger

तथाand/also

लोभःgreed

तस्मात्therefore

एतत्this

त्रयम्triad (set of three)

त्यजेत्should abandon

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse identifies desire (kāma), anger (krodha), and greed (lobha) as the primary inner forces that lead a person toward moral and spiritual downfall; abandoning them is presented as a practical safeguard for one’s welfare and higher destiny.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the midst of the larger battlefield discourse, the speaker states a concise ethical maxim: the path to ruin is entered through three inner ‘gates,’ and the remedy is deliberate renunciation of these impulses.