Shloka 40
Dhyana Yoga — Atma Samyama Yoga
श्रीभगवानुवाच । पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते । न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ॥ ६.४० ॥
śrībhagavān uvāca | pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśas tasya vidyate | na hi kalyāṇakṛt kaścid durgatiṁ tāta gacchati || 6.40 ||
The Blessed Lord said: O Pārtha, for him there is no ruin either here or hereafter; for one who does good, dear one, never goes to an evil state.
“The Blessed Lord said: O Pārtha, neither here nor hereafter is there ruin for him; for one who does good, dear one, never goes to an unfortunate state.”
“The Lord said: O Pārtha, for him there is no destruction either in this world or the next; indeed no doer of good goes to an adverse course, dear one.”
The user-provided Sanskrit was truncated, but the standard text of 6.40 is well-attested. Interpretive variance concerns whether ‘durgati’ is read morally (misfortune/decline) or soteriologically (spiritual regression); both are compatible in context.
FAQs
It counters catastrophizing: partial progress is not framed as failure; constructive effort has protective value for well-being and motivation.
The verse asserts that wholesome action and sincere practice have enduring consequences across lives (or across existential states), resisting the idea of total spiritual loss.
Kṛṣṇa directly answers Arjuna’s fear of ‘perishing’ by denying any ultimate ruin for the sincere practitioner.
Ethical habits and contemplative training are depicted as cumulative: even incomplete results can still reduce harm and support future growth.