Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 53

Chapter 18 – Moksha Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

अहंकारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम् ।
विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥

Transliteration

ahaṃkāraṃ balaṃ darpaṃ kāmaṃ krodhaṃ parigraham .
vimucya nirmamaḥ śānto brahmabhūyāya kalpate ॥

Meaning

Having given up ego, force, arrogance, desire, anger and possessiveness, free from the sense of 'mine' and at peace, one becomes fit for oneness with Brahman.

Word meanings

अहंकारम् – ego, identification with the body
बलम् – force — obstinate power born of desire
दर्पम् – arrogance
कामम् – desire
क्रोधम् – anger
परिग्रहम् – possessiveness, needless accumulation
विमुच्य – having given up
निर्ममः – free from 'mine'
शान्तः – peaceful
ब्रह्मभूयाय – for oneness with Brahman
कल्पते – becomes fit

Anvaya (word order)

अहंकारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहं विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तः (सः) ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ।

Explanation

This verse completes the sentence begun in 18.51. The previous two verses described what the seeker should take up; this verse describes what he must give up. Six inner enemies are named.

Ahankara — identifying with body, mind and intellect as 'I', and thinking oneself great. Bala — Shankara clarifies that this is not physical strength, which is natural, but the obstinate force joined with desire and attachment that seeks to impose one's will on others. Darpa — arrogance, which follows elation and leads one to transgress dharma.

Kama — desires and cravings. Krodha — anger, which arises when desire is thwarted. Parigraha — accumulating possessions beyond need, and the sense of ownership over them. Shankara says that not only outward accumulation but inner attachment is to be given up, so that there is no possessiveness even towards the means of sustaining the body.

Having relinquished these six, the seeker becomes nirmama, free from 'mine', and shanta, peaceful. 'I' and 'mine' are the twin roots of bondage: ego is 'I' and possessiveness is 'mine'. When both drop away, peace descends naturally on the mind, as a lake becomes still when the wind dies down.

Then brahma-bhuyaya kalpate — he becomes fit for oneness with Brahman. The word kalpate matters: he becomes fit, capable. For Shankara this means becoming ready for identity with Brahman. For Ramanuja it means becoming fit to experience one's own pure self, which is pure and blissful like Brahman.

Context

This verse completes the sentence of 18.51–52 and names the six inner faults the seeker must abandon. The next verse (18.54) describes the state of one who has become Brahman, and the supreme devotion attained thereafter.

Life lesson

Recognise ego, obstinacy, arrogance, craving, anger and needless accumulation, and gradually let them go. As the sense of 'I' and 'mine' diminishes, peace increases. Simplifying life is a doorway to inner freedom.

Key terms

Ahankara: Identifying body and mind as 'I'
Bala (here): Obstinate force born of desire
Darpa: Arrogance
Parigraha: Needless accumulation and possessiveness
Nirmama: Free from the sense of 'mine'
Brahma-bhuya: Oneness with Brahman, the state of Brahman