Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 63

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः ।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥

Transliteration

krodhādbhavati sammohaḥ sammohātsmṛtivibhramaḥ .
smṛtibhraṃśād buddhināśo buddhināśātpraṇaśyati ॥

Meaning

From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from the loss of memory, the destruction of discernment; and with the destruction of discernment, one perishes.

Word meanings

क्रोधात् – from anger
भवति – arises
सम्मोहः – delusion, complete bewilderment
सम्मोहात् – from delusion
स्मृतिविभ्रमः – confusion of memory
स्मृतिभ्रंशात् – from the loss of memory
बुद्धिनाशः – destruction of discernment
बुद्धिनाशात् – from the destruction of discernment
प्रणश्यति – one perishes utterly

Anvaya (word order)

क्रोधात् सम्मोहः भवति, सम्मोहात् स्मृतिविभ्रमः, स्मृतिभ्रंशात् बुद्धिनाशः, बुद्धिनाशात् (पुरुषः) प्रणश्यति ।

Explanation

The previous verse described four steps of the ladder of downfall — dwelling on objects, attachment, desire and anger. This verse takes the ladder to its end. After anger come four more steps — delusion, loss of memory, destruction of discernment and total ruin. Together the two verses form a chain of eight links that begins with an ordinary thought and ends in a person's complete undoing.

The fifth step is ‘krodhad bhavati sammohah’ — from anger comes delusion. The moment anger flares, one's power of discrimination clouds over. One loses the sense of what is right and wrong, of who is one's own and who is not. Shankara gives the example that an angry man may even insult his own teacher. This is ‘sam-moha’, total delusion, as if a curtain of smoke had fallen over the eyes.

The sixth step is ‘sammohat smriti-vibhramah’ — from delusion, confusion of memory. ‘Smriti’ here is not merely the faculty of recall. It is the memory of all we have learned from scripture, teachers and our own experience — our values, our promises, the dignity of our relationships, the consequences of actions. In delusion all this is forgotten. One says what one never wished to say, and does what one well knew would bring harm.

The seventh step is ‘smriti-bhramshad buddhi-nashah’ — from the loss of memory, the destruction of discernment. The buddhi is the faculty that decides between right and wrong. But to decide it needs the support of memory — of principles and past experience. When memory is gone, on what basis can the intellect judge? Shankara describes buddhi-nasha as the inner faculty becoming unfit to function — the intellect is present but no longer works.

The eighth and final step is ‘buddhi-nashat pranashyati’ — with the loss of discernment, the person perishes. In Shankara's words, a person is truly a person only so long as his inner faculty can discriminate between what should and should not be done; once that is lost, he becomes unfit for the goals of human life — and that is his ruin. This ruin is graver than physical death, for it is a fall from life's highest purpose. Ramanuja too says that when discernment is destroyed, one sinks back into the cycle of samsara.

An example makes the chain clear. A man sees a friend's new car (dwelling), keeps thinking about it (attachment), wants one just like it (desire), lacks the money and snaps at his family (anger), forgets in his anger who is dear to him (delusion), forgets the value of his upbringing and honesty (loss of memory), takes a wrong path (loss of discernment), and finally loses both his reputation and his peace (ruin).

The verse is meant not to frighten but to awaken. At every link there is a chance to stop, but the lower one goes, the harder stopping becomes. So the greatest wisdom lies in being alert at the very first link. And the chain also works in the opposite direction — dwelling on God or on noble thoughts leads to good company, goodwill, peace and finally liberation, as the following verses describe.

Context

Verse 2.62 described the first four steps of the ladder of downfall — dwelling on objects, attachment, desire and anger. This verse describes the remaining four — delusion, loss of memory, destruction of discernment and ruin. In the next verse (2.64) Krishna gives the opposite path of ascent: one who moves among objects with senses free from attraction and aversion attains prasada, serenity.

Life lesson

Make no decision and speak no binding word in anger — at that moment both memory and discernment are clouded. Every link in the chain of downfall offers a chance to stop; the sooner you stop, the easier it is.

Key terms

Sammoha: total delusion born of anger; loss of the sense of right and wrong
Smriti-bhramsha: forgetting one's learned values, principles and experience
Buddhi-nasha: the faculty of discernment ceasing to function
Pranasha: utter ruin; falling from life's highest goal