Bhagavad-gītā 16.20

Explain simply

Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa

आसुरीं योनिमापन्ना मूढा जन्मनि जन्मनि ।
मामप्राप्यैव कौन्तेय ततो यान्त्यधमां गतिम् ॥२०॥

āsurīṁ yonim āpannā
mūḍhā janmani janmani
mām aprāpyaiva kaunteya
tato yānty adhamāṁ gatim

Word for word (synonyms)

āsurīm
demoniac
yonim
species
āpannāḥ
gaining
mūḍhāḥ
the foolish
janmani janmani
in birth after birth
mām
unto Me
aprāpya
without achieving
eva
certainly
kaunteya
O son of Kuntī
tataḥ
thereafter
yānti
goes
adhamām
condemned
gatim
destination

Translation

Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.

Defined in the Gītā

Divine and demoniac

What are the divine and the demoniac natures?

The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purification of one's existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, self-control, performance of sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity and simplicity; nonviolence, truthfulness, freedom from anger; renunciation, tranquility, aversion to faultfinding, compassion and freedom from covetousness; gentleness, modesty and steady determination; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy and the passion for honor—these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.

Bhagavad-gītā 16.1–3

See the definition

Purport

Other scriptures cited in this purport: Vedānta-sūtra

It is known that God is all-merciful, but here we find that God is never merciful to the demoniac. It is clearly stated that the demoniac people, life after life, are put into the wombs of similar demons, and, not achieving the mercy of the Supreme Lord, they go down and down, so that at last they achieve bodies like those of cats, dogs and hogs. It is clearly stated that such demons have practically no chance of receiving the mercy of God at any stage of later life. In the Vedas also it is stated that such persons gradually sink to become dogs and hogs. It may be then argued in this connection that God should not be advertised as all-merciful if He is not merciful to such demons. In answer to this question, in the Vedānta-sūtra we find that the Supreme Lord has no hatred for anyone. The placing of the asuras, the demons, in the lowest status of life is simply another feature of His mercy. Sometimes the asuras are killed by the Supreme Lord, but this killing is also good for them, for in Vedic literature we find that anyone who is killed by the Supreme Lord becomes liberated. There are instances in history of many asuras—Rāvaṇa, Kaṁsa, Hiraṇyakaśipu—to whom the Lord appeared in various incarnations just to kill. Therefore God's mercy is shown to the asuras if they are fortunate enough to be killed by Him.

What this verse teaches

The study note for this verse is in editorial review.

Gita for Life
Anger
In thematic compilations 1

Soul and Transmigration

  • Demons are condemned life after life. (16.19 tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān... 16.20 āsurīṁ yonim āpannā...)

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.