What the scriptures say about craving

What do the scriptures say about craving?

The texts call it kāma (काम). Desire is a force that is never satisfied by feeding it and obscures clear knowing like smoke covers fire. This is the state of kāma. They set joy, self-knowledge and steadiness against it.

56 verses
3 stories
Weighs on the mind

Read the verses Find it on the map

Krishna

आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठंसमुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वेस शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥

āpūryamāṇamacalapratiṣṭhaṃsamudramāpaḥ praviśanti yadvat | tadvatkāmā yaṃ praviśanti sarvesa śāntimāpnoti na kāmakāmī ||

As waters enter the ocean, which is ever being filled yet stays unmoved within its shores, so the one into whom all desires enter in the same way finds peace, not the one who craves desires.

Bhagavad Gita 2.70

Craving in the texts' own words

Someone in the verse is in it, or the text names it outright. Many readers find their own day here.

Bhartrihari
अजानन्दाहात्म्यं पततु शलभस्तीव्रदहने स मीनोऽप्यज्ञानाद्वडिशयुतमश्नातु पिशितम् । विजानन्तोऽप्येते वयमिह विपज्जालजटिलान् न मुञ्चामः कामानहह गहनो मोहमहिमा ॥
ajānandāhātmyaṃ patatu śalabhastīvradahane sa mīno’pyajñānādvaḍiśayutamaśnātu piśitam | vijānanto’pyete vayamiha vipajjālajaṭilān na muñcāmaḥ kāmānahaha gahano mohamahimā ||
Let the moth fall into the blazing flame not knowing that it burns; let the fish swallow the bait not knowing the hook. But we, knowing full well, still do not let go of desires tangled in a net of dangers. Ah, how deep is the power of delusion!
Bhartrihari · Vairagya Shatakam
Arjuna
अर्जुन उवाच अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुषः । अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥
arjuna uvāca atha kena prayukto’yaṃ pāpaṃ carati pūruṣaḥ | anicchannapi vārṣṇeya balādiva niyojitaḥ ||
Arjuna said: Then what drives a person to do wrong, Krishna, even against his will, as if pushed by force?
Bhagavad Gita 3.36
Shows the sense of being pushed by something stronger than one's will. our reading
Krishna
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठंसमुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वेस शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥
āpūryamāṇamacalapratiṣṭhaṃsamudramāpaḥ praviśanti yadvat | tadvatkāmā yaṃ praviśanti sarvesa śāntimāpnoti na kāmakāmī ||
As waters enter the ocean, which is ever being filled yet stays unmoved within its shores, so the one into whom all desires enter in the same way finds peace, not the one who craves desires.
Bhagavad Gita 2.70
Krishna
आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणा । कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च ॥
āvṛtaṃ jñānametena jñānino nityavairiṇā | kāmarūpeṇa kaunteya duṣpūreṇānalena ca ||
Knowledge is covered, Kaunteya, by this constant enemy of the wise in the form of desire, an insatiable fire.
Bhagavad Gita 3.39
Manki
काम जानामि ते मूलं संकल्पात्किल जायसे / न त्वां संकल्पयिष्यामि समूलो नभविष्यसि
kāma jānāmi te mūlaṃ saṃkalpātkila jāyase / na tvāṃ saṃkalpayiṣyāmi samūlo nabhaviṣyasi
Desire, I know your root: you are born of my own imagining. I will not imagine you any more, and you will be gone, root and all.
Mahabharata · Shanti Parva · Bhishma, Mokshadharma

What feeds it, step by step

Sequences the texts state outright, in their own order.

What drives us against our will

Bhagavad Gita 3.36-39

passion or activity
Craving
Anger
Confusion

Arjuna asks what pushes a person to do wrong against their own wish. Krishna says it is desire and anger born of rajas, and this covers knowing as smoke covers fire and dust covers a mirror.

Arjuna
अर्जुन उवाच अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुषः । अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥
arjuna uvāca atha kena prayukto’yaṃ pāpaṃ carati pūruṣaḥ | anicchannapi vārṣṇeya balādiva niyojitaḥ ||
Arjuna said: Then what drives a person to do wrong, Krishna, even against his will, as if pushed by force?
Bhagavad Gita 3.36
Krishna
श्री भगवानुवाच काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः । महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥
śrī bhagavānuvāca kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajoguṇasamudbhavaḥ | mahāśano mahāpāpmā viddhyenamiha vairiṇam ||
The Blessed Lord said: It is desire, it is anger, born of the quality of passion; all-devouring and greatly harmful. Know this to be the enemy here.
Bhagavad Gita 3.37
Krishna
धूमेनाव्रियते वह्निर्यथाऽऽदर्शो मलेन च । यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् ॥
dhūmenāvriyate vahniryathā’’darśo malena ca | yatholbenāvṛto garbhastathā tenedamāvṛtam ||
As fire is covered by smoke, a mirror by dust, and an embryo by the womb, so is this wisdom covered by desire.
Bhagavad Gita 3.38

The ladder of fall

Bhagavad Gita 2.62-63

dwelling on objects
Attachment
Craving
Anger
Confusion
loss of memory
ruin of judgement
loss of memory

Dwelling on an object breeds attachment. Attachment breeds desire. Desire breeds anger. Anger breeds delusion. Delusion causes loss of memory. Loss of memory ruins judgement. With judgement gone, one is lost.

Krishna
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते । सङ्गात् संजायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥
dhyāyato viṣayānpuṃsaḥ saṅgasteṣūpajāyate | saṅgāt saṃjāyate kāmaḥ kāmātkrodho’bhijāyate ||
When a person dwells on objects, attachment to them is born. From attachment comes desire, and from desire, anger.
Bhagavad Gita 2.62
Krishna
क्रोधाद्भवति संमोहः संमोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः । स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥
krodhādbhavati saṃmohaḥ saṃmohātsmṛtivibhramaḥ | smṛtibhraṃśād buddhināśo buddhināśātpraṇaśyati ||
From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from confusion of memory, the ruin of understanding; and with understanding ruined, a person is lost.
Bhagavad Gita 2.63

As your desire, so you become

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5; 4.4.12

Craving
Resolve
action
becoming

A person is made of desire. As the desire, so the will. As the will, so the deed. As the deed, so one becomes. And one who knows the self, wanting what, for whose sake, would he fret after the body?

Yajnavalkya
अथो खल्वाहुः काममय एवायं पुरुष इति स यथाकामो भवति तत्क्रतुर्भवति यत्क्रतुर्भवति तत्कर्म कुरुते यत्कर्म कुरुते तदभिसम्पद्यते ॥
atho khalvāhuḥ kāmamaya evāyaṃ puruṣa iti sa yathākāmo bhavati tatkraturbhavati yatkraturbhavati tatkarma kurute yatkarma kurute tadabhisampadyate ||
And so they say: a person is made of desire. As his desire is, so is his will; as his will is, so is his deed; and whatever deed he does, that he becomes.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5
Yajnavalkya
आत्मानं चेद्विजानीयादयमस्मीति पूरुषः किमिच्छन्कस्य कामाय शरीरमनुसञ्ज्वरेत् ॥
ātmānaṃ cedvijānīyādayamasmīti pūruṣaḥ kimicchankasya kāmāya śarīramanusañjvaret ||
If a person knew the self as 'I am this', then wanting what, and for whose sake, would he fret after the body?
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.12

The good and the pleasant

Katha Upanishad 1.2.1-2

Discernment
highest good
the pleasant
Craving

The good and the pleasant both come to a person. The wise look at them from every side and tell them apart, choosing the good, and the dull choose the pleasant for the sake of getting and keeping.

Yama
श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतस्तौ सम्परीत्य विविनक्ति धीर:। श्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते प्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद् वृणीते ॥
śreyaśca preyaśca manuṣyametastau samparītya vivinakti dhīra:| śreyo hi dhīro’bhi preyaso vṛṇīte preyo mando yogakṣemād vṛṇīte ||
The good and the pleasant both come to a person. The wise one examines them and tells them apart. The wise chooses the good over the pleasant; the dull chooses the pleasant, for getting and keeping.
Katha Upanishad 1.2.2

What heals it

What the texts set against it, and the verses that give footing.

Letting govairāgya
Seeing the higher makes the taste go, leaving the ocean full. stated in the text
Gita 2.59; 2.70; Yaksha
Control of the sensesindriya nigraha
Begin with the senses. stated in the text
Gita 3.41; 2.58; 2.64
Contentmentsantoṣa
No rest without contentment. stated in the text
Manas Uttar 90; Gita 3.17
Unthinkingachintana
Stop feeding the picture to stop desire born of imagining. stated in the text
Manki Gita
Joyānanda
Inner joy replaces the chase. stated in the text
Gita 5.21; Taittiriya 2.8

Krishna
यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः । इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥
yadā saṃharate cāyaṃ kūrmo’ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ | indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyastasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā ||
When, like a tortoise drawing in its limbs on every side, a person withdraws the senses from their objects, his wisdom is firmly set.
Bhagavad Gita 2.58
Shows the senses drawn in before the pull grows. our reading
Krishna
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठंसमुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वेस शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥
āpūryamāṇamacalapratiṣṭhaṃsamudramāpaḥ praviśanti yadvat | tadvatkāmā yaṃ praviśanti sarvesa śāntimāpnoti na kāmakāmī ||
As waters enter the ocean, which is ever being filled yet stays unmoved within its shores, so the one into whom all desires enter in the same way finds peace, not the one who craves desires.
Bhagavad Gita 2.70
Shows peace belongs to the one whose desires do not stir. our reading
Manki
काम जानामि ते मूलं संकल्पात्किल जायसे / न त्वां संकल्पयिष्यामि समूलो नभविष्यसि
kāma jānāmi te mūlaṃ saṃkalpātkila jāyase / na tvāṃ saṃkalpayiṣyāmi samūlo nabhaviṣyasi
Desire, I know your root: you are born of my own imagining. I will not imagine you any more, and you will be gone, root and all.
Mahabharata · Shanti Parva · Bhishma, Mokshadharma
Traces desire to its root in dwelling on the object. our reading
Kakbhushundi
कोउ बिश्राम कि पाव तात सहज संतोष बिनु। चलै कि जल बिनु नाव कोटि जतन पचि पचि मरिअ ॥
kou biśrām ki pāv tāt sahaj saṃtoṣ binu| calai ki jal binu nāv koṭi jatan paci paci maria ||
Can anyone find rest without natural contentment, friend? Can a boat move without water, though you strain and wear yourself out with a million efforts?
Ramcharitmanas · Uttar Kand
Teacher
सैषाऽऽनन्दस्य मीमाꣳसा भवति । युवा स्यात्साधुयुवाऽध्यायकः । आशिष्ठो दृढिष्ठो बलिष्ठः । तस्येयं पृथिवी सर्वा वित्तस्य पूर्णा स्यात् । स एको मानुष आनन्दः । ते ये शतं मानुषा आनन्दाः । स एको मनुष्यगन्धर्वाणामानन्दः । श्रोत्रियस्य चाकामहतस्य ।
saiṣā’’nandasya mīmāꣳsā bhavati | yuvā syātsādhuyuvā’dhyāyakaḥ | āśiṣṭho dṛḍhiṣṭho baliṣṭhaḥ | tasyeyaṃ pṛthivī sarvā vittasya pūrṇā syāt | sa eko mānuṣa ānandaḥ | te ye śataṃ mānuṣā ānandāḥ | sa eko manuṣyagandharvāṇāmānandaḥ | śrotriyasya cākāmahatasya |
Now an inquiry into joy. Let there be a young man, good, well read, quick, firm and strong, and let this whole earth full of wealth be his: that is one measure of human joy. A hundred human joys make one joy of the human gandharvas, and so too is the joy of a learned one untouched by desire.
Taittiriya Upanishad 2.8.1-2
Ashtavakra
यस्तु भोगेषु भुक्तेषु न भवत्यधिवासितः । अभुक्तेषु निराकाङ्क्षी तदृशो भवदुर्लभः ॥
yastu bhogeṣu bhukteṣu na bhavatyadhivāsitaḥ | abhukteṣu nirākāṅkṣī tadṛśo bhavadurlabhaḥ ||
One who doesn't keep dwelling on pleasures already enjoyed, nor pine for pleasures not yet had, is rare in this world.
Ashtavakra Gita 17.4
Names replaying old pleasures and pining for new ones. our reading
Ashtavakra
तदा बन्धो यदा चित्तं किञ्चिद् वाञ्छति शोचति । किञ्चिन् मुञ्चति गृण्हाति किञ्चिद् दृष्यति कुप्यति ॥ तदा मुक्तिर्यदा चित्तं न वाञ्छति न शोचति । न मुञ्चति न गृण्हाति न हृष्यति न कुप्यति ॥
tadā bandho yadā cittaṃ kiñcid vāñchati śocati | kiñcin muñcati gṛṇhāti kiñcid dṛṣyati kupyati || tadā muktiryadā cittaṃ na vāñchati na śocati | na muñcati na gṛṇhāti na hṛṣyati na kupyati ||
It is bondage when the mind wants something, grieves over something, drops or grabs something, is pleased or angered by something. It is freedom when the mind does not want, grieve, drop, grab, delight or rage.
Ashtavakra Gita 8.1
Names wanting as bondage. our reading
Dattatreya
वासना वर्जिता येन वक्तव्यं च निरामयम् । वर्तमानेषु वर्तेत वकारं तस्य लक्षणम् ॥
vāsanā varjitā yena vaktavyaṃ ca nirāmayam | vartamāneṣu varteta vakāraṃ tasya lakṣaṇam ||
One who has given up old cravings, whose speech is wholesome, and who lives in the present: that is the meaning of 'va'.
Avadhuta Gita 8.7
Shows vasanas given up. our reading

Practices that grow letting go, contentment and joy

Verses that give something to do, today or in the hard moment.

Ashtavakra
मा सङ्कल्पविकल्पाभ्यां चित्तं क्षोभय चिन्मय । उपशाम्य सुखं तिष्ठ स्वात्मन्यानन्दविग्रहे ॥
mā saṅkalpavikalpābhyāṃ cittaṃ kṣobhaya cinmaya | upaśāmya sukhaṃ tiṣṭha svātmanyānandavigrahe ||
Do not stir your mind with yes and no, with plans and doubts. Be still, and rest happily in your own joyful Self.
Ashtavakra Gita 15.19
Shows the self is called ananda-vigraha. our reading
Krishna
श्री भगवानुवाच असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलं । अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥
śrī bhagavānuvāca asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṃ calaṃ | abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate ||
The Blessed Lord said: Undoubtedly, mighty-armed one, the mind is restless and hard to control. But it is held by practice and by detachment, Kaunteya.
Bhagavad Gita 6.35
Shows loosening the pull of what the mind runs to. our reading
Bhartrihari
दानं भोगो नाशस्तिस्रो गतयो भवन्ति वित्तस्य । यो न ददाति न भुङ्क्ते तस्य तृतीया गतिर्भवति ॥
dānaṃ bhogo nāśastisro gatayo bhavanti vittasya | yo na dadāti na bhuṅkte tasya tṛtīyā gatirbhavati ||
Wealth has three destinies: giving, enjoying and loss. Whoever neither gives nor enjoys it meets the third.
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Names enjoy what one has. our reading
Kalakavrikshiya
अवाप्यान्कामयन्नर्थान्नानवाप्यान्कदाचन / प्रत्युत्पन्नाननुभवन्मा शुचस्त्वमनागतान्
avāpyānkāmayannarthānnānavāpyānkadācana / pratyutpannānanubhavanmā śucastvamanāgatān
Wish for what can be had, never for what cannot. Enjoy what is in front of you now, and do not grieve over what has not yet come.
Mahabharata · Shanti Parva · Bhishma, Rajadharma
Shows enjoying what is present is named as the practice. our reading
Gandhari
न लोभादर्थसंपत्तिर्नराणामिह दृश्यते / तदलं तात लोभेन प्रशाम्य भरतर्षभ ॥
na lobhādarthasaṃpattirnarāṇāmiha dṛśyate / tadalaṃ tāta lobhena praśāmya bharatarṣabha ||
No one in this world gains real wealth through greed. Enough of greed, my son. Be at peace.
Mahabharata · Udyoga Parva · Udyoga: Krishna's peace embassy
Enough. our reading
Kausalya
यह बिचारि नहिं करउँ हठ झूठ सनेहु बढ़ाइ। मानि मातु कर नात बलि सुरति बिसरि जनि जाइ ॥
yah bicāri nahiṃ karauṁ haṭh jhūṭh sanehu baṛhāi| māni mātu kar nāt bali surati bisari jani jāi ||
Thinking this over, I will not insist out of false affection. I bless you, son; only keep the bond of a mother, and don't forget me.
Ramcharitmanas · Ayodhya Kand
Ram
सातवँ सम मोहि मय जग देखा। मोतें संत अधिक करि लेखा॥ आठवँ जथालाभ संतोषा। सपनेहुँ नहिं देखइ परदोषा ॥
sātavaṁ sam mohi may jag dekhā| moteṃ saṃt adhik kari lekhā|| āṭhavaṁ jathālābh saṃtoṣā| sapanehuṁ nahiṃ dekhai paradoṣā ||
The seventh is to see the whole world as filled with me, and to regard good people as greater than me. The eighth is to be content with whatever comes, and never, even in a dream, to look for faults in others.
Ramcharitmanas · Aranya Kand
Shows contentment named as a form of devotion. our reading
Tulsidas
कबहुँक हौं यहि रहनि रहौंगो। श्रीरघुनाथ-कृपालु-कृपातें संत-सुभाव गहौंगो॥ ९॥ जथालाभसंतोष सदा, काहू सों कछु न चहांगो। पर-हित-निरत निरंतर, मन क्रम बचन नेम निबहौंगो॥ … परुष बचन अति दुसह श्रवन सुनि तेहि पावक न दहांगो। बिगत मान, सम सीतल मन, पर-गुन नहिं दोष कहाँगो॥ ३॥ परिहरि देह-जनित चिंता, दुख-सुख समबुद्धि सहोंगो।
kabahuṁk hauṃ yahi rahani rahauṃgo| śrīraghunāth-kṛpālu-kṛpāteṃ saṃt-subhāv gahauṃgo|| 9|| jathālābhasaṃtoṣ sadā, kāhū soṃ kachu na cahāṃgo| par-hit-nirat niraṃtar, man kram bacan nem nibahauṃgo|| … paruṣ bacan ati dusah śravan suni tehi pāvak na dahāṃgo| bigat mān, sam sītal man, par-gun nahiṃ doṣ kahāṁgo|| 3|| parihari deh-janit ciṃtā, dukh-sukh samabuddhi sahoṃgo|
Will I ever live like this? By the grace of kind Raghunath, will I take on the nature of a saint: always content with what comes, wanting nothing from anyone, always devoted to others' good, keeping my vow in mind, deed and word; hearing very harsh words and not burning in that fire; free of pride, even and cool of mind, speaking of others' virtues and not their faults; letting go of the body's worries, bearing joy and sorrow with an even mind?
Vinay Patrika, pada 172

People who lived it

Someone in the scriptures went through this, and the story shows what turned.

From the Gita
Restraining desire
Arjuna asks why we do wrong as if forced. Krishna names desire, which turns into anger, as the enemy that clouds wisdom like smoke over fire, and tells him to master it.
Desire unmet becomes anger; see it clearly and you can master it.
From the Upanishads
Da Da Da: the voice of thunder
Gods, humans and demons finish their studies with their father Prajapati and ask for a parting word. To each he says only 'Da'. The gods hear 'be self-controlled', humans hear 'give', and demons hear 'be compassionate'. The thunder still repeats it.
Each of us hears the lesson we most need: restraint, generosity or compassion.
From the Ramayana
Sugriva forgets his promise
Restored to his throne, Sugriva sinks into pleasure and forgets his promise to search for Sita. Hanuman warns him that help given late counts for little. Autumn comes; angry, Ram sends Lakshman, and Hanuman counsels the frightened Sugriva to bear harsh words and keep faith.
Comfort makes us forget our promises; a true friend reminds us in time.

Is this where you are?

Write a line about today. Your words find their place on the map, with a verse for each.

Nearby on the map

See craving on the whole map

Questions people ask

What is the Sanskrit word for craving?

Kāma (काम). Craving, compulsive wanting.

Which Bhagavad Gita verse speaks about craving?

Bhagavad Gita 2.70: As waters enter the ocean, which is ever being filled yet stays unmoved within its shores, so the one into whom all desires enter in the same way finds peace, not the one who craves desires.

How do the scriptures say to overcome craving?

They set joy, self-knowledge and steadiness against it. Seeing the higher makes the taste go, leaving the ocean full. (Gita 2.59; 2.70; Yaksha) Begin with the senses. (Gita 3.41; 2.58; 2.64)

Verses, translations and stories come from the Wisdom library, read with the traditional commentaries. A line marked stated in the text is a link the verse or a named commentator makes; our reading is Wisdom's own reading of the verse.