A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Endless wanting turns life into a tunnel with no horizon.”
They take refuge in endless worries that last until death, live only for acquiring and enjoying things, and decide that this is all there is.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyworry · immeasurable · and · lasting until dissolution/death · taking refuge in · for whom desire-enjoyment is the highest · so much only · thus · deciding firmly
People trapped in desire live with endless worry, chase possessions and pleasure, and conclude that material life is all that exists.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga" (The Divine and Demoniac Natures).
Verse 11 sits in Chapter 16 of the Bhagavad Gita — Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga, "The Divine and Demoniac Natures". The chapter has 24 verses in total.
A shop owner works through every festival, worries about stock in his sleep, and plans retirement around spending alone. Krishna describes that life of endless worry and acquisition, lived as if nothing exists beyond it.
Did you like this verse?
Endless worry until death, and a belief that enjoyment is all there is, mark the asuric life.
What this verse means
People trapped in desire live with endless worry, chase possessions and pleasure, and conclude that material life is all that exists.
Context & commentary
Krishna is exposing the inner life of the hostile forces before Arjuna. He describes people who cling to worry, pleasure, and possession as if nothing higher exists. This verse deepens that diagnosis.
What it looks like today
A shop owner works through every festival, worries about stock in his sleep, and plans retirement around spending alone. Krishna describes that life of endless worry and acquisition, lived as if nothing exists beyond it.
“You can see how craving shrinks a whole life into anxiety and appetite.”
Explore related themes: kama (23 verses)