Bhagavad Gita 16.22
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 22 of 24
एतैर् विमुक्तः कौन्तेय तमोद्वारैस् त्रिभिर् नरः । आचरत्य् आत्मनः श्रेयस् ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥
etair vimuktaḥ kaunteya tamo-dvārais tribhir naraḥ | ācaraty ātmanaḥ śreyas tato yāti parāṃ gatim ||
Free from these three tamas-gates, one acts for one's genuine good and reaches the Supreme Goal.
Word by word (3)
- etair vimuktaḥ kaunteya tamo-dvārais tribhiḥ
- — released/freed (vimuktaḥ) from these three (tribhiḥ) tamas-gates (tamo-dvāraiḥ), O son of Kuntī — note 'tamo-dvāra': the gates of darkness, linking to tamas
- naraḥ ācaraty ātmanaḥ śreyaḥ
- — a person (naraḥ) acts (ācarati) what is good/beneficial (śreyaḥ) for the self (ātmanaḥ) — doing what promotes genuine wellbeing
- tato yāti parāṃ gatim
- — and thereby goes (yāti) to the supreme goal (parāṃ gatim) — the same 'parāṃ gatiḥ' as the mokṣa-destination of Ch.8 V13, Ch.15 V4
The person freed from these three gates of darkness, O Arjuna, acts for the true good of the self, and thereby reaches the Supreme Goal.
A modern analogy
Once the three doors to darkness are closed (not barricaded in fear, but simply no longer interesting), the natural next step is to act from genuine goodness. Freedom from the three gates doesn't create a void — it creates space for the ātmanaḥ śreyaḥ (what truly serves the self) to emerge spontaneously.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
A man who is released from these three gates to darkness, O son of Kunti, does good to the self, and thereby reaches the Supreme Goal. [1]
The man who has got beyond these three gates of darkness, O son of Kunti, practises what is good for himself, and thus goes to the Goal Supreme. [4]
Released from these three ways to darkness, O son of Kunti, a man works out his own welfare, and then proceeds to the highest goal. [9]
Freed from these three gates of darkness, a man works out his own welfare, and then repairs to his highest goal. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Seeing the opposing army, a worried prince rushes to his teacher for reassurance.
Therefore: do your required action without attachment — this is the path that leads to the Supreme.
Do My work, hold Me supreme, be My devotee, attachment-free, without enmity toward all — such a one comes to Me!
Sannyāsa = abandoning desire-motivated action; tyāga = abandoning fruits of ALL action — say the learned.
All actions are done by the gunas of nature. The ego-deluded one thinks 'I am the doer' — this is the root of bondage.
Wise action without fruit-seeking breaks the birth-cycle and leads to the sorrowless state.
Verse 22 of 24 · back to Chapter 16