Bhagavad Gita 3.16
Spoken by Krishna ☆ Key verse · Verse 16 of 43
एवं प्रवर्तितं चक्रं नानुवर्तयतीह यः । अघायुरिन्द्रियारामो मोघं पार्थ स जीवति ॥
evaṃ pravartitaṃ cakraṃ nānuvartayatīha yaḥ | aghāyur indriyārāmo moghaṃ pārtha sa jīvati ||
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
Word by word (3)
- pravartitaṃ cakram
- — the wheel thus set in motion · Pravartita = set in motion, put into motion. Cakra = wheel. The cosmic yajna-cycle described in V9-15 is a wheel — continuously rotating through karma → yajna → rain → food → beings → action again. This wheel was set in motion at creation (V10) and continues as the fundamental structure of life.
- nānuvartayati
- — does not follow / does not turn · Na + anuvartayati (from anu+vṛt, to follow, to keep turning). The person who does not participate in the cosmic wheel — who takes without giving, who acts without yajna-orientation — is not turning the wheel. They are free-riding on the cosmic system.
- aghāyuḥ indriyārāmaḥ moghaṃ jīvati
- — living in sin, sense-pleasures, vainly · Aghāyus = one whose life is sin-based (agha = sin, āyus = life). Indriyārāma = delighting in senses alone (indriya = senses, ārāma = garden/delight). Mogham = in vain, to no purpose. The devastating verdict: a life of pure sense-pleasure without yajna participation is life lived in vain.
The one who does not help to turn this wheel that has been set in motion — living sinfully, delighting only in the senses — that person, O Arjuna, lives in vain.
A modern analogy
Someone who consumes products without asking how they are made, benefits from society without contributing, uses natural resources without thought of sustainability, and lives entirely for personal pleasure — moghaṃ jīvati. Their life is not necessarily immoral by law; but by the cosmic accounting, it is empty — because they have not participated in the sustaining cycle of existence.
Take with you
- Moghaṃ jīvati — 'lives in vain' — is the Gita's verdict on pure sense-pleasure living disconnected from contribution.
- The cosmic wheel needs turning: your participation matters for the whole, not just for your own liberation.
- Aghāyuḥ (sin-life) is defined specifically as non-participation in the yajna cycle, not as breaking religious rules.
- This verse is the culminating motivation for karma-yoga: participate in the cosmic wheel or your life is empty.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
He who, in this world, does not help to turn the wheel thus set in motion, lives a sinful life rejoicing in the senses, O son of Pritha, and lives in vain. [1]
He who does not, in this world, help to turn the wheel thus set revolving, is sinful, is sensual, and lives in vain, O son of Pritha. [4]
He in this mortal world who does not keep the wheel revolving thus set in motion, lives in sin, devoted to the senses: he lives in vain, O son of Pritha. [6]
But whoso serves not in the appointed task, Glutting the senses merely — he lives in sin; For the vile wretch who lives but for himself — He lives in vain. [7]
He who does not follow here the wheel thus set in motion, lives in sin, is sensual, and, O son of Pritha, lives in vain. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Action arises from Brahman, Brahman from the Imperishable. The all-pervading ultimate is present in every act of yajna.
Whatever the great one does, others follow. The standard they set — the world adopts. Lead by example.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
Enjoy the gifts of existence without giving back — the Gita calls that theft. Participate, don't just consume.
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.
I am Time, the world-destroyer — even without you, none of these warriors shall survive; they are already slain!
Verse 16 of 43 · back to Chapter 3