Bhagavad Gita 3.34
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 34 of 43
इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ । तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ ॥
indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau | tayor na vaśam āgacchet tau hy asya paripanthinau ||
Rāga and dveṣa lie in every sense-object. Do not come under their power — they are enemies on the path.
Word by word (3)
- indriyasya arthe rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau
- — attachment and aversion are established in every sense with its object · Indriyasya = of the sense. Arthe = in the sense-object. Rāga = attachment, attraction (from rañj, to be colored). Dveṣa = aversion, repulsion (from dviṣ, to hate). Vyavasthitau = established, fixed (dual). Rāga-dveṣa are described as hardwired into the sense-object relationship — not casual tendencies but structural features of sensory experience.
- tayor na vaśam āgacchet
- — one should not come under their power · Tayor = of those two (rāga and dveṣa). Na = not. Vaśam āgacchet = should come under the control/power of (vaśa = power, control). The instruction: do not let rāga-dveṣa become your master. They will arise (they are hardwired) — but you do not have to obey them.
- tau hy asya paripanthinau
- — they are verily this person's enemies on the path · Tau = those two. Hi = verily, certainly. Asya = of this person. Paripanthī = way-crossers, obstructers on the path, enemies who lie in wait on the road (pari+panthā = surrounding the path). The vivid image: rāga-dveṣa are not general enemies but specific enemies stationed on the spiritual path, waiting to ambush.
Attachment (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa) are embedded in each sense for its objects. One should not come under their sway — for they are enemies blocking the path.
A modern analogy
Every time you open a social media app (sense-object), there's an automatic response: something pulls you toward certain content (rāga, attraction) and something repels you from other content (dveṣa, aversion). Both are automatic sense-reactions. Both capture your attention and direct your energy. The practice here is simple: notice rāga and dveṣa without obeying them — that noticing is the practice.
Take with you
- Rāga-dveṣa (attraction and aversion) are structural features of sensory experience — they will arise. The practice is not to suppress them but not to obey them.
- Paripanthinau — 'way-obstructers' — rāga and dveṣa obstruct the spiritual path specifically, not just life in general.
- The non-repressive practice: feel the pull or push, acknowledge it without automatically following it.
- This is the practical application of the previous teaching that even the wise act by their nature and forced repression accomplishes nothing: not repression but conscious awareness that interrupts automatic reaction.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Attachment and aversion lie embedded in each sense towards its objects. One should not fall under their sway, for they are one's enemies. [1]
Attachment and aversion for the objects of the senses abide in the senses. Let no one come under their sway, for they are his foes. [4]
Affection and hatred are seated in the senses for their respective objects. One should not come under their sway, for they are obstructions. [6]
Yea! for each sense the object of each sense Brings love and hating; these a man must put Away, for both of these obstruct his path. [7]
Attachment and repugnance are both based on the senses; one should not come under their control; they are obstructions on the way. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Move through the world with senses free from attraction and aversion — that clarity is the natural reward.
Even the wise act by their nature. All beings follow nature. Forced repression accomplishes nothing.
Withstand desire and anger's force here in this body — that one is yoked, that one is happy.
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
Bow down, arrows scattered, warrior collapsed — this is where the Gita begins.
Verse 34 of 43 · back to Chapter 3