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Bhagavad-gītā 16.10

काममाश्रित्य दुष्पूरं दम्भमानमदान्विता: । मोहाद्‍गृहीत्वासद्‍ग्राहान्प्रवर्तन्तेऽश‍ुचिव्रता: ॥ १० ॥
kāmam āśritya duṣpūraṁ
[kaamam aashritya dushpooram]
dambha-māna-madānvitāḥ
[dambha-maana-madaanvitaah]
mohād gṛhītvāsad-grāhān
[mohaad griheetvaasad-graahaan]
pravartante ’śuci-vratāḥ
[pravartante ’shuchi-vrataah]
Word-for-word
kāmam — lust āśritya — taking shelter of duṣpūram — insatiable dambha — of pride māna — and false prestige mada - anvitāḥ — absorbed in the conceit mohāt — by illusion gṛhītvā — taking asat — nonpermanent grāhān — things pravartante — they flourish aśuci — to the unclean vratāḥ — avowed .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kāmam āśritya duṣpūraṁ
kāmam
lust
āśritya
taking shelter of
duṣpūram
insatiable
dambha-māna-madānvitāḥ
dambha
of pride
māna
and false prestige
mada - anvitāḥ
absorbed in the conceit
mohād gṛhītvāsad-grāhān
mohāt
by illusion
gṛhītvā
taking
asat
nonpermanent
grāhān
things
pravartante ’śuci-vratāḥ
pravartante
they flourish
aśuci
to the unclean
vratāḥ
avowed .
Important Words
  • kāmam — lust
    Not romantic love but kāma in its driving form — desire that grows by being fed. The verse pairs it with āśritya — taking shelter of. The demoniac shelter in the very thing that consumes them.
  • duṣpūram — insatiable
    Duṣ-pūram — hard to fill, never filled. The defining mark of demoniac kāma: there is no amount that satisfies. Compare 3.39 where kāma is called the eternal enemy of the wise.
  • dambha — of pride
    Returning from 16.4 — the religious-show kind of pride. Here paired with māna and mada to form a triad of self-importance.
  • māna — and false prestige
    Honor, recognition, status — the appetite for being seen. In the divine list (16.1) one quality is freedom from ati-mānitā, the desire for honor. Māna here is its demoniac mirror.
  • mada - anvitāḥ — absorbed in the conceit
    Mada — intoxication. Anvita — accompanied by, joined with. The demoniac walk through life accompanied by drunkenness on themselves. Sobriety would require facing what they have built.
  • asat — nonpermanent
    The same asat first defined in 2.16 — that which has no continuing existence. Forty-eight chapters of the Mahābhārata later, the demoniac still cling to it. Asat-grāhāḥ — graspers of the impermanent.
Taking shelter of insatiable lust and absorbed in the conceit of pride and false prestige, the demoniac, thus illusioned, are always sworn to unclean work, attracted by the impermanent.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
At the root of every visible āsuric trait sits one engine: duṣpūra-kāma, lust that no amount of consumption ever fills. From that come ostentation, conceit, and pride; from those come the seizing of unreal goals; and from that, lives organized around impure commitments.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
'Duṣpūram' echoes Kṛṣṇa's diagnosis at BG 3.39 — 'duṣpūreṇa-analena ca' — lust as the fire that the offering can never satisfy. The compound 'asad-grāhāḥ' is finely chosen: 'grāha' = both 'grasping' and 'crocodile' — they cling to unreal things the way a crocodile clings to its prey. 'Aśuci-vrata' inverts the classical religious vocabulary: where ordinary vrata aims at purification, theirs is sworn impurity.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
(ते आसुराः) दुष्पूरम् कामम् आश्रित्य, दम्भ-मान-मद-अन्विताः, मोहात् असत्-ग्राहान् गृहीत्वा, अशुचि-व्रताः (सन्तः) प्रवर्तन्ते ।
(te āsurāḥ) duṣpūram kāmam āśritya, dambha-māna-mada-anvitāḥ, mohāt asat-grāhān gṛhītvā, aśuci-vratāḥ (santaḥ) pravartante |
Resorting to insatiable lust, filled with ostentation, conceit, and intoxication, having seized — through delusion — onto unreal aims, they go on acting, sworn to impure vows.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
कामम् आश्रित्य दुष्पूरम् दम्भ-मान-मद-अन्विताः । मोहात् गृहीत्वा असत्-ग्राहान् प्रवर्तन्ते अशुचि-व्रताः ॥
kāmam āśritya duṣpūram dambha-māna-mada-anvitāḥ | mohāt gṛhītvā asat-grāhān pravartante aśuci-vratāḥ ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
कामम् kāmam काम (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) lust, sense-desire
आश्रित्य āśritya आ + √श्रि abs. (absolutive) having resorted to, taking shelter of
दुष्पूरम् duṣpūram दुस् + पूर (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. hard to fill, insatiable
दम्भ-मान-मद-अन्विताः dambha-māna-mada-anvitāḥ दम्भ + मान + मद + अन्वित p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., dvandva + tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) filled with hypocrisy, conceit, and intoxication (of pride)
मोहात् mohāt मोह (m.) abl.sg. (ablative singular) out of delusion
गृहीत्वा gṛhītvā √ग्रह् abs. (absolutive) having seized, grasped
असत्-ग्राहान् asat-grāhān असत् (adj.) + ग्राह (m.) acc.pl. (accusative plural), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) unreal / wrong objects of attachment
प्रवर्तन्ते pravartante प्र + √वृत् pres. (present) 3pl.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) they engage, set themselves in motion
अशुचि-व्रताः aśuci-vratāḥ अशुचि (adj.) + व्रत (n.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) having impure vows / commitments
Purport

The demoniac mentality is described here. The demons have no satiation for their lust. They will go on increasing and increasing their insatiable desires for material enjoyment. Although they are always full of anxieties on account of accepting nonpermanent things, they still continue to engage in such activities out of illusion. They have no knowledge and cannot tell that they are heading the wrong way. Accepting nonpermanent things, such demoniac people create their own God, create their own hymns and chant accordingly. The result is that they become more and more attracted to two things – sex enjoyment and accumulation of material wealth. The word aśuci-vratāḥ, “unclean vows,” is very significant in this connection. Such demoniac people are only attracted by wine, women, gambling and meat-eating; those are their aśuci, unclean habits. Induced by pride and false prestige, they create some principles of religion which are not approved by the Vedic injunctions. Although such demoniac people are most abominable in the world, by artificial means the world creates a false honor for them. Although they are gliding toward hell, they consider themselves very much advanced.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
10. Taking shelter of insatiable lust, filled with false pretense, pride and passion, with impure vows, they engage in all sorts of false doctrines out of bewilderment. 11. Taking shelter of unlimited thoughts and worries, they conclude that the goal is to enjoy sense objects to the utmost. 12. Bound by hundreds of shackles of desire, surrendered to lust and anger, they strive to amass heaps of wealth through illegal means in order to enjoy sense objects. 13. I have gained this today. Next I will fulfill my other desires. I have this wealth now. This wealth will also be mine. 14. I have killed my enemy. I will kill others also. I am the lord. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, strong and happy. 15. I am wealthy and high born. Who is equal to me? I shall perform sacrifices, give charity and rejoice. In this way, they are bewildered by ignorance.
Commentary

They engage in false doctrines (asad grāhān). They perform vrata without pure conduct (aśuci vratāḥ).

Until death (pralayāntām) they take shelter of unlimited thoughts. They are convinced that the only purport of scripture (etāvan iti niścitāḥ) is to let the senses enjoy sense objects, and why worry about it?

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
10. Taking shelter of insatiable desire for sense objects, filled with false religiosity, desire for self-worship and false importance, with impure vows, they become attached to all sorts of temporary things out of bewilderment. 11. Taking shelter of unlimited thoughts and worries of what they should obtain till the point of death, they are convinced that the goal is only to enjoy sense objects to the utmost. 12. Bound by hundreds of shackles of desire, surrendered to lust and anger, they strive to amass heaps of wealth through illegal means in order to enjoy sense objects. 13. I have gained this object today. Next I will obtain this other object that I desire. This is mine now. This wealth will also be mine in the future. 14. I have killed my enemy. I will kill others also. I am the lord. I am the enjoyer. I am strong and happy. 15. I am wealthy and high born. Who is equal to me? I shall enjoy women and defile them. I will enjoy. In this way, they are bewildered by ignorance.
Commentary

This verse describes their evil tendencies and conduct. Taking shelter of thirst for sense enjoyment (duṣpūram kāmam), accepting material objects as all in all (asad grāhān gṛhītvā), out of illusion, not from scriptural direction (mohāt), having impure vows (aśuci vratāḥ), they engage in activities (pravartate). Asad grāhān means wicked crocodiles as well as material properties. They become attached to attractive things like money, property, and women, produced from imaginary devatās, their mantras, and their worship, which destroy spiritual life, but which are difficult to restrain, like ferocious crocodiles. “Impure vows” means they indulge in so-called religious vows which include eating meat, taking liquor, and visiting the crematorium. Dambha means that they act for being known as religious even though they are irreligious. Māna means that they proclaim themselves to be worshippable, though they are not worthy of respect. Mada means that they project themselves the most elevated of persons though they have no good qualities. They are endowed with these qualities. Bg 16.11, Bg 16.12, Bg 16.11-12 icNTaaMaPairMaeYaa& c Pa[l/YaaNTaaMauPaaiī[Taa" ) k-aMaaePa>aaeGaParMaa WTaavidiTa iNaiêTaa" )) 11 )) AaXaaPaaXaXaTaEbRṬa" k-aMa§-aeDaParaYa<aa" ) wRhNTae k-aMa>aaeGaaQaRMaNYaaYaeNaaQaRSaĀYaaNa( )) 12 )) cintām aparimeyāṁ ca pralayāntām upāśritāḥ kāmopabhoga-paramā etāvad iti niścitāḥ āśā-pāśa-śatair baddhāḥ kāma-krodha-parāyaṇāḥ īhante kāma-bhogārtham anyāyenārtha-sañcayān cintām—fears and anxieties; aparimeyām—immeasurable; ca—and; pralaya-antām—unto the point of death; upāśritāḥ—having taken shelter of; kāma-upabhoga—sense gratification; paramāḥ—the highest goal of life; etāvat—thus; iti—in this way; niścitāḥ—having ascertained; āśā-pāśa—entanglements in a network of hope; śataiḥ—by hundreds; baddhāḥ—being bound; kāma—of lust; krodha—and anger; parāyaṇāḥ—always situated in the mentality; īhante—they desire; kāma—lust; bhoga—sense enjoyment; artham—for the purpose of; anyāyena—illegally; artha—of wealth; sañcayān—accumulation.

Engaged in unlimited thinking of objects to be attained up to the point of death, their only goal in this life is to immerse themselves in sense objects (kāma upabhoga paramā), firmly believing (niścitāḥ) that this is all there is (etāvat), and there is no question of happiness in another life after death (etāvad niścitāḥ).

The meaning of the first line is clear. They make effort (īhante) to amass wealth for enjoying sense objects by illegal means such as theft and false testimony (anyāyena). Bg 16.13, Bg 16.14, Bg 16.15, Bg 16.13-15 wdMaÛ MaYaa l/BDaiMaMa& Pa[aPSYae MaNaaerQaMa( ) wdMaSTaqdMaiPa Mae >aivZYaiTa PauNaDaRNaMa( )) 13 )) ASaaE MaYaa hTa" Xa}auhRiNaZYae caParaNaiPa ) wRṅrae_hMah& >aaeGaq iSaṬae_h& bl/vaNSau%q )) 14 )) Aa!yae_i>aJaNavaNaiSMa k-ae_NYaae_iSTa Sad*Xaae MaYaa ) Ya+Yae daSYaaiMa MaaeidZYa wTYajaNaivMaaeihTaa" )) 15 )) idam adya mayā labdham imaṁ prāpsye manoratham idam astīdam api me bhaviṣyati punar dhanam asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api īśvaro 'ham ahaṁ bhogī siddho 'haṁ balavān sukhī āḍhyo 'bhijanavān asmi ko 'nyo 'sti sadṛśo mayā yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣya ity ajñāna-vimohitāḥ idam—this; adya—today; mayā—by me; labdham—gained; imam—this; prāpsye—I shall gain; manaḥ-ratham—according to my desires; idam—this; asti—there is; idam—this; api—also; me—mine; bhaviṣyati—it will increase in the future; punaḥ—again; dhanam—wealth; asau—that; mayā—by me; hataḥ—has been killed; śatruḥ—enemy; haniṣye—I shall kill; ca—also; aparān—others; api—certainly; īśvaraḥ—the lord; aham—I am; aham—I am; bhogī—the enjoyer; siddhaḥ—perfect; aham—I am; bala-vān—powerful; sukhī—happy; āḍhyaḥ—wealthy; abhijana-vān—surrounded by aristocratic relatives; asmi—I am; kaḥ—who; anyaḥ—other; asti—there is; sadṛśaḥ—like; mayā—me; yakṣye—I shall sacrifice; dāsyāmi—I shall give charity; modiṣye—I shall rejoice; iti—thus; ajñāna—by ignorance; vimohitāḥ—deluded.

Describing their conduct in pursuit of wealth in which they use fanciful words, the Lord says they will go to hell in four verses. I have obtained today this field (idam), these animals and children by the strength of my intelligence (mayā). I will obtain this other object dear to my mind (manoratham) by my strength. This wealth, being obtained by my strength alone, now belongs to me (idam asti). Next year, this wealth I am longing for will also become mine, just by my strength. He does not acknowledge that it is by karma or the mercy of the Lord that he acquires these things.

Having proclaimed his thirst for wealth, in this verse he declares his evil mentality. I have killed this enemy called Yajñadatta by my superior strength. I alone will kill other enemies also and others (ca)—not even desiring their wives or wealth. No one except me should live. (The word ca indicates this.) Some say that the will of the Lord and fate are the cause of victory, but I alone am the lord, being fully independent, for, by myself, I accomplish all enjoyment (bhogī siddhaḥ). If someone makes a God, let him take me as God rather than anyone else, because no one else is available except me.

“But I can see others who are equal to you in wealth and family. Why should you be God?” I am wealthy (āḍhyaḥ), through my own efforts, and have good family (abhijanavān). There is no one similar to me on any grounds. No one is equal to me: I alone am God. By my own strength, I will associate with heavenly women (yakṣye). I will defile them (dāsyāmi). I will enjoy with them (modiṣye). In this way, being bewildered by ignorance, such persons fall to hell. The completion of the sentence is the next verse.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Demoniac mentality is explained here

They take shelter of insatiable lust
They are absorbed in the conceit of pride and false prestige
Always sworn to unclean work and attracted by impermanent
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
16.10 And asirtya, giving themselves upto; duspuram, insatiable; kamam, passion-a kind of desire; dambha-mana-mada-anvitah, filled with vanity, pride and arrogance; grhitva, adopting; asad-grahan, bad objectives, evil intentions; mohat, due to delusion, owing to non-discrimination; and asuci-vratah, having impure resolves; they pravartante, engage in actions in the world. Further,
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
16.10 Turning to 'insatiable desires,' viz., which concern objects impossible to get; seizing through 'delusion,' viz., through ignorance that such desires can be fulfilled only with 'unjustly acired wealth,' viz., with wealth unlawfully hoarded, and following impious vows, viz., associated with the vows prohibited in the Sastras; they do actions 'that are full of ostentation, pride and arrogance.'
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
16.10 See Coment under 16.12
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
16.10 Filled with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, holding evil ideas through delusion, they work with impure resolves.
Commentary

16.10 कामम् desire? आश्रित्य abiding in? दुष्पूरम् insatiable? दम्भमानमदान्विताः full of hypocrisy? pride and,arrogance? मोहात् through delusion? गृहीत्वा having held? असद्ग्राहान् evil ideas? प्रवर्तन्ते they work? अशुचिव्रताः with impure resolves.Commentary These soulless malevolent persons perform cruel and sinful actions. Their minds are saturated with vanity? conceit and arrogance. They entertain in their minds unholy resolves and unreasonable ideas. They harbour insatiable desires in their hearts. Just as a monkey becomes more and more intoxicated if wine if given to it? so also the older they grow the more and more arrogant and lustful do they become. They cause the ruin and death of those around them. They boast of their own actions and treat others with great contempt. They are very much attached to their bodies. They worship their bodies. Their passion is boundless. They are stupid and obstinate and so they have no firm determination.Desire is insatiable like fire. Enjoyment cannot bring about satisfaction of the desires. The more you enjoy? the stronger does the desire become. After an object is enjoyed? there springs up a desire to continue the enjoyment for ever. You take recourse to all sorts of devices to preserve the objects.Although a man is not righteous he pretends to be a man of righteousness. This is hypocrisy. Although a man is not worthy of being honoured? he claims to be so. This is Mana (pride). There is false dignity. Although a man does not possess great things he superimposes them on himself. This is Mada.These Asuras make impure resolves. I will worship such and such a deity by repeating such and such a Mantra and get hold of such and such a woman. I will repeat such and such a Mantra and kill such and such a man.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
16.10 Giving themselves up to insatiable passion, filled with vanity, pride and arrogance, adopting bad abjectives due to delusion, and having impure resolves, they engage in actions.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
16.10 Giving themselves up to insatiable passions, hypocritical, self-sufficient and arrogant, cherishing false conception founded on delusion, they work only to carry out their own unholy purposes.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)
Related verses
BG 3.39 BG 2.62 BG 16.16 SB 5.5.4 SB 9.19.13 SB 7.9.45 CC Madhya 22.87 CC Antya 6.236 CC Madhya 19.149 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.1.26BRS 1.2.255
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Taking shelter of insatiable lust, possessed by pride and false prestige, attached to impermanent things, they execute polluted plans.
Practical Applications
  • Audit attachments to the impermanent.
  • Notice the link between lust, pride, and polluted plans.
  • Address one item in the chain to break the rest.
Reflection Questions
  • Which item in the chain (lust / pride / impermanent attachment) is most active?
  • What single discipline breaks it?
Analogy

A vessel with a hole at the bottom. Pour in wealth, sense pleasure, prestige — none of it fills. Yet the demoniac, certain that more pouring will work, devote a lifetime to drawing water from the well of impermanent things. Duṣpūram — that which cannot be filled.

Stories
Nahuṣa's Fall

Nahuṣa rose to the throne of Indra after Indra fled following a brāhmaṇa-killing. Yet kingship over heaven did not slake him. He demanded that Indra's wife Śacī become his consort and required the saptarṣis themselves to carry his palanquin.

When the sage Agastya, footsore beneath the litter, was kicked by the impatient king, his curse turned Nahuṣa into a serpent for ten thousand years. Insatiable lust, pride, and false prestige — the exact triad of this verse — pulled the king from heaven to the floor of the forest.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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