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Bhagavad-gītā 16.21

त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मन: । काम: क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्‍त्रयं त्यजेत् ॥ २१ ॥
tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ
[tri-vidham narakasyedam]
dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ
[dvaaram naashanam aatmanah]
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas
[kaamah krodhas tathaa lobhas]
tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet
[tasmaad etat trayam tyajet]
Word-for-word
tri - vidham — of three kinds narakasya — of hell idam — this dvāram — gate nāśanam — destructive ātmanaḥ — of the self kāmaḥ — lust krodhaḥ — anger tathā — as well as lobhaḥ — greed tasmāt — therefore etat — these trayam — three tyajet — one must give up .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ
tri - vidham
of three kinds
narakasya
of hell
idam
this
dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ
dvāram
gate
nāśanam
destructive
ātmanaḥ
of the self
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas
kāmaḥ
lust
krodhaḥ
anger
tathā
as well as
lobhaḥ
greed
tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet
tasmāt
therefore
etat
these
trayam
three
tyajet
one must give up .
Important Words
  • narakasya — of hell
    Genitive — 'of hell.' The gates belong to naraka. Each of the three is a property of hell, not an independent feature of life. The vocabulary makes the danger unmistakable.
  • nāśanam — destructive
    From nāś — to destroy. The gates do not merely lead to destruction; they are themselves nāśana — destroying agents. Ātmanaḥ — of the self. They destroy not the body alone but the very capacity of the ātman to remember itself.
  • kāmaḥ — lust
    The first of the three. The Gītā's most repeated enemy. In 3.37 Kṛṣṇa names kāma–krodha as the eternal foe of the embodied; here greed is added as the third corner.
  • krodhaḥ — anger
    Lust frustrated becomes anger — the chain Kṛṣṇa laid out in 2.62. The gate of krodha is therefore directly downstream of the gate of kāma; the wise close them in order.
  • lobhaḥ — greed
    Lust desires what one does not have; greed clutches what one has. The third gate is closed least often because it disguises itself as prudence. The verse names it plainly.
  • tyajet — one must give up
    Optative — should give up. The mood is prescriptive, not suggestion. Sanskrit's optative carries the weight of dharma-śāstra: this is required, not advised.
There are three gates leading to this hell – lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.
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)
Kṛṣṇa now distills the whole chapter into a single triad. Of all the demonic traits catalogued, three are the gateways themselves: kāma, krodha, lobha. They destroy the very ātman that uses them. The conclusion is plain: every sane person should renounce these three.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
One of the Gītā's most often-quoted verses. The triad has had a vast afterlife — listed across Manu, the Purāṇas, and later Vedānta as ari-ṣaḍ-varga's chief members. 'Nāśanam ātmanaḥ' is morally precise: these three not only impede the soul, they actively destroy the self that hosts them. The optative 'tyajet' is softer than a command, fitting Kṛṣṇa's pedagogy — He prescribes, but leaves the act to Arjuna. Cf. BG 3.37 and 5.23 for kāma-krodha as the soul's perennial adversary.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
कामः, क्रोधः, तथा लोभः — इदम् त्रि-विधम् नरकस्य द्वारम् आत्मनः नाशनम् (अस्ति); तस्मात् एतत् त्रयम् त्यजेत् ।
kāmaḥ, krodhaḥ, tathā lobhaḥ — idam tri-vidham narakasya dvāram ātmanaḥ nāśanam (asti); tasmāt etat trayam tyajet |
Lust, anger, and likewise greed — this threefold gate of hell is the destroyer of the self; therefore one should give up these three.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
त्रि-विधम् नरकस्य इदम् द्वारम् नाशनम् आत्मनः । कामः क्रोधः तथा लोभः तस्मात् एतत् त्रयम् त्यजेत् ॥
tri-vidham narakasya idam dvāram nāśanam ātmanaḥ | kāmaḥ krodhaḥ tathā lobhaḥ tasmāt etat trayam tyajet ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
त्रि-विधम् tri-vidham त्रि + विध (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n., karmadhāraya cpd. (compound) of three kinds, threefold
नरकस्य narakasya नरक (m.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) of hell
इदम् idam इदम् pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. this
द्वारम् dvāram द्वार (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) door, gate
नाशनम् nāśanam नाशन (adj./n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. destructive, ruinous
आत्मनः ātmanaḥ आत्मन् (m.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) of the self
कामः kāmaḥ काम (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) lust, sense-desire
क्रोधः krodhaḥ क्रोध (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) anger
तथा tathā ind. (indeclinable) and likewise
लोभः lobhaḥ लोभ (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) greed
तस्मात् tasmāt तद् pron. (pronoun) abl.sg. (ablative singular)n. therefore
एतत् etat एतद् pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. this
त्रयम् trayam त्रय (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) triad, three
त्यजेत् tyajet √त्यज् opt. (optative) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) one should give up
Purport

The beginning of demoniac life is described herein. One tries to satisfy his lust, and when he cannot, anger and greed arise. A sane man who does not want to glide down to the species of demoniac life must try to give up these three enemies, which can kill the self to such an extent that there will be no possibility of liberation from this material entanglement.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
21. Lust, anger and greed, the three gates leading to hell, destroy the self. Therefore one should give up these three.
Commentary

Thus the Lord has described the nature of the asura in detail. The Lord has also correctly said, “Do not worry, O Arjuna, you are born of the divine nature.” (BG 16.5) To confirm that this is true, He then says that there are indeed three inborn tendencies of the asuras in this verse.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
21. Lust, anger and greed, the three gates leading to hell, destroy the self. Therefore one should give up these three.
Commentary

“Who should men do who, hearing that the demonic nature leads to hell, desire to avoid that nature?” This verse answers. If they avoid these three things—lust, anger and greed—they can avoid the demonic nature.

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

Kṛṣṇa orders every sane person to give up lust, anger and greed. Those qualities are so vicious that even one

possessing a divine nature should fear them. For a man, a woman personifies kāma, lust, because she is able

to gratify all his sense desires. When kāma is unsatisfied, krodha, anger, is born. Anger is very difficult to con-

trol.

Krodha appears only when our desires are checked, but what if we are able to satisfy our desires without

hindrance? Do we then become peaceful? No. We are filled with lobha, greed. Greed gives birth to moha,

illusion, and loss of discrimination. Next comes mada, the intoxication of pride. The mixture of these five,

envy, matsara, is able to manifest fully. Thus all these demoniac qualities are rooted in lust.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
16.21 Idam, this; dvaram, door; narakasya, of hell-for entering it; which is the nasanam, destroyer; atmanah, of the soul; is trividham of three kinds. It is that by the mere entry into which the soul perishes, i.e., it ceases to be fit for attaining any human goal. hence it is said that it is the door which is the destroyer of the soul. Which is that? Kamah, passion; krodhah, anger; and also lobhah, greed. Tasmat, therefore; tyajet, one shoud forsake; etat trayam, these three. Since this door is the destroyer of the soul, therefore one should renounce this group of three-passion etc. This is a eulogy of renunciation.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
16.21 Those three which constitute the 'gateway of this hell' in the shape of demoniac nature, and are destructive of the self (Atman) - are known as desire, wrath and greed. The nature of these has already been explained. 'Gateway' (Dvara) means the path, the cause. Therefore, one should renounce these three. Therefore, since they constitute the cause of the extremely dreadful Naraka, one should wholly renounce this triad - desire, wrath and greed.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
16.21 See Coment under 16.22
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
16.21 Triple is the gate of this hell, destructive of the self lust, anger and greed; therefore one should abandon these three.
Commentary

16.21 त्रिविधम् triple? नरकस्य of hell? इदम् this? द्वारम् gate? नाशनम् destructive? आत्मनः of the self? कामः lust? क्रोधः anger? तथा also? लोभः greed? तस्मात् therefore? एतत् this? त्रयम् three? त्यजेत् (one) should abandon.Commentary Lust? anger and greed? -- these highway robbers will cause a man to fall into the dark abyss of hell? misery or grief. These are the three fountainheads of misery. These three constitute the gateway leading to the lowest of hells. These are the enemies of peace? devotion and knowledge. When these evil modifications of the mind arise in it? man loses his balance or poise and discrimination and commits various evil actions.Lust? anger and greed denote selfblindness and ignorance? for there are no Vasanas? wants? anger? or greed in Brahman or the pure immortal Self.Narakasya dvaram The gate to hell The gate leading to hell. The self is destroyed by merely entering at the gate? i.e.? it is not fit to do any right exertion to attain the goal of life.As this gate causes selfdestruction? let everyone renounce these three. (Cf.III.47)In the next verse the man who has abandoned these three evils is highyl eulogised.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
16.21 This door of hell, which is the destroyer of the soul, is of three kinds-passion, anger and also greed. Therefore one should forsake these three.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
16.21 The gates of hell are three: lust, wrath and avarice. They destroy the Self. Avoid them.
Related values & verses
Related values
Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)
Related verses
BG 3.37 BG 2.62 BG 16.22 SB 9.19.13 SB 7.15.19 SB 9.4.66 CC Madhya 19.149 CC Antya 6.220 CC Madhya 22.87 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.3BRS 1.2.117
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
There are three gates leading to hell — lust, anger, and greed; every sane person should give them up; they bring degradation.
Practical Applications
  • Map each of the three gates in your life.
  • Address whichever is most open.
  • Treat all three as cumulative.
Reflection Questions
  • Which gate is most open in me?
  • What practice closes it?
Analogy

A city with three gates that all open onto the same cliff. Kāma, krodha, lobha — lust, anger, greed — are not three problems but three doors of one prison. Close any one and the others still let traffic through. Kṛṣṇa says: every sane person must close all three.

Stories
The Gate of Greed: Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Dhṛtarāṣṭra knew his son was wrong. Vidura, Bhīṣma, Droṇa, even Kṛṣṇa Himself counseled him. Yet each time he had to choose between dharma and the kingdom for Duryodhana, lobha — greed for the throne staying in his line — closed his lips and opened the path to war.

The Mahābhārata makes him the verse's case study for lobha as a gate to hell. He survived the war; his blindness, originally physical, became total in the loss of all hundred sons. The gate let him through to exactly where it was always going to.

The Gate of Anger: Durvāsā and Ambarīṣa

Ambarīṣa, a great devotee, was completing his ekādaśī fast when the sage Durvāsā arrived as guest. Durvāsā left to bathe; the dvādaśī moment came and Ambarīṣa, instructed by brāhmaṇas, broke fast with a sip of water — half-respecting Durvāsā by waiting, half-respecting scripture by drinking on time.

Durvāsā's krodha at this perceived slight was immense. He pulled a hair from his matted locks and created a flame-demoness to kill Ambarīṣa. The Sudarśana cakra of Viṣṇu — protector of devotees — pursued Durvāsā instead, through every realm, for a year. Brahmā, Śiva, Viṣṇu Himself sent the sage back to beg pardon of Ambarīṣa.

The Bhāgavatam preserves the episode as scripture's clearest demonstration that anger, even in a great yogī, is a gate that opens onto disaster — and that the devotee's protection is the only thing that closes it again.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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