FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 6.38

कच्च‍िन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति । अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मण: पथि ॥ ३८ ॥
kaccin nobhaya-vibhraṣṭaś
[kachchin nobhaya-vibhrashtash]
chinnābhram iva naśyati
[chinnaabhram iva nashyati]
apratiṣṭho mahā-bāho
[apratishtho mahaa-baaho]
vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi
[vimoodho brahmanah pathi]
Word-for-word
kaccit — whether na — not ubhaya — both vibhraṣṭaḥ — deviated from chinna — torn abhram — cloud iva — like naśyati — perishes apratiṣṭhaḥ — without any position mahā - bāho — O mighty-armed Kṛṣṇa vimūḍhaḥ — bewildered brahmaṇaḥ — of transcendence pathi — on the path .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kaccin nobhaya-vibhraṣṭaś
kaccit
whether
chinnābhram iva naśyati
na
not
ubhaya
both
apratiṣṭho mahā-bāho
vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi
vibhraṣṭaḥ
deviated from
chinna
torn
abhram
cloud
iva
like
naśyati
perishes
apratiṣṭhaḥ
without any position
mahā - bāho
O mighty-armed Kṛṣṇa
vimūḍhaḥ
bewildered
brahmaṇaḥ
of transcendence
pathi
on the path .
Important Words
  • ubhaya-vibhraṣṭaḥ — deviated from both
    Ubhaya — 'both'; vi-bhraṣṭa — 'fallen-away.' The compound names the specific fear: not failure on one front but on two — the abandoned material world and the unreached spiritual one.
  • chinna abhram iva — like a torn cloud
    Chinna — 'cut'; abhra — 'cloud'; iva — 'like.' Arjuna's simile, in answer to Kṛṣṇa's earlier dīpa-image of 6.19. The fear has its own image. The disciple has learned to teach in metaphor too.
  • naśyati — perishes
    From √naś — 'to vanish.' The same root Kṛṣṇa will use, with a negative, in 6.40 (na vināśaḥ). Arjuna sets up the very word that Kṛṣṇa will negate. The verse holds the question that 6.40 will dissolve.
  • apratiṣṭhaḥ — without any position
    A-pratiṣṭhā — 'without a standing-place.' Pratiṣṭhā is the firm ground. Arjuna's fear is the fear of homelessness in both worlds — no pratiṣṭhā here, none there.
  • vimūḍhaḥ — bewildered
    Vi-√muh — 'thoroughly deluded.' Not a chosen wandering but a confused one. The torn-cloud image is doubled by this: the failed seeker is not just torn but disoriented.
  • brahmaṇaḥ pathi — on the path of transcendence
    Brahman — the transcendent; path — the road. The fear is specifically about the spiritual road, not any old road. Confusion in this domain is the worst kind because there is no fallback.
O mighty-armed Kṛṣṇa, does not such a man, who is bewildered from the path of transcendence, fall away from both spiritual and material success and perish like a riven cloud, with no position in any sphere?
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)
The fear sharpens into image: a fragment of cloud torn off the main mass and dissipating in the sky — that is the yoga-bhraṣṭa's terror. Lost both worlds (dharma and mokṣa), no foothold anywhere — vanishes?
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
'Chinnābhram iva' — like a riven cloud — is the chapter's most haunting simile. The classical concern: the worldly seeker who renounces grhastha enjoyments for spiritual gain may end with neither. Arjuna voices the universal anxiety of the religious dropout. The vocative mahā-bāho ('mighty-armed') almost begs Kṛṣṇa to deploy His strength to dispel the doubt.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
हे महा-बाहो! ब्रह्मणः पथि विमूढः अप्रतिष्ठः उभय-विभ्रष्टः छिन्न-अभ्रम् इव कच्चित् न नश्यति?
he mahā-bāho! brahmaṇaḥ pathi vimūḍhaḥ apratiṣṭhaḥ ubhaya-vibhraṣṭaḥ chinna-abhram iva kaccit na naśyati?
O mighty-armed one, does he not, bewildered on the path of Brahman, without footing, fallen from both, perish like a torn-off cloud?
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
कच्चित् न उभय-विभ्रष्टः छिन्न-अभ्रम् इव नश्यति । अप्रतिष्ठः महा-बाहो विमूढः ब्रह्मणः पथि ॥
kaccit na ubhaya-vibhraṣṭaḥ chinna-abhram iva naśyati | apratiṣṭhaḥ mahā-bāho vimūḍhaḥ brahmaṇaḥ pathi ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
कच्चित् kaccit ind. (interr. (interrogative)) is it (a worried interrogative)
न na ind. (indeclinable) not
उभय-विभ्रष्टः ubhaya-vibhraṣṭaḥ उभय + विभ्रष्ट (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) fallen from both
छिन्न-अभ्रम् chinna-abhram छिन्न (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) + अभ्र (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n., karmadhāraya cpd. (compound) a torn cloud
इव iva ind. (indeclinable) like
नश्यति naśyati √नश् pres. (present) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) perishes
अप्रतिष्ठः apratiṣṭhaḥ अ + प्रतिष्ठा (f.) → adj. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) without footing
महा-बाहो mahā-bāho महत् + बाहु (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular), bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) O mighty-armed
विमूढः vimūḍhaḥ वि + √मुह् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. bewildered
ब्रह्मणः brahmaṇaḥ ब्रह्मन् (n.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) of Brahman
पथि pathi पथिन् (m.) loc.sg. (locative singular) on the path
Purport

There are two ways to progress. Those who are materialists have no interest in transcendence; therefore they are more interested in material advancement by economic development, or in promotion to the higher planets by appropriate work. When one takes to the path of transcendence, one has to cease all material activities and sacrifice all forms of so-called material happiness. If the aspiring transcendentalist fails, then he apparently loses both ways; in other words, he can enjoy neither material happiness nor spiritual success. He has no position; he is like a riven cloud. A cloud in the sky sometimes deviates from a small cloud and joins a big one. But if it cannot join a big one, then it is blown away by the wind and becomes a nonentity in the vast sky. The brahmaṇaḥ pathi is the path of transcendental realization through knowing oneself to be spiritual in essence, part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, who is manifested as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the fullest manifestation of the Supreme Absolute Truth, and therefore one who is surrendered to the Supreme Person is a successful transcendentalist. To reach this goal of life through Brahman and Paramātmā realization takes many, many births ( bahūnāṁ janmanām ante ). Therefore the supermost path of transcendental realization is bhakti-yoga, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the direct method.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
38. Does he not disappear like a fragmented cloud, the yogī who fails in both ways, not having achieved the goal, and bewildered about the method of achieving Brahman,?
Commentary

Kvacit indicates only a question. Having failed on both sides, having given up the path of karma and taken completely to the path of yoga, and having given that up also, does he not disappear like a cloud which separates from the original cloud and does not become another cloud, but instead disappears in the middle of the sky? The difficulty is that from having entered the path of yoga, one develops a desire of give up enjoyment of material objects, and because of lack of real detachment also, has a desire to enjoy those objects. Because of not doing activities leading to Svargaloka and also not completing the practice of yoga leading to liberation, he attains neither Svarga nor liberation. Thus, becoming bewildered in the method of attaining Brahman, not having achieved the goal (apratiṣtḥaḥ), does he get destroyed or not? This I ask You.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
38. Does he who is bewildered about the method of achieving Brahman, who fails in both ways, not having achieved the goal, not disappear like a fragmented cloud?
Commentary

In this verse Arjuna elaborates on his question. He does not get svarga by his execution of niṣkāma karma, nor does he get a vision of the ātmā from perfecting yoga. Not having grasped either of these, does he perish or not? Will he be destroyed like a cloud which separates from one cloud and disappears before joining another cloud? Why should he have this worry? Because he is bewildered about the method of attaining brahman.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Such a person has given up his prescribed duties to practice yoga. He has given up the results coming from such prescribed duties and then is taking to the yoga practice, he is gone to the forest... and then gives up yoga. What happens with such a person? He is not a materialist and is spiritualist. Will he become like a riven cloud without any position in any sphere? Arjuna continues,

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

COMMON THEME: Arjuna inquires about the fate of one fallen from the path of self realization. Is he a

failure, both materially and spiritually?

One may begin the process with faith, but later desist due to worldly mindedness (6.37)
Analogy: Does such a man perish like a riven cloud with no position in any sphere? (6.38)
Arjuna expresses that only Krishna can dispel this doubt completely (6.39)

PLEASE NOTE: Purports for Texts 6.37 – 6.39 are presented in their individual ‘Focus of Learning’ boxes

below

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 6.37 & 6.38:

Arjuna clarifies his question in the next verse

Focus of Learning

(a) Basic principle of self-realisation

Knowledge that the living entity is not this material body
He is different from the body and his happiness is in eternal life, bliss and knowledge
This eternal like is transcendental, beyond both body and mind

(b) How to pursue self-realisation – 3 possible paths:

Path of knowledge (Jnana-yoga)
Practice of eight-fold yoga system (Astanga-yoga)
Devotional service (Bhakti-yoga)

(c) Similarities in these paths

In each of these processes one has to realize:
The constitutional position of the living entity
His relationship with God
And the activities whereby he can re-establish the lost link and achieve the highest perfectional stage of Krishna consciousness
All 3 processes assure success sooner or later (This reassures the point made in Bg. 2.40: “Even a little endeavor on the transcendental path offers great hope for deliverance”

(d) Bhakti-yoga is the most suitable path in this age – Because it is the most direct method of God

realisation

(e) Why does Arjuna ask this question – Although Bg. 2.40 provides full guarantee on the

transcendental path, still Arjuna wants to be reassured because one may sincerely accept the

process but still fail for many reasons

Especially the jnana-marg and the astanga-yoga are very difficult for this age
First of all one may not be sufficiently serious about following the process
Even after constant endeavor one may deviate because to pursue the transcendental path is more or less to declare war on the illusory energy

(f) Importance of “Yogac calita-manasah” – Deviation from transcendental path

A conditioned soul is always allured by the modes of material energy
And there is every chance of being allured again even while performing transcendental disciplines
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
Sri Shankaracharya did not comment on this sloka
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
Sri Ramanuja did not comment on this sloka
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
Sri Abhinavgupta did not comment on this sloka
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
Swami Sivananda did not comment on this sloka
Commentary

Swami Sivananda did not comment on this sloka

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
Swami Gambirananda did not comment on this sloka
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
Shri Purohit Swami did not comment on this sloka
Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
BG 6.37 BG 18.66 BG 9.31 SB 1.5.17 SB 5.19.27 SB 11.23.57 CC Madhya 22.22 CC Madhya 22.65 CC Antya 3.86 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.7Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.1.20
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Bewildered on the path of Brahman — does he not perish like a torn cloud, with no place anywhere?
Practical Applications
  • Speak your fears in spiritual language so they can be answered in spiritual language.
  • Don't keep fears underground; they grow there.
  • Voice them and let Kṛṣṇa's reply quiet them.
Reflection Questions
  • What fear is mine that has stayed underground?
  • Whom could I voice it to?
Analogy

A cloud torn in mid-sky by contrary winds — neither rain to ground, nor full body to the cloud-bank — Arjuna offers Kṛṣṇa his own simile. The image is precise: the failed seeker has lost the earth of material aim and the sky of spiritual attainment both. The verse asks whether such a torn cloud has any place at all left to it.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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