Verse 16.10
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
काममाश्रित्य दुष्पूरं दम्भमानमदान्विताः | मोहाद्गृहीत्वासद्ग्राहान्प्रवर्तन्तेऽशुचिव्रताः ||१०||
Transliteration (IAST)
kāmam āśritya duṣpūraṁ dambha-māna-madānvitāḥ | mohād gṛhītvāsad-grāhān pravartante 'śuci-vratāḥ ||10||
Word-by-Word Meanings
kāmam-desire/lust
āśritya-taking refuge in
duṣpūram-insatiable
dambha-māna-mada-anvitāḥ-filled with hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance
mohāt-through delusion
asat-grāhān-false tenets/wrong notions
pravartante-they act/engage
aśuci-vratāḥ-of impure resolves
Translation
Taking refuge in insatiable desire, filled with hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance, holding false views through delusion, they act with impure resolves.
Commentary
Shankaracharya explains that kāma (desire) is described as duṣpūra (insatiable) because it grows with indulgence rather than being satisfied. Ramanuja notes the psychological progression: desire leads to delusion (moha), which leads to false convictions (asad-grāhān), which manifest as impure conduct. The demoniac person is trapped in a self-reinforcing cycle.
Themes
karmadharma