Verse 16.23
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
यः शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य वर्तते कामकारतः | न स सिद्धिमवाप्नोति न सुखं न परां गतिम् ||२३||
Transliteration (IAST)
yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ | na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim ||23||
Word-by-Word Meanings
Translation
One who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to one's own desires attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.
Commentary
Shankaracharya explains that śāstra-vidhi refers to the Vedic injunctions that guide human conduct toward both worldly prosperity and spiritual liberation. Abandoning these for whimsical desire (kāma-kārataḥ) results in failure on all three levels: siddhi (accomplishment), sukha (happiness), and parā gati (liberation). Ramanuja notes the triple negation emphasizes the completeness of the loss - not even worldly success is achieved by those who abandon dharmic guidance.