Verse 16.7
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च जना न विदुरासुराः | न शौचं नापि चाचारो न सत्यं तेषु विद्यते ||७||
Transliteration (IAST)
pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ | na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāro na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate ||7||
Word-by-Word Meanings
pravṛttim-proper action/engagement
nivṛttim-abstention/renunciation
na viduḥ-do not know
āsurāḥ-the demoniac
śaucam-purity
ācāraḥ-right conduct
satyam-truth
Translation
The demoniac do not know what to do and what to refrain from. Neither purity, nor right conduct, nor truth is found in them.
Commentary
Shankaracharya explains that pravṛtti and nivṛtti refer to the knowledge of what actions lead to prosperity and liberation respectively. The demoniac lack this discernment entirely. Ramanuja notes that the absence of śauca (purity), ācāra (conduct), and satya (truth) represents a complete moral collapse - external, behavioral, and internal respectively.
Themes
dharmakarma