Verse 6.38
Speaker: Arjuna
Sanskrit
कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति। अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि॥
Transliteration (IAST)
kaccin nobhaya-vibhraṣṭaś chinnābhram iva naśyati apratiṣṭho mahā-bāho vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi
Word-by-Word Meanings
ubhaya-vibhraṣṭaḥ-fallen from both
chinna-abhram iva-like a torn cloud
naśyati-perishes
apratiṣṭhaḥ-without foundation
vimūḍhaḥ-bewildered
brahmaṇaḥ pathi-on the path to Brahman
Translation
Does such a person, fallen from both paths, not perish like a torn cloud - without foundation, bewildered on the path to the Absolute, O mighty-armed one?
Commentary
The torn cloud metaphor (chinnābhra) is vivid: a fragment of cloud separated from its mass, unable to produce rain, eventually dissipating. Arjuna fears the failed yogi loses both material enjoyment and spiritual attainment, left with nothing - a powerful existential anxiety.
Themes
yogamoksha