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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 16.19
तानहं द्विषत: क्रूरान्संसारेषु नराधमान् ।
क्षिपाम्यजस्रमशुभानासुरीष्वेव योनिषु ॥ १९ ॥
tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān
saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān
āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu
Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
The Lord repeatedly casts the envious and mischievous, the lowest among people, into demoniac forms of material life.
Prabhupāda explains that each soul’s next body is decided by the Supreme Lord, not by personal choice or chance.
Accept the Lord’s supremacy rather than acting only according to your own whims.
Fate of demoniac — They are perpetually cast into various demoniac wombs in the ocean of material existence
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Nothing is accidental — This verse clearly indicates that placing of a particular soul in a particular body is the prerogative of the Supreme Will
Demoniac may not agree to accept the supremacy of the Lord, but his next birth anyways depends upon the decision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Ref. SB Canto 3 quoted)
Lack of knowledge – Does not know that all is arranged by superior power, nothing is accidental
Fate of Demoniac
Perpetually cast into various demoniac species
Example of demoniac species of life – Many kind of hunters in the jungle
They continue to be envious, the lowest of mankind
Texts 16.18 & 16.19
The next two texts describe Krishna’s reciprocation with the demoniac
Krishna wants to assure Arjuna that he possesses divine and not demoniac qualities
Describes the activities, mentality and qualities of those with demoniac tendencies
Krishna repeatedly casts these mischievous demons into demoniac, abominable species
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: daivī-sampat, dharma.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 16.19 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to character & ethics?
Choose one virtue to practice consciously today.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.