Verse 16.21

त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः ।

कामः क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत् ॥

16.21

Transliteration

trividhaṃ narakasyedaṃ dvāraṃ nāśanamātmanaḥ |

kāmaḥ krodhastathā lobhastasmādetattrayaṃ tyajet ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

Triple is the gate of this hell, destructive of the self lust, anger and greed; therefore one should abandon these three.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

threefold
of hell
this
gate
destructive
of the self

lust
anger
and
greed
therefore
these
three
one should abandon

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

After the long portrait, Krishna reduces the demonic nature to three roots: desire (kāma), anger (krodha) and greed (lobha). These form a threefold gate to hell that destroys the self. The conclusion is practical and simple: give up these three. Earlier in the dialogue Krishna named desire and anger as the enemy that clouds understanding. Here greed is added, and the whole complex is presented as something a person can recognise and abandon.