Verse 16.9

एतां दृष्टिमवष्टभ्य नष्टात्मानोऽल्पबुद्धयः ।

प्रभवन्त्युग्रकर्माणः क्षयाय जगतोऽहिताः ॥

16.9

Transliteration

etāṃ dṛṣṭimavaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmāno'lpabuddhayaḥ |

prabhavantyugrakarmāṇaḥ kṣayāya jagato'hitāḥ ||

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

Translation

Holding this view, these ruined souls of small intellect and fierce deeds, come forth as the enemies of the world for its destruction.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

this
view
holding to
lost souls
of little understanding

arise
of cruel deeds
for the destruction
of the world
enemies

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

Explanation

Holding fast to this view, such people lose their inner bearings, naṣṭātman, ruined in self. Their understanding becomes small, their deeds cruel, and they become enemies of the world, working toward its destruction. The verse links belief and behaviour directly: a picture of the world without truth or order leads to actions that harm it. In the setting of the Kurukshetra war, the description also recalls the forces of greed and injustice that drove the conflict in the first place.