Verse 9.3

अश्रद्दधानाः पुरुषा धर्मस्यास्य परन्तप ।

अप्राप्य मां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि ॥

9.3

Transliteration

aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa |

aprāpya māṃ nivartante mṛtyusaṃsāravartmani ||

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

Translation

Those who have no faith in this Dharma (knowledge of the Self), O Parantapa (Arjuna), return to the path of this world of death without attaining Me.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

lacking faith
people
in the dharma
this
O scorcher of foes

without reaching
me
return
to the path of mortal rebirth

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

Explanation

Krishna notes the consequence of rejecting this teaching. People without faith in this dharma do not reach him and instead return to the path of the round of death, mṛtyu-saṃsāra. The verse treats faith (śraddhā) as the doorway to the knowledge just praised. Without trust, even the royal secret remains closed. It is a sober note within a chapter that is otherwise strongly hopeful, reminding Arjuna that the teaching is offered but must be received.