Bhagavad-gītā 9.3
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
अश्रद्दधानाः पुरुषा धर्मस्यास्य परन्तप। अप्राप्य मां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि।।9.3।।
aśhraddadhānāḥ puruṣhā dharmasyāsya parantapa aprāpya māṁ nivartante mṛityu-samsāra-vartmani
Persons without Shraddhâ for this Dharma, return, O scorcher of foes, without attaining Me, to the path of re-birth fraught with death.
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| aśhraddadhānāḥ | people without faith |
| puruṣhāḥ | (such) persons |
| dharmasya | of dharma |
| asya | this |
| parantapa | Arjun, conqueror the enemies |
| aprāpya | without attaining |
| mām | me |
| nivartante | come back |
| mṛityu | death |
| samsāra | material existence |
| vartmani | in the path |
Begin with the verse itself, then trace its movement through aśhraddadhānāḥ (people without faith), aprāpya (without attaining), and vartmani (in the path). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to the most confidential royal knowledge. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 9.3.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Observe the chapter’s first-person claims, the relation between Kṛṣṇa and the world, different forms of worship and accessible devotion.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
Persons without Shraddhâ for this Dharma, return, O scorcher of foes, without attaining Me, to the path of re-birth fraught with death
- 2
aśhraddadhānāḥ: people without faith
- 3
aprāpya: without attaining
Look, link, cover, teach
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Link
Use the line starts: aśhraddadhānāḥ puruṣhā / aprāpya māṁ.
Cover
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Teach
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 9.3, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 9.3 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 9.3 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 9.3 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 9.3, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
Use an authorized edition