Bhagavad Gita 16.18: meaning and translation
Chapter 16: Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga. Krishna says
Given to ego, force, arrogance, desire and anger, Krishna says, such people find fault with others, and they hate him, who is present in their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
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Bhagavad Gita 16.18
अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं च संश्रिताः ।मामात्मपरदेहेषु प्रद्विषन्तोऽभ्यसूयकाः ॥
Ahankaram balam darpam kamam krodham cha sanshritahMamatmaparadeheshu pradvishantobhyasuyakah
ahaṅkāraṃ balaṃ darpaṃ kāmaṃ krodhaṃ ca saṃśritāḥ |māmātmaparadeheṣu pradviṣanto’bhyasūyakāḥ ||
Our explanation Given to ego, force, arrogance, desire and anger, Krishna says, such people find fault with others, and they hate him, who is present in their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि अहंकार, बल, घमंड, काम और क्रोध के सहारे रहने वाले ऐसे लोग दूसरों में दोष ढूँढते हैं, और उनसे, यानी कृष्ण से, द्वेष करते हैं, जो उनके अपने शरीरों में भी हैं और दूसरों के शरीरों में भी।
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- अहङ्कारम् ahaṅkāram · ego (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: ahaṃ-kāra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 124, col. 2 “conception of one's individuality, self-consciousness”
- बलम् balam · force (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: bala, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 722, col. 3 “power, strength, might, vigour, force”
- दर्पम् darpam · arrogance (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: darpa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 470, col. 2 “pride, arrogance”
- कामम् kāmam · desire (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: kāma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 271, col. 3 “wish, desire, longing”
- क्रोधम् krodham · anger (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: krodha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 322, col. 1 “anger, wrath, passion”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- संश्रिताः saṃśritāḥ · given over to (past participle (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: saṃ-śri, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1118, col. 2 “to resort or betake one's self to”
- माम् mām · "me" (Krishna) (pronoun, accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”
- आत्मपरदेहेषु ātmaparadeheṣu · in their own and others' bodies (compound (masculine), locative plural) Dictionary: ātman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 135, col. 1 “the individual soul, self”; 1. para, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 586, col. 2 “another (different from one's self)”; deha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 496, col. 3 “the body”
- प्रद्विषन्तः pradviṣantaḥ · hating (present participle (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: pra-dviṣ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 680, col. 3 “to feel dislike or repugnance for, hate”
- अभ्यसूयकाः abhyasūyakāḥ · spiteful, envious (adjective (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: abhy-asūyaka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 77, col. 1 “indignant”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain.
Telang translates verses 17–18 as one sentence; see 16.17. Read it at 16.17
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain.
Telang translates verses 17–18 as one sentence; see 16.17. Read it at 16.17
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 143.
Given over to egoism, power, insolence, lust and wrath, these malicious ones hate Me in the bodies of others and in their own.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 302.
Possessed of egoism, power, insolence, lust and wrath, these malignant people hate Me (the Self within), in their own bodies and those of others.
This sentence begins in 16.17.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 116. Bhagavad Gita 16.17–18.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 143. Bhagavad Gita 16.18.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 302. Bhagavad Gita 16.18.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 16.18: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/16/18/
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Bhagavad Gita 16.18
अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं च संश्रिताः ।
मामात्मपरदेहेषु प्रद्विषन्तोऽभ्यसूयकाः ॥
“Given over to egoism, power, insolence, lust and wrath, these malicious ones hate Me in the bodies of others and in their own.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 143, public domain)
“Possessed of egoism, power, insolence, lust and wrath, these malignant people hate Me (the Self within), in their own bodies and those of others.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 302, public domain)
This sentence begins in 16.17.
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/16/18/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 16.18?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 16 (Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 14, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026