16.22 Freed from the three Krishna speaks

एतैर्विमुक्तः कौन्तेय तमोद्वारैस्त्रिभिर्नरः
आचरत्यात्मनः श्रेयस्ततो याति परां गतिम्

etair vimuktaḥ kaunteya tamo-dvārais tribhir naraḥ
ācharaty ātmanaḥ śhreyas tato yāti parāṁ gatim

A person freed from these three gates of darkness, son of Kunti, does what is good for the self, and so goes to the highest.

Explanation

Freed from those three, a person does good for themselves.

ātmanaḥ śreyaḥ — what is good for the self. Not for others, not for the world: the verse frames release from the three gates as an act of self-interest.

After twelve verses of the other nature, the way out is put in the plainest possible terms, and it takes one line.

Word by word

etaiḥ: from this
vimuktaḥ: freed
kaunteya: Arjun, the son of Kunti
tamaḥ-dvāraiḥ: gates to darkness
tribhiḥ: three
naraḥ: a person
ācharati: endeavor
ātmanaḥ: soul
śhreyaḥ: welfare
tataḥ: thereby
yāti: attain
parām: supreme
gatim: goal