16.7 Not knowing what to do Krishna speaks
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च जना न विदुरासुराः
न शौचं नापि चाचारो न सत्यं तेषु विद्यते
pravṛittiṁ cha nivṛittiṁ cha janā na vidur āsurāḥ
na śhauchaṁ nāpi chāchāro na satyaṁ teṣhu vidyate
Those of the other nature do not understand what should be done and what should not. In them there is no purity, no right conduct, no truth.
Explanation
The first failure named is not cruelty but not knowing.
They do not understand pravṛtti and nivṛtti — what should be undertaken and what should be left alone.
Then purity, right conduct and truth are said to be absent. But the diagnosis begins with a failure of discernment, which is the same thing chapter 2 said was wrong with Arjuna.
Word by word
- pravṛittim
- proper actions
- cha
- and
- nivṛittim
- improper actions
- cha
- and
- janāḥ
- persons
- na
- not
- viduḥ
- comprehend
- āsurāḥ
- those possessing demoniac nature
- na
- neither
- śhaucham
- purity
- na
- nor
- api
- even
- cha
- and
- āchāraḥ
- conduct
- na
- nor
- satyam
- truthfulness
- teṣhu
- in them
- vidyate
- exist
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