इदं ते न अतपस्काय नाभक्ताय कदाचन । न चाशुश्रूषवे वाच्यं न च मां यो ऽभ्यसूयति ॥
idaṃ te na atapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana | na cāśuśrūṣave vācyaṃ na ca māṃ yo 'bhyasūyati ||
This teaching is never to be given to the non-ascetic, non-devotee, non-service-minded, or one who criticizes Me.
Word by word (3)
- idaṃ te na atapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana
- — this (idam = this teaching, the Gita) is not (na) to be spoken/declared (vācyam = to-be-said) by you (te) ever (kadācana = at any time) to one without tapas/austerity (atapaskāya = a + tapas + ka = one-without-tapas), to one without devotion (nābhaktāya = na + bhakta + āya = to-one-not-a-devotee)
- na cāśuśrūṣave vācyaṃ na ca māṃ yo 'bhyasūyati
- — not (na ca) to one who does not desire to serve/listen-obediently (aśuśrūṣu = a + śuśrūṣu = non-desirous-of-service; from śru = to hear + su = well + ṣu = desire = one who desires to hear well/serve the guru) should it be spoken (vācyam), and not (na ca) to one who cavils at/speaks ill of Me (mām yo abhyasūyati = who finds fault with Me/criticizes Me) — four conditions for non-disclosure: non-ascetic, non-devotee, non-service-minded, Me-critic
- atapaskāya, nābhaktāya, aśuśrūṣave, yo abhyasūyati
- — four disqualifications for receiving the Gita's teaching: (1) without tapas = not willing to accept inner discipline; (2) without bhakti = no devotion to the Divine; (3) aśuśrūṣu = not wanting to hear/serve (the guru-student relationship is not valued); (4) abhyasūyati (finds fault with/criticizes Me) = the one who cannot receive any teaching from the Divine; these four together define who CANNOT receive the deepest teaching, implying that the positive qualities (tapas, bhakti, service-orientation, non-criticism) are the prerequisites
This should never be spoken by you to one without austerity, or to one without devotion, or to one who doesn't desire to serve — nor to one who cavils at Me.
A modern analogy
V67 gives the teaching-transmission protocol for the Gita. The teacher has a responsibility to identify worthy students. The four disqualifications are practical: a student without discipline (tapas) won't practice; without devotion, the teaching won't reach the heart; without service-orientation, they won't listen properly; one who criticizes the teacher/teaching from the start has closed the receiving channel.
V67 immediately follows V66's mokṣa-declaration and establishes who may NOT receive the teaching. The placement is significant: even the most liberating teaching (V66) cannot benefit everyone equally — the qualifications of the receiver determine whether the teaching can be received. This is not exclusion for social reasons but a description of spiritual readiness. The four disqualifications together map the person who cannot receive: they lack inner discipline (tapas), inner orientation (bhakti), relational receptivity (śuśrūṣā), and basic openness (non-criticism).
The four disqualifications define, by negation, the adhikārin (qualified student) for the Gita: one who has tapas (discipline), bhakti (devotion), śuśrūṣā (service/listening), and respect for the Divine. These four together constitute the inner character of one who can receive the deepest teaching. Note that no social, varṇa, or gender qualifications are listed — only inner qualities. The Gita's adhikāra (qualification) is entirely internal.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
This which has been taught to thee is never to be taught to one who is devoid of austerities, nor to one who is not devoted, nor to one who does not do service, nor to one who speaks ill of Me. [1]
This is never to be spoken by thee to one who is devoid of austerities or devotion, nor to one who does not render service, nor to one who cavils at Me. [4]
MISSING from index. [9]
This is not to be ever declared by thee to one who practices no austerities, to one who is not a devotee, to one who never waits on a preceptor, nor yet to one who calumniates Me. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Tāmasic yajña: against ordinance, no food-sharing, no mantras, no dakṣiṇā, no śraddhā — declared tāmasic.
Rājasic tapas: done for reception, honour, worship, and show — unstable and transient.
Bound by your svabhāva-born karma, what from delusion you don't wish to do — you will do even helplessly.
O Madhusūdana — I see no stable foundation for this yoga: the mind's restlessness defeats all steadiness.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Those who know Me as Adhibhūta, Adhidaiva, and Adhiyajña — they know Me even at death, with unified minds.