न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः | मायायापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिताः ||१५||
na māṃ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ | māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṃ bhāvam āśritāḥ || 15 ||
The evildoer, the deluded, the lowest of men, those whose knowledge māyā has stolen — these do not take refuge in Me.
Word by word (3)
- na māṃ duṣkṛtinaḥ mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ
- — the evildoers, the deluded, the lowest of men — they do not take refuge in Me · na = not. māṃ = Me (accusative). duṣkṛtinaḥ = evildoers, those who act badly (duṣ = bad, wrong; kṛtina = doer — one who does bad, who has built up a pattern of wrong action). mūḍhāḥ = the deluded, the confused (from √muh — the same root as moha of V13; mūḍha = one who is thoroughly confused, who has lost their way). prapadyante = take refuge (the same verb as V14's positive case: those who DO take refuge cross māyā; V15 gives those who do NOT). narādhamāḥ = lowest of men (nara = man; adhama = lowest — those who have degraded their human potential, who have lost the higher orientation that makes the human birth valuable per V7.3).
- māyayā apahṛta-jñānāḥ — āsuram bhāvam āśritāḥ
- — whose knowledge has been stolen by māyā — and who resort to the asura-nature · māyayā = by māyā (instrumental — through the agency of māyā). apahṛta = stolen, taken away (apa + √hṛ = to carry away, to steal; apahṛta = stolen, removed). jñānāḥ = whose knowledge (genitive plural compound — 'whose jñāna has been carried away'). āsuram = pertaining to asuras (demi-divine beings known for power without wisdom, strength without dharma, ego without humility; in the Gita, 'āsura' represents the ego-centered orientation opposed to the 'daivī' divine orientation). bhāvam = nature, orientation, tendency. āśritāḥ = taking refuge in, resorting to (āśraya = shelter; āśrita = one who has taken shelter in). The counterpart to V14: while those who take refuge in the Divine (daivī bhāva) cross māyā, those who take refuge in the āsura-bhāva (ego-centered, power-seeking orientation) cannot take refuge in the Divine.
- four categories — duṣkṛtina, mūḍha, narādhama, apahṛta-jñāna
- — four descriptions of those who cannot take refuge — conditions that block prapatti · V15 describes four conditions that prevent V14's prapatti (complete refuge): (1) duṣkṛtina = wrong action pattern — the accumulated weight of wrong actions creates a cognitive and motivational orientation away from the Divine; (2) mūḍha = deep confusion — the moha of V13 at its most extreme, where orientation is completely lost; (3) narādhama = lowest of men — having degraded the human potential to its lowest expression, losing the upward orientation toward liberation; (4) māyayāpahṛta-jñāna = knowledge stolen by māyā — the most specific: māyā has actively removed the discriminating knowledge that would enable refuge. All four describe states where the orientation toward the Divine is blocked — either by accumulated wrong action, deep confusion, degradation of human potential, or direct māyā-obstruction of knowledge. V15 is not a condemnation but a diagnosis: these are the conditions in which prapatti becomes unavailable.
V15 gives the counterpart to V14: while those who take refuge in Krishna alone cross māyā (V14), V15 describes those who do NOT take refuge — the duṣkṛtina (evildoer), the mūḍha (deeply confused), the narādhama (lowest of men), and those whose discriminating knowledge has been stolen by māyā and who follow the āsura (ego-centered) orientation.
A modern analogy
Someone deeply addicted to a destructive substance: their knowledge of its harm has been 'stolen' by the addiction (māyayāpahṛta-jñāna); they act against their own deep values (duṣkṛtina); they are confused about what they want (mūḍha); they may have degraded their potential in various ways (narādhama). In this state, the refuge of genuine recovery is unavailable — not because it doesn't exist but because the cognitive and motivational conditions that would enable taking it have been disabled. V15's four categories are the spiritual equivalent of this state.
What it does NOT mean
V15 is NOT a permanent condemnation. It describes current conditions, not fixed destinies. The four categories are diagnostic descriptions of states that block prapatti — not labels for permanent classes of people. Even those in V15's conditions can, through the turning that V14 describes, move toward refuge. V15 is a warning and a diagnosis, not a verdict.
Take with you
- V15's most actionable category is māyayāpahṛta-jñāna (knowledge stolen by māyā): if the discriminating knowledge that would enable spiritual orientation has been suppressed by guṇa-absorption, the first task is to restore that knowledge — through study (śravaṇa), reflection (manana), and contact with wisdom traditions. This is why jñāna practice is necessary.
- V15 and V14 together give a complete map: V14 gives the positive path (refuge → crossing); V15 gives the negative (absence of refuge → cannot cross). The practical application: identify which of V15's four conditions might be operative in your own practice. The identification itself is the beginning of the reversal.
- The āsura-bhāva (demoniac orientation) in V15 is not about supernatural evil but about the ego-centered orientation that places the self's power and gratification above all else. This orientation, when dominant, makes refuge impossible because refuge requires the ego's relinquishment — precisely what the āsura-bhāva resists.
V15 closes the māyā teaching (V13-15) by giving the negative case of V14's positive: V14 says those who take refuge cross māyā; V15 says those who cannot take refuge are in four specific conditions. Together, V14-15 constitute the complete teaching on māyā's practical relationship to the practitioner: what enables crossing (prapatti) and what prevents it (the four V15 conditions). The most theologically significant term in V15 is 'māyayāpahṛta-jñāna' (whose knowledge has been stolen by māyā). This describes a specific cognitive disability produced by māyā itself — the discriminating knowledge that would enable the recognition of the Divine and the orientation toward it has been removed by the very force that the practitioner needs to cross. This is māyā's most sophisticated operation: it does not just veil the Divine but removes the cognitive capacity that would enable seeing through the veil. This is why V14's remedy requires 'mām eva' — Me alone. The crossing cannot begin from a position of balanced consideration (weighing spiritual options) because māyā has compromised the knowledge faculty. It requires a leap of prapatti — complete refuge offered from whatever state one is in, even a compromised cognitive state. This is the grace-structure of V14: the refuge is available even when knowledge is compromised, because it is an act of turning (prapadyante) rather than an act of understanding.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: V15's 'apahṛta-jñāna' (stolen knowledge) is the specific operation of avidyā (ignorance): avidyā does not merely prevent new knowledge but actively distorts existing knowledge, making it impossible to function as a means of liberation. The only escape is śravaṇa (hearing the teaching from a qualified teacher) + manana (reflection) + nididhyāsana (sustained contemplation) — which progressively restore the knowledge that avidyā/māyā has stolen.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti traditions, V15 shows why grace is necessary: if māyā can steal the knowledge that enables refuge, then the practitioner cannot achieve prapatti by self-effort alone. They need the Lord's grace to restore the apahṛta-jñāna. This is why V14's promise ('those who take refuge, I bring them across') is understood as a promise of divine grace: the Lord meets the practitioner wherever they are and enables the refuge that their stolen knowledge cannot generate unaided.
Karma-Yoga lens
V15's duṣkṛtina (evildoer) condition shows the karma yoga corollary: accumulated wrong action creates cognitive and motivational conditions that block spiritual orientation. This is why karma yoga's purification of action is spiritually necessary: each act of right, non-attached action counters the accumulated duṣkṛtina-weight and restores the conditions in which prapatti becomes possible.
Modern parallels
V15's 'apahṛta-jñāna' parallels the psychological concept of 'motivated reasoning' and 'ego-defensive distortion': when the ego has strong investments in maintaining its current orientation, it systematically distorts incoming information to protect those investments, making genuine reassessment impossible from within that state. The āsura-bhāva (ego-centered orientation) produces precisely this motivated distortion of knowledge — preventing the very perception that would enable its own dissolution.
Practice
V15 reversal practice: at the close of meditation, review the session through V15's lens. Was the meditation characterized by any of the four blocking conditions (wrong action patterns active, confusion, degraded aspiration, knowledge obscured)? If yes, acknowledge it honestly and offer it to the Divine: 'This is also within You (V12's te mayi). Help me reverse it.' This honest offering is itself the beginning of the reversal.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
The evildoers, the deluded, the lowest of men — those whose knowledge has been stolen by māyā and who resort to the āsura-nature — do not take refuge in Me. [1]
They do not devote themselves to Me — the evil-doers, the deluded, the lowest of men, deprived of discrimination by Maya, and following the way of the Asuras. [4]
The wicked, the foolish, the lowest of mankind, bereft of wisdom by illusion and following a demoniacal way of life — they turn not to Me. [5]
Four kinds of wicked men do not worship me: the deluded, the degraded, the deluded in mind, and those who follow after what is demoniacal. [6]
Nay, but the sinful and the ignorant, the vile, whose knowledge is swept off by the windy storms of Passion — these seek not Me; they live in flesh and ill. [7]
The evil-doers, the ignorant, the lowest of men, who are deprived of knowledge by illusion, and who follow the path of the demoniac, do not take refuge in me. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
This divine māyā of Mine, made of the guṇas, is hard to cross — but those who take refuge in Me alone do cross it.
Four kinds of virtuous persons worship Me: the distressed, the seeker, the ends-seeker, and the wise.
Six āsurī qualities: dambha, darpa, abhimāna, krodha, pāruṣya, ajñāna — all rooted in ego-assertion and ignorance.
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
My delusion is gone — dispersed by Your compassionate words on the Self and its deep mysteries.
Knowing Me as Puruṣottama without delusion, one becomes all-knowing and worships Me with whole being.