Chapter 4, Verse 40
अज्ञश्चाश्रद्दधानश्च संशयात्मा विनश्यति | नायं लोकोऽस्ति न परो न सुखं संशयात्मनः ||४-४०||
ajñaścāśraddadhānaśca saṃśayātmā vinaśyati . nāyaṃ loko.asti na paro na sukhaṃ saṃśayātmanaḥ ||4-40||
Meaning
4.40 The ignorant the faithless, the doubting self goes to destruction; there is neither this world nor the other, nor happiness for the doubting.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Having praised faith, Krishna now warns of its opposite. Three traits lead to ruin: ignorance (ajña), faithlessness (aśraddadhāna), and above all a doubting nature (saṃśayātmā). The chronic doubter, who can never trust, never commit, and never rest in any conviction, perishes — not by external punishment, but by the inner paralysis that constant suspicion breeds.
Krishna's verdict is severe: for such a one there is no happiness in this world, the next, or anywhere. Notice that doubt is named the most destructive. Honest inquiry, like Arjuna's, is welcome; but corrosive doubt that refuses every answer and trusts nothing leaves the soul stranded between commitments, unable to act or grow. This is not a call for blind belief, but a warning that perpetual indecision and cynicism are a kind of spiritual self-destruction.
💡 Key Takeaway
Chronic, trustless doubt paralyzes the soul and steals all peace; sincere faith, not blind belief, is what allows us to move forward.
Related Verses
अर्जुन उवाच | अपरं भवतो जन्म परं जन्म विवस्वतः | कथमेतद्विजानीयां त्वमादौ प्रोक्तवानिति ||४-४||
arjuna uvāca . aparaṃ bhavato janma paraṃ janma vivasvataḥ . kathametadvijānīyāṃ tvamādau proktavāniti ||4-4||
4.4 Arjuna said Later on was Thy birth, and prior to it was the birth of Vivasvan (the Sun); how am I to understand that Thou taughtest this Yoga in the beginning?
श्रद्धावाँल्लभते ज्ञानं तत्परः संयतेन्द्रियः | ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति ||४-३९||
śraddhāvā.Nllabhate jñānaṃ tatparaḥ saṃyatendriyaḥ . jñānaṃ labdhvā parāṃ śāntimacireṇādhigacchati ||4-39||
4.39 The man who is full of faith, who is devoted to it, and who has subdued the senses obtains (this) knowledge; and having obtained the knowledge he attains at once to the supreme peace.
तस्मादज्ञानसम्भूतं हृत्स्थं ज्ञानासिनात्मनः | छित्त्वैनं संशयं योगमातिष्ठोत्तिष्ठ भारत ||४-४२||
tasmādajñānasambhūtaṃ hṛtsthaṃ jñānāsinātmanaḥ . chittvainaṃ saṃśayaṃ yogamātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata ||4-42||
4.42 Therefore with the sword of the knowledge (of the Self) cut asunder the doubt of the self born of ignorance, residing in thy heart, and take refuge in Yoga. Arise, O Arjuna.