Chapter 6, Verse 38
कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति | अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि ||६-३८||
kaccinnobhayavibhraṣṭaśchinnābhramiva naśyati . apratiṣṭho mahābāho vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi ||6-38||
Meaning
Swami Sivananda did not comment on this sloka
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Arjuna presses his anxious question further with a haunting image: does such a failed seeker not perish like a chinna-abhra — a riven cloud, torn apart and scattered, dissolving into nothing? His fear is of being ubhaya-vibhrashta, fallen from both worlds: having let go of worldly security in pursuit of the spiritual, yet failing to grasp the spiritual either, he is left apratishtha — without any footing, suspended over an abyss.
The metaphor of the scattered cloud is deeply evocative. A cloud that breaks apart in the open sky simply vanishes, leaving no trace. Arjuna fears the half-hearted seeker meets the same fate — bewildered (vimudha) on the path to Brahman, belonging nowhere, his efforts coming to nothing. This is the worst-case dread of the spiritual journey laid bare. By voicing it so starkly, Arjuna sets the stage for Krishna to dispel the fear utterly. The very vividness of the worry makes the coming reassurance all the more powerful and consoling.
💡 Key Takeaway
The fear of losing both worlds is real and human, but it is worth voicing honestly so it can be answered.
Related Verses
अर्जुन उवाच | योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन | एतस्याहं न पश्यामि चञ्चलत्वात्स्थितिं स्थिराम् ||६-३३||
arjuna uvāca . yo.ayaṃ yogastvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana . etasyāhaṃ na paśyāmi cañcalatvātsthitiṃ sthirām ||6-33||
6.33 Arjuna said This Yoga of eanimity taught by Thee, O Krishna, I do not see its steady continuance, because of the restlessness (of the mind).
अर्जुन उवाच | अयतिः श्रद्धयोपेतो योगाच्चलितमानसः | अप्राप्य योगसंसिद्धिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ||६-३७||
arjuna uvāca . ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāccalitamānasaḥ . aprāpya yogasaṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati ||6-37||
6.37 Arjuna said He who is unable to control himself though he has the faith, and whose mind wanders away from Yoga, what end does he, having failed to attain perfection in Yoga, mee,t O Krishna?
एतन्मे संशयं कृष्ण छेत्तुमर्हस्यशेषतः | त्वदन्यः संशयस्यास्य छेत्ता न ह्युपपद्यते ||६-३९||
etanme saṃśayaṃ kṛṣṇa chettumarhasyaśeṣataḥ . tvadanyaḥ saṃśayasyāsya chettā na hyupapadyate ||6-39||
6.39 This doubt of mine, O Krishna, do Thou dispel completely; because it is not possible for any but Thee to dispel this doubt.