Desire can corrupt wealth decisions.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
आशापाशशतैर्बद्धाः कामक्रोधपरायणाः |ईहन्ते कामभोगार्थमन्यायेनार्थसञ्चयान् ||१६-१२||
āśāpāśaśatairbaddhāḥ kāmakrodhaparāyaṇāḥ . īhante kāmabhogārthamanyāyenārthasañcayān ||16-12||
Use this verse before major money decisions.
Meaning
Bound by hundreds of ropes of hope, devoted to desire and anger, they strive to accumulate wealth unjustly for the sake of enjoyment.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Attachment to endless hopes can lead to unjust wealth-seeking.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna warns that desire and anger can corrupt money behavior. When enjoyment becomes the goal, unethical earning can look justified.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna paints the bondage of the desire-driven life with a vivid image: asha-pasha-shatair baddhah — bound by a hundred nooses of hope. Each unfulfilled expectation is a cord, and the more one craves, the more tightly the net of hope and dread draws in. What feels like freedom to chase whatever one wants is in fact a subtle slavery.
Governed by kama and krodha — desire and the anger that erupts when desire is thwarted — such people endeavour to amass wealth anyayena, by unjust means. The end (sense-enjoyment) is treated as justifying any method, and so ethics quietly collapses into appetite. This is how a corrupt inner state becomes corrupt outer action: when the heart is enslaved to hope and rage, the hands soon reach for what is not theirs. Krishna shows that injustice in the world begins as bondage within.
In daily life
Earn and grow through dharma, not greed or anger.
A business owner may be tempted to use unfair tactics to fund lifestyle goals.
Try this today
Audit one money decision for fairness.
I earn and use wealth through dharma.Reflect
Are my financial goals tied to dharma or craving?
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Quick check
What does ‘कामभोगार्थम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on greed, in other chapters
- Verse 18.27When work springs from greed and craving, you swing endlessly between elation and grief.
- Verse 2.62The chain from desire to suffering begins with where we choose to dwell with our attention — wisdom lies in managing attention before desire manages us.
- Verse 3.37The real enemy within is insatiable desire, which sours into anger — name it clearly, for an enemy understood can be conquered.
- Verse 5.23Learn to withstand the surge of desire and anger without being swept away — that very capacity makes you a yogi and a happy person.
Swipe left for 16.13 · Greed says more will finally satisfy me.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 16.12
Who says Bhagavad Gita 16.12, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 16.12, in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga (Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 16.12 mean?
Bound by hundreds of ropes of hope, devoted to desire and anger, they strive to accumulate wealth unjustly for the sake of enjoyment. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 16.12 for daily life?
Earn and grow through dharma, not greed or anger. A business owner may be tempted to use unfair tactics to fund lifestyle goals.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 16.12 mean?
आशापाशशतैः — by a hundred nooses of hope / expectation; बद्धाः — bound; कामक्रोधपरायणाः — devoted to lust and anger; ईहन्ते — they strive, endeavour; कामभोगार्थम् — for the sake of sense-enjoyment.
Where does verse 16.12 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 12 of 24 in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 16.13.