Moral confusion is a sign of asuric drift.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च जना न विदुरासुराः |न शौचं नापि चाचारो न सत्यं तेषु विद्यते ||१६-७||
pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca janā na vidurāsurāḥ . na śaucaṃ nāpi cācāro na satyaṃ teṣu vidyate ||16-7||
Use this verse before ethically unclear actions.
Meaning
Asuric people do not know what should be done or avoided; purity, right conduct, and truth are not found in them.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Asuric tendency lacks moral clarity, purity, conduct, and truth.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna describes the first practical danger: confusion about right and wrong. Without inner purity and truthfulness, action becomes driven by impulse rather than dharma.
Read the traditional commentary
The first mark of the demoniac mind, Krishna says, is a loss of discernment about pravritti and nivritti — when to act and when to abstain. This is not mere ignorance of facts but a deeper confusion about right and wrong, the inner compass spun useless. Without that compass, life becomes a wandering driven by impulse rather than guided by wisdom.
From this confusion follow three absences: shaucha (purity), achara (proper conduct), and satya (truth). These are precisely the foundations of a dharmic life, and their lack reveals a being unmoored from any higher order. The verse is striking in its restraint — Krishna does not call these people monstrous, only directionless.
The real tragedy of the lower nature is not its strength but its blindness, its inability to tell the path of light from the path of ruin.
In daily life
Before acting, ask what should be done and what should be avoided.
A person tempted to manipulate numbers at work can pause and ask what truth and dharma require.
Try this today
Write the dharmic do and do-not for one situation.
I choose truth, purity, and right conduct.Reflect
Do I know what to do and what to avoid here?
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Quick check
What does ‘प्रवृत्तिम्’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on truth, in other chapters
- Verse 13.12True knowledge is whatever keeps you steadily turned toward your deepest Self; everything else is ignorance dressed up as learning.
- Verse 9.12When striving is rooted in ego and cut off from a deeper purpose, even our cleverest efforts tend to come to nothing.
- Verse 17.15Speak words that are truthful, kind, and genuinely helpful all at once — disciplining your speech is a daily spiritual practice.
- Verse 1.10 · SanjayaHonest strength assessment holds ambiguity — what looks unlimited may have a hidden weakness, and what looks limited may hold concentrated power.
Swipe left for 16.8 · Wrong worldview can produce wrong conduct.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 16.7
Who says Bhagavad Gita 16.7, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 16.7, in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga (Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 16.7 mean?
Asuric people do not know what should be done or avoided; purity, right conduct, and truth are not found in them. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 16.7 for daily life?
Before acting, ask what should be done and what should be avoided. A person tempted to manipulate numbers at work can pause and ask what truth and dharma require.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 16.7 mean?
प्रवृत्तिम् — what to do, the path of action; निवृत्तिम् — what to refrain from, withdrawal; जनाः आसुराः — the demoniac people; न विदुः — do not know; न शौचम् — neither purity.
Where does verse 16.7 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 7 of 24 in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 16.8.