Fear of failure is natural on the path.
Arjuna speaks to Krishna
कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति |अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि ||६-३८||
kaccinnobhayavibhraṣṭaśchinnābhramiva naśyati . apratiṣṭho mahābāho vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi ||6-38||
Use this verse when you fear losing progress.
Meaning
Does such a person, fallen from both paths and unsupported, perish like a scattered cloud, confused on the path to Brahman?
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Arjuna fears that spiritual effort may be lost.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
This verse expresses the fear of wasted effort. Many seekers worry that inconsistent practice leaves them nowhere.
Read the traditional 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.
In daily life
Bring your doubt honestly before guidance.
Someone who quit meditation may fear they lost all progress.
Try this today
Write your fear and ask what effort still remains valuable.
No sincere step is meaningless.Reflect
What progress am I afraid of losing?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘छिन्नाभ्रम् इव नश्यति’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on reassurance, in other chapters
- Verse 16.5Your essential nature is already oriented toward freedom — do not despair over your flaws, but lean into the light you were made for.
- Verse 7.3To even seek the highest truth is rare; to know it in essence, rarer still — so treasure the longing when it stirs in you.
- Verse 10.16 · ArjunaThe sincere heart longs to perceive the Divine not only in abstraction but in the living splendour of creation.
- Verse 3.1 · ArjunaWhen spiritual ideals seem to clash with hard duties, bring the confusion into the open rather than using it as an excuse to retreat.
Swipe left for 6.39 · Bring doubt to wisdom.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 6.38
Who says Bhagavad Gita 6.38, and to whom?
Arjuna speaks to Krishna in verse 6.38, in Chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga (Dhyana Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 6.38 mean?
Does such a person, fallen from both paths and unsupported, perish like a scattered cloud, confused on the path to Brahman? (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 6.38 for daily life?
Bring your doubt honestly before guidance. Someone who quit meditation may fear they lost all progress.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 6.38 mean?
कच्चित् न — does he not, perhaps; उभयविभ्रष्टः — fallen from both (worldly and spiritual); छिन्नाभ्रम् इव नश्यति — perish like a scattered cloud; अप्रतिष्ठः — without support / footing; महाबाहो — O mighty-armed one.
Where does verse 6.38 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 38 of 47 in Chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga. The next verse is 6.39.