BG 4.40 — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 4.40Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

अज्ञश् चाश्रद्दधानश् च संशयात्मा विनश्यति ।

नायं लोको ऽस्ति न परो न सुखं संशयात्मनः ॥

ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca saṃśayātmā vinaśyati

nāyaṃ loko 'sti na paro na sukhaṃ saṃśayātmanaḥ

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

The ignorant, the faithless, and the one whose very self is doubt all come to ruin; for the doubter, neither this world nor the next holds any place, and no happiness reaches him.

ekras · bhāṣya

The verse names the inverse — three classes of the unqualified. "The ajna, the ashraddadhana, and the samshayatma all perish. For the samshayatma, neither this world nor the next nor sukha holds." Three classes named. Ajna — the one without jnana; he simply has not received the teaching. Ashraddadhana — the one without shraddha; he has heard but does not trust. Samshayatma — the one whose very self is doubt. The third is the worst.

Madhusudana distinguishes them precisely. The ajna is empty of atma-jnana for want of shastra-study — a remediable condition; he can be taught. The ashraddadhana holds a viparyaya-rupa astikya-buddhi — an inverted conviction, a false certainty against the teaching — and is harder to reach because the position must first be dismantled. The samshayatma is the most damaged: doubt has become the structure of the inner instrument itself, not just an episode within it. The verse's last sentence is the heaviest. Na ayam loko 'sti na paro na sukham samshayatmanah. For the doubter, this world is not, the next world is not, sukha is not. Three negations in a row. The man whose interior cannot settle on any commitment loses access to the goods both worlds offer, and to the inner condition that would have made either world worth having.

Vallabha reads the verse as the closing of the qualification-discussion: the prior verse named who the path is for; this verse names who it is not for. The closing implication is structural, not punitive. The ineligibility is not a punishment from outside; it is the consequence of the inner condition.

Context

where

Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 4.39

The one with faith who is wholly intent on that teaching and keeps the senses restrained gains knowledge, and having gained it, reaches supreme peace without delay.

What's going on

The ignorant, the faithless, and the one whose very self is doubt all come to ruin; for the doubter, neither this world nor the next holds any place, and no happiness reaches him.

Sūtras through this verse (51)

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

4.9His acts are willed only to bless others.───→here4.40───→11.1By high compassion He showed the world-form.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

2.69Ignorance is night, wisdom alone wakes.───→here4.40───→4.42Cut the heart's doubt with the sword of knowledge.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

4.24Every word for ritual points back to Viṣṇu.───→here4.40───→5.7'Self of all beings' just means the Lord.

show all 51

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

4.14Acts without clinging───→here4.40───→5.14Two tiers of rulership

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesbetween

4.6Avatāras differ in their fullness of Hari.───→here4.40───→6.9Devas, asuras, mortals are three native kinds.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

4.14He acts but does not cling to the act.───→here4.40───→5.14The Lord rules the modes; the soul rules the body.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadbetween

4.8Ṛgveda khilas explain the descent as play.───→here4.40───→6.6Maitrāyaṇī defines the stilled mind.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordbetween

4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.───→here4.40───→7.4Eight elements name the inert side of nature.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

4.25'Divine' just means the Lord, named indirectly.───→here4.40───→5.7'Self of all' resolves to the Lord himself.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awaybetween

4.11However they come, I meet them so.───→here4.40───→7.16Four kinds of seekers, all good-hearted.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.───→here4.40───→5.5See sāṅkhya and yoga as one — see truly.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugebetween

4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.───→here4.40───→9.29Even to all — yet near to those who turn.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned alonebetween

4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.───→here4.40───→10.10I give them buddhi by which they come.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here4.40───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here4.40───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

4.18See not-doing in doing, doing in not-doing.───→here4.40───→5.13Body-self confusion is the only error.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it werebetween

4.9My birth and acts are not of this world.───→here4.40───→7.14Divine illusion is hard to cross alone.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldbetween

4.18The post-knowledge actor does no action at all.───→here4.40───→5.8I do nothing at all, says the knower.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

4.13The four orders are the Puruṣa's own body.───→here4.40───→15.1The world-tree is the tree of the Kaṭha.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

4.23Clinging to anything is what binds you.───→here4.40───→5.12Drop the wish for fruit, not the fruit itself.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

4.13The four orders are His own creation.───→here4.40───→18.41Each order's work is born of its nature.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

4.36Knowledge ferries you across the ocean.───→here4.40───→5.4Insight and practice are not two paths.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here4.40───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here4.40───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here4.40───→6.30See Me everywhere, I am never lost.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

4.18Action in inaction───→here4.40───→5.6Renunciation needs the path

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

4.16Even the wise are confused───→here4.40───→7.14Cross the maya

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsbetween

4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u───→here4.40───→6.11Mudra and posture. 'Shuchau deshe pratishthapya sthiram asanam atmanah.' Establi

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologybetween

4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I───→here4.40───→7.21'Yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah shraddhayarchitum ichchhati.' Whatever form the dev

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

4.8'Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam, dharma-samsthapana-arthaya sambh───→here4.40───→9.27Dharma-as-offering pillar. 'Yat karoshi yad ashnasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat.' Gau

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

4.24Brahman the offering, Brahman the offerer.───→here4.40───→6.1The renouncer is the one who acts for Me.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerbetween

4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.───→here4.40───→7.14Māyā is real wonder, not unreality.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.───→here4.40───→7.14Surrender alone crosses the māyā.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlybetween

4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.───→here4.40───→9.4The Lord pervades all, yet stays untouched.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.───→here4.40───→5.1Single-verse prelude sets sannyāsa-yoga eka.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractbetween

4.8A mother chastising her child is no cruelty.───→here4.40───→7.1The play-Person of every form opens chapter 7.

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here4.40───→6.10Solitary seat

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)approach

───→here4.40───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here4.40───→6.47Six chapters of aphorism close at this verse.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here4.40───→

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here4.40───→

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.───→here4.40───→6.1Karma-yoga is outer; samādhi-yoga inner.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

4.11Mām is Viṣṇu, not generic absolute.───→here4.40───→7.5Higher prakṛti is Śrī, not the eight-fold.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitbetween

4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.───→here4.40───→7.21Other deities give what Viṣṇu permits.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.───→here4.40───→5.1Body-residue karma vs. fruit-bearing karma.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.───→here4.40───→5.13All actions renounced by mind alone.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionbetween

4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.───→here4.40───→7.24Failure of seeing, not absence of presence.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurebetween

4.13Four orders made by the one who stays equal.───→here4.40───→9.4He pervades, yet is not in any of it.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionbetween

4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.───→here4.40───→9.22Yoga-kṣemam: the Lord's work, not the seeker's caste.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

4.33Knowledge-rite outranks mere material rites.───→here4.40───→5.4Whoever sees them as one, sees rightly.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

4.34Approach a knower; knowing is not earned by action.───→here4.40───→5.1Neither combined, nor optionally substituted.

Śabda · lemmas (12 unique · 17 occurrences)

विनश्यति vi-√naś — to perish (vi- + √naś 'be lost') · present indicative 3rd person singular verb

show all 12

न na ×3 — not (negation particle)
च ca ×2 — and; (homonym: also the consonant ca)
संशय saṃśaya ×2 — doubt (sam- + √śi 'lie/rest' — 'lying both ways') · compound
आत्मा·आत्मनः ātman ×2 — the Self, soul; one's own self · nominative masculine singular noun / genitive masculine singular noun
अज्ञः ajña — ignorant (a- + jña, from √jñā 'know') · nominative masculine singular noun
अश्रद्दधानः aśraddadhāna — without faith (a- + śraddadhāna pres.-pple. of √śrad-dhā 'have faith') · nominative masculine singular noun
अयम् idam — this (proximal demonstrative) · nominative masculine singular noun
लोकः loka — world, realm; people · nominative masculine singular noun
अस्ति √as — to be (verbal root) · present indicative 3rd person singular verb
परः para — highest, supreme, beyond, other · nominative masculine singular noun
सुखम् sukha — happiness, pleasure, ease · nominative neuter singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01What is the precise difference between ajñatā (ignorance), aśraddhā (faithlessness), and saṃśaya (doubt) — and why does Kṛṣṇa treat them as three distinct disqualifications rather than one?
02Śaṅkara calls the saṃśayātmā 'most sinful among all': on what logic is metaphysical doubt morally worse than ignorance or faithlessness?

show all 7

03Rāmānuja ties the destruction specifically to unresolved doubt about ātman-svarūpa (the true nature of the self) — does this verse presuppose that knowledge of the ātman is the foundational prerequisite for all other human goods?
04Vallabha concludes that only the niścayātmikā buddhi (resolute intellect) is fit for the path — how does this constraint square with genuine philosophical inquiry, which must pass through provisional doubt?
05If the saṃśayātmā loses even this-world happiness (eating, family, livelihood), is the verse making a psychological claim — that unresolved doubt corrodes ordinary practical engagement — rather than only a soteriological one?
06Madhusūdana reads the ca-kāras as grammatical evidence of a ranked scale of ruin. How much doctrinal weight should such micro-grammatical readings bear, and what does it tell us about Madhusūdana's interpretive method?
07All six commentators agree the saṃśayātmā perishes in both lokas; none defends a heuristic role for doubt. What does this unanimity across rival schools tell us about how the tradition draws the boundary between live inquiry and destructive vacillation?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

Vedāntic sādhana requires one pointed inquiry: 'Who am I?' The student who keeps reopening the question 'but is Advaita really true?' after the guru has pointed directly at the ātman is not engaged in inquiry — he is delaying surrender to the teaching. In daily practice this means: once the śravaṇa (hearing) phase has yielded a working understanding, move to manana (reflection) and nididhyāsana (meditation) rather than cycling back perpetually to śravaṇa. Doubt as a tool is exhausted once the pointer has been received; what remains is to let the pointer do its work.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Every śāstrīya act — pūjā (worship), vratas (vows), sevā (service) — depends on the prior certainty that the Lord receiving the act is real and that the jīva performing it is really the Lord's śeṣa (dependent). The householder who performs the morning pūjā while half-wondering whether Viṣṇu exists gets neither the karma-phala (fruit of action) nor the bhakti-rasa (devotional relish). Rāmānuja's application: establish the basic ātma-niścaya (certainty about the self) first through Vedāntic study, then every subsequent act of service becomes load-bearing.

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Dvaita

In Madhva's framework, the devotee who doubts Hari's supreme independence (svatantratva) or doubts his own real distinction from Hari cannot perform dependent worship correctly. In daily terms: if during prayer one habitually thinks 'perhaps I am ultimately Brahman anyway,' the entire relationship of dependence that structures Dvaita sādhana is hollow. The application is to cultivate tarka (correct reasoning) that establishes the five real differences (pañca-bheda) as non-negotiable ground before entering worship.

Śuddhādvaita

Puṣṭi-mārga moves by prasāda (grace), not by effort; but even grace requires a vessel that can receive it. The devotee who sings Kṛṣṇa's līlā while thinking 'I don't know if this is real or just poetry' has plugged the channel. In daily sādhana this means: the moment doubt arises about the literal reality of Kṛṣṇa's presence in the image (mūrti), the daily sevā becomes empty ritual. Vallabha's corrective is not argument but affirmation — return to the bhāva (devotional mood) that accepts the Lord's presence before lifting the lamp.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's triple register (this world, other world, sukha) maps directly onto a practitioner's life: unresolved doubt about the path's efficacy destroys professional focus (this-world artha fails), prevents the accumulation of merit (other-world dharma fails), and poisons present enjoyment (no meal, no conversation, no beauty is fully received when the mind is split). The practical resolution is not forced certainty but completing one stage fully before the next: hear the teaching, sit with one specific doubt until it resolves, then proceed — do not carry a convoy of unresolved doubts into action.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana identifies aśraddhā as specifically a viparyaya-buddhi (inverted cognition) — not mere absence of faith but an active counter-belief that this teaching will not work. In contemporary terms: a student who says 'I'll try meditation but I suspect it's self-delusion' has already inserted the counter-signal. Madhusūdana's synthesis prescription is to use Advaita's intellectual tools to dissolve the counter-belief first, then allow bhakti's emotional momentum to carry the resolved mind forward. The sequence matters: argument before surrender, not argument instead of surrender.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 4, Verse 40: Krishna to Arjuna — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga