Indriyasyendriyasyaarthe raagadweshau vyavasthitau | Tayor na washamaagacchet tau hyasya paripanthinau ||34||
Translation
In each sense and for each sense-object, there exist both attraction and repulsion. One should never come under the sway of either of these two, for they are indeed the greatest obstacles on the path.
Word-by-Word Meaning
इन्द्रियस्य
of the senses
इन्द्रियस्य-अर्थे
in the objects of the senses
रागः
attachment/attraction
द्वेषौ
and repulsion/aversion
व्यवस्थितौ
are situated/are present according to rule
तयोः
of those two
न
never/should not
वशम्
under the control of
आगच्छेत्
come/fall
तौ
those two
हि
certainly/indeed
अस्य
of this person
परिपन्थिनौ
stumbling blocks/adversaries on the path
Commentary
Commentary
This verse identifies with precision the two forces that most obstruct spiritual progress: raaga (attachment, attraction) and dwesha (aversion, repulsion). They are, Krishna says, present in each sense in relation to each sense-object — not exceptional experiences but the constant background hum of ordinary consciousness.
We spend most of our lives moving between these two poles. We pursue the things we are attracted to and avoid the things we are repelled by. This seems natural, even reasonable. But the Gita points to something deeper: both poles are expressions of ego-identification. The person who is enslaved by attraction to certain pleasures suffers when those pleasures are denied. The person who is enslaved by aversion suffers whenever the thing they fear appears. Either way, the external world holds the reins.
The instruction is not to destroy all preference or to become indifferent to life. It is to not be under the sway of (vaasham aagacchet) these forces. There is a difference between noticing that you find something pleasant and being compelled by that pleasantness to act. The wise person can observe both attraction and repulsion in themselves without automatically obeying them.
Paripanthinau — “obstacles on the path” — is vivid language. These two are not minor inconveniences but the primary blockages between the seeker and liberation. Every spiritual tradition across the world has identified some version of this same dynamic: desire and aversion, craving and clinging, push and pull. The Gita’s contribution is to name them clearly as situational — they arise in each sense, for each object — and to say: know them for what they are, and do not follow where they lead.
Historical Context
The Yoga tradition, especially as systematized in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (written after the Gita but systematizing older ideas), lists raaga and dwesha among the five kleshas — the fundamental afflictions that bind consciousness to suffering. The Gita here is working in this same conceptual landscape. Both traditions understand that liberation is not the absence of pleasure and pain but the freedom from being automatically driven by attraction to pleasure and aversion to pain. The one who is established in the Self (aatman) can engage with the world fully, without being a slave to its pushes and pulls.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does Bhagavad Gita 3.34 mean?
- In each sense and for each sense-object, there exist both attraction and repulsion. One should never come under the sway of either of these two, for they are indeed the greatest obstacles on the path.
- What is the Sanskrit text of Bhagavad Gita 3.34?
- The original Sanskrit verse is: Indriyasyendriyasyaarthe raagadweshau vyavasthitau | Tayor na washamaagacchet tau hyasya paripanthinau ||34||
- What are the key themes of this verse?
- This verse explores: senses, detachment, desire, aversion, spiritual-practice.