अश्रद्दधानाः पुरुषा धर्मस्यास्य परन्तप ।अप्राप्य मां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि ॥
aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa | aprāpya māṃ nivartante mṛtyusaṃsāravartmani ||
- अश्रद्दधानाः · aśraddadhānāḥ
- those without faith
- पुरुषाः · puruṣāḥ
- persons
- धर्मस्य · dharmasya
- of this dharma, teaching
- परन्तप · parantapa
- O scorcher of foes
- अप्राप्य माम् · aprāpya mām
- without reaching me
- निवर्तन्ते · nivartante
- they turn back, wander
- मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि · mṛtyusaṃsāravartmani
- on the path of death-bound wandering
“Persons without faith in this dharma, O scorcher of foes, do not reach me but turn back onto the path of death-bound wandering.”
— Original plain-language translation
Faith is the doorway; without it even the easy path stays closed. Missing Krishna means remaining inside the cycle of return. The warning is brief because the promises that follow are so large.
— Reader's notes (original)