7-verse reading plan
Bhagavad Gita on anger: 7 verses to cool a temper
For the moment your temper gets there before you do. Read the first verse while you cool off.
- 7 verses
- Gita, then the Ramayana
- About 14 min to read
- Sanskrit, English, audio
In 2.62 and 2.63 the Gita traces anger step by step: dwelling on something becomes attachment, attachment becomes wanting, blocked wanting becomes anger, and anger takes judgement with it. These verses walk that chain slowly, then turn to the steady mind, riding out the surge (5.23) and speech that doesn't wound (17.15). The last is from the Ramayana, a sage who lost his temper, lost years of work, and began again. This plan is for the anger you want to stop acting on. If someone is harming you, you are right to name it.
The seven verses
- Verse 1See itWhere anger startsGita 2.62
- Verse 2What's underneathWhat anger takes from youGita 2.63
- Verse 3SteadyKnow the real enemyGita 3.37
- Verse 4SteadyA steady mind still feelsGita 2.56
- Verse 5DoRide out the surgeGita 5.23
- Verse 6DoThen speakGita 17.15
- Verse 7A storyHe lost his temper, and began againValmiki Ramayana
Where anger starts
सङ्गात् संजायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥
Dwell on something and you get attached; attachment becomes wanting, and blocked wanting turns into anger.
Bhagavad Gita 2.62 · Krishna
Full translation
Thinking about sense objects creates attachment to them. Attachment gives rise to desire; desire gives rise to anger.
विषयोंका चिन्तन करनेवाले मनुष्यकी उन विषयोंमें आसक्ति पैदा हो जाती है । आसक्तिसे कामना पैदा होती है । कामनासे क्रोध पैदा होता है । क्रोध होनेपर सम्मोह मूढ़भाव हो जाता है । सम्मोहसे स्मृति भ्रष्ट हो जाती है । स्मृति भ्रष्ट होनेपर बुद्धिका नाश हो जाता है । बुद्धिका नाश होनेपर मनुष्यका पतन हो जाता है ॥
What it means for you
Krishna starts earlier than the outburst. Dhyāyato viṣayān puṃsaḥ: when you keep dwelling on something, you get attached, attachment turns into wanting, and wanting that meets a wall turns into anger. By the time you snap, the fire has been building for a while.
Try this
After your next flash of irritation, trace it back one step: what were you dwelling on?
What anger takes from you
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥
Anger clouds judgement, clouded judgement loses memory, lost memory wrecks reason, and then you fall.
Bhagavad Gita 2.63 · Krishna
Full translation
From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from confusion of memory, loss of discernment; from loss of discernment, ruin.
विषयोंका चिन्तन करनेवाले मनुष्यकी उन विषयोंमें आसक्ति पैदा हो जाती है । आसक्तिसे कामना पैदा होती है । कामनासे क्रोध पैदा होता है । क्रोध होनेपर सम्मोह मूढ़भाव हो जाता है । सम्मोहसे स्मृति भ्रष्ट हो जाती है । स्मृति भ्रष्ट होनेपर बुद्धिका नाश हो जाता है । बुद्धिका नाश होनेपर मनुष्यका पतन हो जाता है ॥
What it means for you
From anger comes confusion, then memory slips, then judgement goes, and then you fall. Krishna's word for that last step is praṇaśyati. You say the thing you can't take back, because the part of you that knew better has already left the room.
Try this
Recall one argument you regret. Find the moment judgement left. What came just before it?
Feeling anger is human. The warning is about anger that takes over your judgement.
Know the real enemy
महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥
Desire, turning to anger when blocked and never satisfied, is the real enemy here.
Bhagavad Gita 3.37 · Krishna
Full translation
Krishna said: Desire, born of rajas, turns into anger. It is all-consuming and deeply destructive. Know it as your enemy here.
श्रीभगवान् बोले रजोगुणसे उत्पन्न हुआ यह काम ही क्रोध है । यह बहुत खानेवाला और महापापी है । इस विषयमें तू इसको ही वैरी जान ॥
What it means for you
Arjuna asks why we do wrong against our own will. Krishna names desire, which turns into anger when it's blocked and is never satisfied. When you're angry at someone, look for what you wanted from them.
Try this
When you're angry today, finish this sentence: what I wanted was…
A steady mind still feels
वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते ॥
Unshaken in sorrow, not craving in joy, free of clinging, fear and anger: that is a steady mind.
Bhagavad Gita 2.56 · Krishna
Full translation
The steady-minded sage is unshaken by sorrow, free from craving in joy, and beyond attachment, fear, and anger.
दुःखोंकी प्राप्ति होनेपर जिसके मनमें उद्वेग नहीं होता और सुखोंकी प्राप्ति होनेपर जिसके मनमें स्पृहा नहीं होती तथा जो राग, भय और क्रोधसे सर्वथा रहित हो गया है, वह मननशील मनुष्य स्थिरबुद्धि कहा जाता है ॥
What it means for you
Krishna's portrait of the steady person: unshaken in sorrow, not craving in joy, free of clinging, fear and anger. This person still feels everything. The feelings just don't get to drive.
Try this
Picture the calmest person you know in your hardest situation. What would they do first?
Ride out the surge
कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः ॥
Whoever can ride out the surge of desire and anger, here and now, is steady and happy.
Bhagavad Gita 5.23 · Krishna
Full translation
Whoever can withstand the surge of desire and anger here before the body falls, is a disciplined person and is truly happy.
इस मनुष्यशरीरमें जो कोई मनुष्य शरीर छूटनेसे पहले ही कामक्रोधसे उत्पन्न होनेवाले वेगको सहन करनेमें समर्थ होता है, वह नर योगी है और वही सुखी है ॥
What it means for you
Krishna says whoever can withstand the surge (vega) of desire and anger, here in this life, is steady and happy. A surge rises and falls. Your only job is to wait until it passes before you act.
Try this
Next time the surge comes, let ten slow breaths pass before you speak or type.
Then speak
स्वाध्यायाभ्यसनं चैव वाङ्मयं तप उच्यते ॥
Speak words that don't wound, that are true, kind and helpful. That is discipline of speech.
Bhagavad Gita 17.15 · Krishna
Full translation
Speech that does not agitate, is truthful, pleasant, and beneficial, together with study and practice, is called austerity of speech.
उद्वेग न करनेवाला, सत्य, प्रिय, हितकारक भाषण तथा स्वाध्याय और अभ्यास करना यह वाणीसम्बन्धी तप कहा जाता है ॥
What it means for you
Krishna calls it the discipline of speech: words that don't agitate, that are true, pleasant and helpful. Your anger often has a point. This verse shows how to make that point without cruelty, once the surge has passed.
Try this
Rewrite one message you sent in anger. Keep what's true. Drop what was meant to hurt.
Kind speech can still say hard things. It says them without cruelty.
He lost his temper, and began again
विघ्नैर्बहुभिराधूतं क्रोधो नान्तरमाविशत् ॥
Many things shook him. Anger could not get in.
Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda
Vishvamitra's vow
Vishvamitra had given up a kingdom to become a sage, and had already started his effort over more than once. Then, tested again, he lost his temper and cursed the apsara Rambha, and with that curse the power of his long austerity was spent. This time he made a vow: he would not give way to anger, or even speak. He kept a long silence. Obstacles came again and shook him, but anger couldn't get in. In the end he reached his goal, and Vasishtha, the rival he had once fought, embraced him as a friend.
Relapses happen. A clear vow and steady practice can loosen anger's grip.
What it means for you
If you've promised yourself before and blown it, you're in Vishvamitra's company. His story keeps going after the relapse.
Try this
Make one specific vow for this week, such as 'I won't send messages while angry', and tell one person.
That's all seven.
Come back to the one that stayed with you, or let Wisdom pick seven verses for your own situation.
Your situation is your own
Seven verses picked for your anger.
Everyone gets the same seven on this page. Tell Wisdom what you're facing in a sentence or two, and it picks verses for you.
Week 1 is free. A few questions, about two minutes.
On iPhone, Wisdom gives you one verse each morning, read aloud. Get the app →
Common questions
What does the Bhagavad Gita say about anger?
What is the meaning of krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ?
How does the Gita say to control anger?
Should I read one verse a day or all seven at once?
More Gita verses on anger
- Bhagavad Gita 16.21Lust, anger and greed: three gates to ruin. Leave all three.
