Chapter XVI · Śloka 23
यः शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य वर्तते कामकारतः ।
न स सिद्धिमवाप्नोति न सुखं न परां गतिम् ॥
न स सिद्धिमवाप्नोति न सुखं न परां गतिम् ॥
yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ |
na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṃ na parāṃ gatim ||
na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṃ na parāṃ gatim ||
One who, having abandoned the injunctions of scripture, acts under the sway of desire, attains neither perfection nor happiness nor the supreme goal.
Having described the three gates of hell, Krishna turns to the mechanism that keeps them locked open: abandonment of śāstra (scriptural injunction) in favour of kāma-kārata — acting from desire alone. Such a person misses all three aspirations: worldly success, happiness, and liberation.