Chapter XVII · Śloka 6
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
कर्शयन्तः शरीरस्थं भूतग्राममचेतसः |
मां चैवान्तःशरीरस्थं तान्विद्ध्यासुरनिश्चयान् ||
मां चैवान्तःशरीरस्थं तान्विद्ध्यासुरनिश्चयान् ||
karśayantaḥ śarīra-sthaṃ bhūta-grāmam acetasaḥ |
māṃ caivāntaḥ śarīra-sthaṃ tān viddhy āsura-niścayān ||
māṃ caivāntaḥ śarīra-sthaṃ tān viddhy āsura-niścayān ||
Senseless, they torture the aggregate of elements in the body and Me as well, who dwell within. Know these to be of demoniac resolve.
This is the harshest edge of the teaching: to torment the body in which the divine dwells is to torment the divine itself. Austerity that harms the body is not tapas but violence — directed ultimately at the indwelling Self.