Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 16: The Divine and the Demonic Natures

Bhagavad Gita 16.21

त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः । कामः क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत् ॥

trividhaṃ narakasyedaṃ dvāraṃ nāśanamātmanaḥ | kāmaḥ krodhastathā lobhastasmādetattrayaṃ tyajet ||

There are three gates to hell, and they destroy the self: desire, anger, and greed. Therefore one should give up these three.

Modern context

This is one of the most quoted verses in the Gita: there are three gates to hell, desire, anger and greed. Give them up. It is a practical summary of everything in the chapter. These three are the roots of most of the harm people do to themselves and each other. They are not hard to recognise; the difficulty is in letting them go when they arise.