अशास्त्रविहितं घोरं तप्यन्ते ये तपो जनाः | दम्भाहङ्कारसंयुक्ताः कामरागबलान्विताः ||
aśāstra-vihitaṁ ghoraṁ tapyante ye tapo janāḥ dambhāhaṅkāra-saṁyuktāḥ kāma-rāga-balānvitāḥ
Translation
Those who perform terrible austerities not enjoined by scripture, filled with hypocrisy and egotism, driven by the force of desire and passion —
Interpretation
Krishna addresses self-imposed extreme austerities performed without scriptural sanction and driven by ego and desire rather than genuine spiritual aspiration. Such 'terrible' (ghora) austerities are motivated by hypocrisy (performing for social recognition) and egotism (proving one's superiority through endurance) rather than love and genuine seeking. When austerity serves ego rather than Self-transcendence, it intensifies the very qualities it claims to diminish. Genuine tapas burns the dross of ego; ego-driven tapas is just another form of ego-inflation.