Yathora

The Gita · Chapter 3

Bhagavad Gita 3.36

अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुषः। अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः॥

arjuna uvācha atha kena prayukto ’yaṁ pāpaṁ charati pūruṣhaḥ anichchhann api vārṣhṇeya balād iva niyojitaḥ

Translation

Arjuna said: But dragged on by what does a man commit sin, reluctantly indeed, O Varshneya, as it were by force constrained?

What it means

Arjuna asks the universal question: by what is a person driven to do wrong, even unwillingly, as if forced? He wants the name of the inner enemy. You cannot fight what you cannot identify.

Try this today

The universal question: why do I do what I do not want to do? Arjuna asks it for everyone.

Something to reflect on

Where do I feel driven by something against my own will?

Read it in Yathora
← 3.353.37 →

Translation by Annie Besant (1905, public domain). The meanings are original to Yathora, drawn from Shankara’s commentary.