Bhagavad-gītā 18.59
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
-
āśritya
—
taking shelter
Gerund — *having taken shelter*. With ahaṅkāram: of false ego. Kṛṣṇa identifies the actual shelter Arjuna is taking when he refuses to fight. The refusal is not vairāgya; it is ego-driven.
-
na yotsye
—
I shall not fight
Future first person — the synonyms-list entry quotes Arjuna's own words. Kṛṣṇa shows him the sentence he has been speaking inside, and labels it for what it is.
-
vyavasāyaḥ
—
determination
From vy-ava-so — to resolve, decide. With mithyā: a *false* determination. The verse bluntly names Arjuna's resolution-to-renounce as counterfeit determination, not a sāttvika dhṛti.
-
prakṛtiḥ
—
(your) material nature
Feminine — your svabhāva as a kṣatriya. Prakṛti is here not the cosmic energy but the specific personal nature shaped by mode-mixture. It has its own momentum.
-
niyokṣyati
—
will engage / yoke
Future causative — *will yoke you*. Prakṛti is the agent; Arjuna will be put back to work whether he likes it or not. The verse strips away the illusion of refusal.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| यत् | yat | यद् (pron. (pronoun)) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. | which |
| अहङ्कारम् | ahaṅkāram | अहङ्कार (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | egotism |
| आश्रित्य | āśritya | आ + √श्रि abs. (absolutive) | having resorted to |
| न | na | ind. (indeclinable) negation | not |
| योत्स्ये | yotsye | √युध् fut. (future) 1sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | I will fight |
| इति | iti | ind. (indeclinable) | thus |
| मन्यसे | manyase | √मन् pres. (present) 2sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | you think |
| मिथ्या | mithyā | ind. (indeclinable) | false |
| एषः | eṣaḥ | एतद् (pron. (pronoun)) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | this |
| व्यवसायः | vyavasāyaḥ | व्यवसाय (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | resolve |
| ते | te | युष्मद् (pron. (pronoun)) gen.sg. (genitive singular) | your |
| प्रकृतिः | prakṛtiḥ | प्रकृति (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | nature |
| त्वाम् | tvām | युष्मद् (pron. (pronoun)) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | you |
| नियोक्ष्यति | niyokṣyati | नि + √युज् fut. (future) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | will compel |
Arjuna was a military man, and born of the nature of the kṣatriya. Therefore his natural duty was to fight. But due to false ego he was fearing that by killing his teacher, grandfather and friends he would incur sinful reactions. Actually he was considering himself master of his actions, as if he were directing the good and bad results of such work. He forgot that the Supreme Personality of Godhead was present there, instructing him to fight. That is the forgetfulness of the conditioned soul. The Supreme Personality gives directions as to what is good and what is bad, and one simply has to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to attain the perfection of life. No one can ascertain his destiny as the Supreme Lord can; therefore the best course is to take direction from the Supreme Lord and act. No one should neglect the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or the order of the spiritual master, who is the representative of God. One should act unhesitatingly to execute the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead – that will keep one safe under all circumstances.
“For me, a kṣatriya, the highest dharma is to fight. But being afraid of the sin incurred from killing friends, I do not desire to start fighting.” The Lord scolds Arjuna in this verse. “Your nature (prakṛtiḥ) will make you fight. Now you do not respect My words. But when your irrepressible natural desire to fight arises, then while fighting, and automatically killing your elders like Bhīṣma, you will smile at Me!”
“Even though fighting is my dharma, I do not have that inclination because I fear the sin caused by killing brāhmaṇas and gurus.” If you take shelter of false identity (ahaṅkāram), thinking you know what is right and wrong, and contemplate “I will not fight,” such resolve (vyavasāyaḥ) will definitely not bring results (mithyā). Prakṛti, My māyā, transformed as the mode of passion, will engage you, who have ignored My words, in fighting anyway, which will cause killing of gurus and brāhmaṇas.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura adds more of Arjuna’s and Kṛsṇa’s thoughts:
“Well, it’s true. For a kṣatriya like me, fighting is the supreme duty. But in this particular circum-
stance, I don’t want to become involved because I fear the sinful reactions for killing family mem-
bers.”
In response, Kṛṣṇa, in a chastising mood, speaks this verse beginning yad ahaìkāram. “Now
you are not honoring My words, but later, because you are a great hero, your natural eagerness to
fight will unavoidably manifest itself. Then, when you set out to kill Bhīṣma and the others on your
own accord, I will laugh at you.”
We should note Kṛṣṇa’s words: Whether or not Arjuna surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, he will fight.
Why, then, chapter after chapter, has Kṛṣṇa pushed Arjuna to fight? What was the necessity of
Kṛṣṇa’s offering numerous instructions?
Kṛṣṇa wanted Arjuna to fight in the proper consciousness—in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore He
told Arjuna to surrender unto Him and fight on His order with devotion. “Do it,” Kṛṣṇa explained,
“because I have already killed Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Droṇa—all these warriors.” The armies have already
been defeated, and the battle has already been won. Kṛṣṇa doesn’t require Arjuna’s martial skill for
victory, but He wants Arjuna to act with devotion as His instrument. Arjuna’s devotion will be ex-
pressed by fighting on the battlefield.
Śrīla Prabhupāda once explained during a 1974 morning walk in Los Angeles: “Somebody protested
that ‘Your Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement makes people dull,’ but they have not seen the Vai-
ṣṇava. There were two fights in Indian history. One was between Rāma and Rāvaṇa and one was
at Kurukṣetra. And the hero in both was a Vaiṣṇava. We are going to produce such Vaiṣṇavas, not
these dull rascals, sitting down. We don’t want these Vaiṣṇavas—sitting-down rascals. We want
Arjuna or we want no one. That is a Vaiṣṇava.”
Text 18.60: Kṛṣṇa herein continues instructing all conditioned souls to surrender to Him because it is
in their own interest. If we choose not to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, however, it does not mean that we
will be able to remain independent. All—those who surrender and those who do not—are con-
trolled. The difference is that the surrendered souls are controlled and protected by Kṛṣṇa, and the
unsurrendered are forced to dance like marionettes, their strings pulled by illusion.
18.59 यत् if? अहङ्कारम् egoism? आश्रित्य having taken refuge in? न not? योत्स्ये (I) will fight? इति thus? मन्यसे (thou) thinkest? मिथ्या vain? एषः this? व्यवसायः resolve? ते thy? प्रकृतिः nature? त्वाम् thee? नियोक्ष्यति will compel.Commentary This strong determination of thy mind will be rendered utterly futile by thy inner nature thy nature will constrain thee thy nature as a warrior will compel thee to fight. It is a mere illusion to say that thou art Arjuna? that these are thy relatives and that to kill them will be a sin.
- Recognize that nature will compel what dharma asks.
- Don't waste energy resisting; align.
- Trust the deep current.
- Where am I resisting what nature will compel anyway?
- What would early alignment offer?
A river that has carved its bed for ten thousand years cannot be diverted by the sudden refusal of one droplet. Arjuna's nature is the bed; his ahaṅkāra-led 'I shall not fight' is the droplet. The riverbed will assert itself.
My note
Source: vedabase.io