Verse 18.59
यदहङ्कारमाश्रित्य न योत्स्य इति मन्यसे ।
मिथ्यैष व्यवसायस्ते प्रकृतिस्त्वां नियोक्ष्यति ॥
Transliteration
yadahaṅkāramāśritya na yotsya iti manyase |
mithyaiṣa vyavasāyaste prakṛtistvāṃ niyokṣyati ||
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3
Translation
If, filled with egoism, thou thinkest: "I will not fight", vain is this, thy resolve; Nature will compel thee.
From the owner's sheet · +1 more
If, relying on ego, you think, I will not fight, this resolve of yours is in vain; your own nature will compel you.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08 · +1 more
Word by word
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08
Explanation
Krishna confronts Arjuna's original refusal. If, out of ego, he decides not to fight, his resolve is false, because his own nature (prakṛti) will drive him to act. The verse is psychological as much as moral. Arjuna's warrior nature will not stay still; refusal born of temporary confusion cannot hold against his deeper character. Krishna is telling him that the real question is not whether he will act, but whether he will act with understanding.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08