Verse 18.59
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
यदहंकारमाश्रित्य न योत्स्य इति मन्यसे | मिथ्यैष व्यवसायस्ते प्रकृतिस्त्वां नियोक्ष्यति ||५९||
Transliteration (IAST)
yad ahaṁkāram āśritya na yotsya iti manyase | mithyaiṣa vyavasāyas te prakṛtis tvāṁ niyokṣyati ||59||
Word-by-Word Meanings
ahaṁkāram-egoism
āśritya-taking refuge in
na yotsye-I will not fight
manyase-you think
mithyā-vain/false
vyavasāyaḥ-resolve/determination
prakṛtiḥ-nature
niyokṣyati-will compel
Translation
If, taking refuge in egoism, you think 'I will not fight,' vain is this resolve of yours - your own nature will compel you.
Commentary
Krishna directly addresses Arjuna's earlier reluctance to fight. Shankaracharya explains that one's svabhava (innate nature) is more powerful than any intellectual resolve against it. A warrior's nature will inevitably drive him to action. Ramanuja notes that this is not fatalism but recognition that suppressing one's dharmic nature leads to greater suffering than following it.
Themes
dharmadutykarma