Sanskrit
तस्मात्त्वमुत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व जित्वा शत्रून्भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम् । मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन् ॥
tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṃ samṛddham mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva nimittamātraṃ bhava savyasācin
Translation
Therefore stand up! win for thyself renown, Conquer thy foes, enjoy the wealth filled realm, By Me they are already overcome, Be thou the outward cause, left-handed one.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
“Nimitta-mātraṃ bhava” — be merely the occasion — may be the single most compressed statement of karma yoga’s whole argument about agency anywhere in the poem. Arjuna is not being told his actions don’t matter or that he bears no responsibility; he’s being told his role in an outcome already settled by “kālo’smi” in the verse before is instrumental rather than causal, closer to a lit match than to an arsonist. Chapter 2 argued this same reassignment of agency through logic and the doctrine of the unkillable self; here it arrives as a plain command from someone who has just finished demonstrating, rather than arguing, why the outcome is fixed. Nimitta-mātraṃ bhava — “be merely the occasion” — is the most compressed statement of karma-yoga’s argument about agency in the poem. Not “your actions don’t matter,” but: your role in an outcome already settled by kālo ‘smi is instrumental, closer to a lit match than an arsonist. Chapter 2 argued this; here it is demonstrated.
Study deeper
Word by word
- tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasvaतस्मात् त्वं उत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व
- therefore rise, win glory (tasmāt + tvam + uttiṣṭha + yaśaḥ + labhasva)
- jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṃ samṛddhamजित्वा शत्रून् भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धं
- conquering the foe, enjoy a flourishing kingdom (jitvā + śatrūn + bhuṅkṣva + rājyam + samṛddham)
- mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam evaमयैवैते निहताः पूर्वं एव
- by Me alone are these already slain (mayā + eva + ete + nihatāḥ + pūrvam + eva)
- nimittamātraṃ bhava savyasācinनिमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन्
- be but the instrument, O Savyasācin (nimitta-mātram + bhava + savya-sācin)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Notice the order: Krishna promises fame and a rich kingdom to enjoy before he mentions that Arjuna isn’t actually the cause of the victory. Reward language and instrumental language sit back to back without apparent friction, which is itself the teaching — you can be handed the fruit of an outcome and still hold, honestly, that you weren’t its ultimate author.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- You can accept credit, a reward, or the benefit of an outcome without needing to believe you were its sole cause — holding both at once, that you get to enjoy this and weren't the only reason it happened, is more honest than either false modesty or overclaiming.
Professional
- When a project succeeds, you can accept the promotion or recognition that follows without insisting the win was entirely your doing — acknowledging the market timing, the team, or plain circumstance doesn't cost you the reward, it just keeps your account of it accurate.
Family & Social
- When your family celebrates a milestone you had a hand in, let yourself enjoy the celebration without needing the story to be that you alone made it happen — accepting the moment and accurately crediting everyone who carried it aren't in tension.
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