Sanskrit
स्वभावजेन कौन्तेय निबद्धः स्वेन कर्मणा । कर्तुं नेच्छसि यन्मोहात्करिष्यस्यवशोऽपि तत् ॥ ६० ॥
svabhāva-jena kaunteya nibaddhaḥ svena karmaṇā kartuṃ necchasi yan mohāt kariṣyasy avaśo'pi tat
Translation
O son of Kuntî, bound by thine own duty born of thine own nature, that which from delusion thou desirest not to do, even that helplessly thou shalt perform.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The dismantling continues: bound by his own nature-born duty, whatever Arjuna refuses out of delusion he will helplessly perform anyway. Krishna’s claim isn’t merely that fighting would be good for Arjuna, it’s that refusal was never really available to him — bound by svabhava-born karma, he will act as a Kshatriya whether or not his ego consents, a hard determinist note that sits deliberately, and uneasily, next to the freedom Krishna grants back explicitly just a few verses later at 63. Svabhāva-jena karmaṇā nibaddhaḥ… avaśo ‘pi — “bound by your own nature’s action, you will do, even helpless, the thing you now refuse through delusion.” A kṣatriya’s nature does not stop being a kṣatriya’s because the mind recoils.
Study deeper
Word by word
- svabhāva-jena kaunteya nibaddhaḥस्वभाव-जेन कौन्तेय निबद्धः
- bound by your own nature-born (svabhāva-jena + kaunteya + nibaddhaḥ)
- svena karmaṇāस्वेन कर्मणा
- action of your own (svena + karmaṇā)
- kartuṃ necchasi yan mohātकर्तुं नेच्छसि यन् मोहात्
- what you do not wish to do through delusion (kartum + na + icchasi + yat + mohāt)
- kariṣyasy avaśo'pi tatकरिष्यस्य् अवशोऽपि तत्
- you will do, even helpless (kariṣyasi + avaśaḥ + api + tat)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Krishna doesn’t promise Arjuna’s reluctance will dissolve — moha, the delusion behind “I don’t want to,” is allowed to keep operating right alongside the compelled action. Agreement was never the precondition for the outcome; svabhava’s given form as karma acts through the resistance, not after it clears. That’s a stranger claim than simple determinism: not that Arjuna will come around, but that he’ll act while still, in some sense, unconvinced.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- You don't have to fully agree with or feel ready for something your own deeper nature is clearly pulling you toward — reluctance and compelled action can coexist, so don't wait for inner agreement before you let yourself move.
Professional
- A team member resisting a role change that clearly fits their strengths doesn't need full agreement first — sometimes the honest path is letting them step into it while the reluctance is still present, rather than waiting for buy-in that may never fully arrive.
Family & Social
- Someone in your family might do the right thing for the relationship while still feeling unconvinced or resistant internally — don't require them to first feel fully on board; let the action and the lingering doubt coexist for a while.
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