Sanskrit
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते । क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ॥
klaibyaṃ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayy upapadyate kṣudraṃ hṛdayadaurbalyaṃ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa
Translation
Yield not to impotence, O Partha! it doth not befit thee. Shake off this paltry faint-heartedness! Stand up, Parantapa!
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The rebuke sharpens into a direct command: stand up. “Klaibya” (rendered “impotence” here) is unsparing — Krishna is naming Arjuna’s collapse as unmanliness, not sensitivity. Nothing philosophical has been offered yet; this is a warrior being called back to himself before the argument even starts. “Uttiṣṭha” — rise — is the same imperative that will close the argument from consequences at BG 2.37 and echo through the whole Gita. Arjuna’s answer, at BG 2.4, is to refuse it and give his reason.
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Word by word
- klaibyaṃक्लैब्यं
- unmanliness, faint-heartedness
- mā sma gamaḥमा स्म गमः
- do not give way to (mā + sma + gamaḥ)
- pārthaपार्थ
- O Pārtha — son of Pṛthā (Kuntī)
- naitat tvayy upapadyateनैतत् त्वय्य् उपपद्यते
- this does not befit you (na + etat + upapadyate)
- kṣudraṃक्षुद्रं
- petty, mean
- hṛdayadaurbalyaṃहृदयदौर्बल्यं
- weakness of heart (hṛdaya-daurbalyam)
- tyaktvottiṣṭhaत्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ
- casting it off, stand up (tyaktvā + uttiṣṭha)
- parantapaपरन्तप
- O scorcher of the foe
Commentary
Site Commentary
Notice Krishna doesn’t reason with Arjuna here at all — he commands, and he commands by name: “Parantapa,” scorcher of foes, an epithet that reminds Arjuna who he already is rather than telling him who to become. The rebuke works by identity, not argument — it summons the self Arjuna has apparently forgotten, and only after that does the actual philosophy begin.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you're stuck and looping, sometimes what unlocks you isn't a new argument but a reminder of who you already are and have been — call yourself back to your own track record before you look for a new reason to act.
Professional
- When a capable teammate freezes under pressure, sometimes the most useful thing you can say isn't a new argument but a reminder of their own track record — reconnecting them to their own competence unlocks action faster than a fresh case for confidence.
Family & Social
- When someone close to you is stuck in self-doubt, try reminding them of who they already are and what they've already done, rather than building a new argument for why they should feel better — identity can move someone before reasoning does.
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