Sanskrit
बलं बलवतामस्मि कामरागविवर्जितम् । धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ ॥ ११ ॥
balaṃ balavatām asmi kāmarāgavivarjitam dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo'smi bharatarṣabha
Translation
And I the strength of the strong, devoid of desire and passion. In beings I am desire not contrary to duty, O Lord of the Bharatas.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The list closes on desire, but with an explicit qualifier: not desire as such, but desire “not contrary to dharma” (dharmāviruddhaḥ). This is the one place in the verse-8-to-11 sequence where Krishna names a moral boundary rather than a neutral essence, and it matters for what follows — verse 20 will describe desire that ignores this boundary, going “forth to other gods,” as precisely the failure mode this qualifier rules out. Dharma-aviruddha kāma — “desire not at odds with dharma” — is the Gita’s only positive word for wanting: the impulse to act rightly is itself divine. BG 7.20 shows what the same impulse becomes once the qualifier is dropped.
Study deeper
Word by word
- balaṃ balavatām asmiबलं बलवतां अस्मि
- I am the strength of the strong (balam + balavatām + asmi)
- kāmarāgavivarjitamकामरागविवर्जितं
- free of desire and attachment (kāma-rāga-vivarjitam)
- dharmāviruddho bhūteṣuधर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु
- not opposed to dharma, in beings (dharma-aviruddhaḥ + bhūteṣu)
- kāmo'smi bharatarṣabhaकामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ
- I am desire, O bull of the Bharatas (kāmaḥ + asmi + bharata-ṛṣabha)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Every other item on this list — taste, light, sound, splendor — is claimed by Krishna without qualification. Desire is the one exception: it’s claimed only in its dharma-aligned form, with the rest of desire left conspicuously unclaimed. The list isn’t just enumerating divine presence, it’s marking the one place where presence has a boundary, which tells you more about desire’s danger than a direct warning would have.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Notice that desire is the one drive in your life that genuinely needs a boundary condition — unlike curiosity or effort, unchecked desire is the one that reliably needs a 'not contrary to' clause attached to stay safe. Ask what that boundary is for you before you act on a strong want.
Professional
- Of all the drives that fuel good work — curiosity, ambition, care for the outcome — ambition specifically is the one that needs an explicit boundary condition attached, a stated 'not at the expense of X.' Name that boundary before ambition runs unchecked.
Family & Social
- Wanting things for the people you love is natural, but it's the one impulse in a relationship that most reliably needs a boundary — wanting what's good for them within what's actually right for them, not simply what you want for them.
Ask yourself
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