Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 3
Bhagavad Gītā 2.3: Stand up!
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते ।
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ॥
klaibyaṃ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitattvayyupapadyate
kṣudraṃ hṛdayadaurbalyaṃ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
Do not yield to unmanliness, Pārtha; it does not become you. Cast off this petty faint-heartedness and arise, scorcher of foes. “Uttiṣṭha”, stand up, is one of the Gītā’s best-known calls; Kṛṣṇa appeals to Arjuna’s own nature before giving any argument.
For children
Krishna says: “Don’t give up, Arjuna! You are brave. Let go of this little fear and stand up!”
Kṛṣṇa continues his first words to Arjuna (2.2), ending with a call to action.
Word by word
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ — Do not give in to weakness, Arjuna
- klaibya: weakness, unmanliness
- mā sma gamaḥ: do not give in to
- pārtha: son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)
नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते — it does not suit you
- na: not
- etad: this
- tvayi: in you
- upapadyate: is fitting
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं — This small weakness of the heart
- kṣudra: small, petty
- hṛdaya: heart
- daurbalya: weakness
त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप — let it go and stand up, brave one
- tyaktvā: having given up
- uttiṣṭha: stand up!
- parantapa: scorcher of foes (Arjuna)
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.