Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 3 › Verse 1
Bhagavad Gītā 3.1: Why must I act?
ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन ।
तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव ॥
jyāyasī cetkarmaṇaste matā buddhirjanārdana
tatkiṃ karmaṇi ghore māṃ niyojayasi keśava
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
If You hold that understanding is superior to action, O Janārdana, why then do You urge me into this dreadful deed, O Keśava? Arjuna has heard the praise of buddhi in chapter 2 as a case against acting at all; chapter 3, on karma-yoga, is Kṛṣṇa’s answer.
For children
Arjuna asks: “Krishna, you said that understanding is better than doing. So why are you asking me to do something so hard?”
Chapter 3 opens with Arjuna’s question about Kṛṣṇa’s praise of wisdom at the end of chapter 2.
Word by word
ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते — If You think understanding is better than action
- jyāyasī: better, greater
- cet: if
- karmaṇaḥ: than action
मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन — O Kṛṣṇa
- matā: thought, considered
- buddhi: understanding, wisdom
- janārdana: Kṛṣṇa
तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां — then why do You push me into this terrible deed
- tat kim: then why
- karman: action
- ghora: terrible
नियोजयसि केशव — O Keśava?
- niyojayasi: you push, you engage
- keśava: Kṛṣṇa
Arjuna 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.