Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 3 › Verse 36
Bhagavad Gītā 3.36: What pushes us to do wrong?
अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुषः ।
अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥
atha kena prayukto'yaṃ pāpaṃ carati pūruṣaḥ
anicchannapi vārṣṇeya balādiva niyojitaḥ
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
Then, impelled by what does a person commit sin, even against their will, O Vārṣṇeya, as if driven by force? Arjuna voices the universal experience of acting against one’s better judgement; Kṛṣṇa’s answer (3.37–3.43) names the force and how to master it.
For children
Arjuna asks: “Krishna, why do people sometimes do bad things, even when they don’t want to?”
Arjuna asks a new question after Kṛṣṇa’s words on likes and dislikes (3.34–3.35).
Word by word
अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं — Then what pushes a person
- atha: then
- kena: by what
- prayukta: pushed, driven
- ayam: this (person)
पापं चरति पूरुषः — to do wrong
- pāpa: wrong, sin
- carati: does
- pūruṣa: a person
अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय — even when they don’t want to, Kṛṣṇa
- anicchan: not wanting
- api: even
- vārṣṇeya: Kṛṣṇa (of the Vṛṣṇi clan)
बलादिव नियोजितः — as if forced?
- balāt: by force
- iva: as if
- niyojita: made to act
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.