Chapter 18, Verse 58
मच्चित्तः सर्वदुर्गाणि मत्प्रसादात्तरिष्यसि | अथ चेत्त्वमहंकारान्न श्रोष्यसि विनङ्क्ष्यसि ||१८-५८||
maccittaḥ sarvadurgāṇi matprasādāttariṣyasi . atha cettvamahaṃkārānna śroṣyasi vinaṅkṣyasi ||18-58||
Meaning
18.58 Fixing thy mind on Me, thou shalt by My grace overcome all obstacles; but if from egoism thou wilt not hear Me, thou shalt perish.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna sets out the promise and the warning side by side. With the mind fixed on Him, one crosses all difficulties (sarva-durgani) by His grace. But if, out of ahankara — egoism — one refuses to listen, one is lost.
The contrast is stark and compassionate. Grace is freely available, but it must be received, and the one thing that blocks it is the ego's stubborn self-will. The same self-reliant pride that whispers 'I know better, I'll do it my way' cuts a person off from the help that would carry them through every trial. The teaching is humbling: our deepest obstacle is not the world's difficulty but our own egoism, and surrender is the key that unlocks divine grace.
💡 Key Takeaway
Surrendered, you cross every obstacle by grace; but ego that refuses to listen leads only to ruin.
Related Verses
पञ्चैतानि महाबाहो कारणानि निबोध मे | साङ्ख्ये कृतान्ते प्रोक्तानि सिद्धये सर्वकर्मणाम् ||१८-१३||
pañcaitāni mahābāho kāraṇāni nibodha me . sāṅkhye kṛtānte proktāni siddhaye sarvakarmaṇām ||18-13||
18.13 Learn from Me, O mighty-armed Arjuna, these five causes as declared in the Sankhya system for the accomplishment of all actions.
अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम् | विविधाश्च पृथक्चेष्टा दैवं चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ||१८-१४||
adhiṣṭhānaṃ tathā kartā karaṇaṃ ca pṛthagvidham . vividhāśca pṛthakceṣṭā daivaṃ caivātra pañcamam ||18-14||
18.14 The seat (body), the doer, the various senses, the different functions of various sorts, and the presiding deity, also, the fifth.
तत्रैवं सति कर्तारमात्मानं केवलं तु यः | पश्यत्यकृतबुद्धित्वान्न स पश्यति दुर्मतिः ||१८-१६||
tatraivaṃ sati kartāramātmānaṃ kevalaṃ tu yaḥ . paśyatyakṛtabuddhitvānna sa paśyati durmatiḥ ||18-16||
18.16 Now, such being the case, verily he who owing to untrained understanding looks upon his Self, which is isolated, as the agent, he of perverted intelligence, sees not.