Chapter 18, Verse 60
स्वभावजेन कौन्तेय निबद्धः स्वेन कर्मणा | कर्तुं नेच्छसि यन्मोहात्करिष्यस्यवशोपि तत् ||१८-६०||
svabhāvajena kaunteya nibaddhaḥ svena karmaṇā . kartuṃ necchasi yanmohātkariṣyasyavaśopi tat ||18-60||
Meaning
18.60 O Arjuna, bound by thy own Karma (action) born of thy own nature, that which from delusion thou wishest not to do, even that thou shalt do helplessly.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna drives the point home. Bound by your own karma born of your innate nature, the very thing you now refuse to do out of moha (delusion), you will end up doing anyway — avasha, helplessly, against your will.
This is both a warning and a strange comfort. The momentum of one's deep tendencies cannot simply be wished away; ignoring or suppressing them only means they erupt later beyond one's control. Far better, Krishna implies, to act knowingly and willingly than to be dragged along blindly. Understanding the power of svabhava invites us to work with our nature consciously and devotionally, rather than be ruled by it unconsciously through delusion.
💡 Key Takeaway
What you refuse to do out of delusion, your own nature will compel you to do anyway, so act consciously.
Related Verses
नियतस्य तु संन्यासः कर्मणो नोपपद्यते | मोहात्तस्य परित्यागस्तामसः परिकीर्तितः ||१८-७||
niyatasya tu saṃnyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate . mohāttasya parityāgastāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||18-7||
18.7 Verily the renunciation of obligatory action is not proper; the abandonment of the same from delusion is declared to be Tamasic.
अनिष्टमिष्टं मिश्रं च त्रिविधं कर्मणः फलम् | भवत्यत्यागिनां प्रेत्य न तु संन्यासिनां क्वचित् ||१८-१२||
aniṣṭamiṣṭaṃ miśraṃ ca trividhaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam . bhavatyatyāgināṃ pretya na tu saṃnyāsināṃ kvacit ||18-12||
18.12 The threefold fruit of action (evil, good and mixed) accrues after death to the non-abandoners, but never to the abandoners.
यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते | हत्वाऽपि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते ||१८-१७||
yasya nāhaṃkṛto bhāvo buddhiryasya na lipyate . hatvā.api sa imā.Nllokānna hanti na nibadhyate ||18-17||
18.17 He who is free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted (by good or evil), though he slays these people, he slayeth not, nor is he bound (by the action).