Chapter 3, Verse 1
अर्जुन उवाच | ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन | तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव ||३-१||
arjuna uvāca . jyāyasī cetkarmaṇaste matā buddhirjanārdana . tatkiṃ karmaṇi ghore māṃ niyojayasi keśava ||3-1||
Meaning
3.1 Arjuna said If Thou thinkest that knowledge is superior to action, O Krishna, why then, O Kesava, dost Thou ask me to engage in this terrible action?
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Chapter three opens with Arjuna voicing a confusion that troubles every sincere seeker. In the previous chapter Krishna praised buddhi-yoga, the path of steady wisdom, seeming to rank inner knowledge above outward action. Arjuna naturally asks: if jnana is the higher path, why push me toward the ghora karma — the 'terrible action' of war?
His question reflects a very human tendency to read spiritual teaching as a permission to withdraw. Notice that he addresses Krishna as Janardana and Keshava, names that carry intimacy and reverence — he is not rebelling but genuinely struggling to reconcile contemplation with duty. This honest doubt sets up the entire chapter's teaching: that knowledge and action are not rivals but partners on one road.
💡 Key Takeaway
When spiritual ideals seem to clash with hard duties, bring the confusion into the open rather than using it as an excuse to retreat.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | लोकेऽस्मिन् द्विविधा निष्ठा पुरा प्रोक्ता मयानघ | ज्ञानयोगेन साङ्ख्यानां कर्मयोगेन योगिनाम् ||३-३||
śrībhagavānuvāca . loke.asmina dvividhā niṣṭhā purā proktā mayānagha . jñānayogena sāṅkhyānāṃ karmayogena yoginām ||3-3||
3.3 The Blessed Lord said In this world there is a twofold path, as I said before, O sinless one; the path of knowledge of the Sankhyas and the path of action of the Yogins.
न कर्मणामनारम्भान्नैष्कर्म्यं पुरुषोऽश्नुते | न च संन्यसनादेव सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति ||३-४||
na karmaṇāmanārambhānnaiṣkarmyaṃ puruṣo.aśnute . na ca saṃnyasanādeva siddhiṃ samadhigacchati ||3-4||
3.4 Not by non-performance of actions does man reach actionlessness; nor by mere renunciation does he attain to perfection.
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् | कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ||३-५||
na hi kaścitkṣaṇamapi jātu tiṣṭhatyakarmakṛt . kāryate hyavaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛtijairguṇaiḥ ||3-5||
3.5 Verily none can ever remain for even a moment without performing action; for everyone is made to act helplessly indeed by the alities born of Nature.