Chapter 3, Verse 43
एवं बुद्धेः परं बुद्ध्वा संस्तभ्यात्मानमात्मना | जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम् ||३-४३||
evaṃ buddheḥ paraṃ buddhvā saṃstabhyātmānamātmanā . jahi śatruṃ mahābāho kāmarūpaṃ durāsadam ||3-43||
Meaning
3.43 Thus knowing Him Who is superior to the intellect and restraining the self by the Self, slay thou, O mighty-armed Arjuna, the enemy in the form of desire, hard to coner.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna brings the chapter to a stirring climax. Having understood the Self that transcends even the intellect, Arjuna is told to steady the lower self by the higher Self — samstabhya atmanam atmana — and with that inner strength to slay the enemy in the form of desire, which is durasada, formidable and hard to conquer.
Here the whole teaching converges. The conquest of desire is not achieved by the ego struggling against itself, but by drawing on the power of the Self, the supreme awareness beyond the intellect. Anchored in that deeper identity, one gains the steadiness and strength to overcome even this most stubborn foe. Krishna does not minimize the difficulty — desire is durasada — yet he affirms it can be conquered when we fight from the right ground. Self mastered by the Self: this is the secret of victory, and the resolute note on which the chapter of action concludes.
💡 Key Takeaway
Conquer desire not by ego-driven struggle but by anchoring in your highest Self — formidable as it is, it yields to that deeper strength.
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.
यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः | आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ||३-१७||
yastvātmaratireva syādātmatṛptaśca mānavaḥ . ātmanyeva ca santuṣṭastasya kāryaṃ na vidyate ||3-17||
3.17 But for that man who rejoices only in the Self, who is satisfied with the Self and who is content in the Self alone, verily there is nothing to do.
सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर्ज्ञानवानपि | प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रहः किं करिष्यति ||३-३३||
sadṛśaṃ ceṣṭate svasyāḥ prakṛterjñānavānapi . prakṛtiṃ yānti bhūtāni nigrahaḥ kiṃ kariṣyati ||3-33||
3.33 Even a wise man acts in accordance with his own nature; beings will follow Nature; what can restraint do?