Chapter 6, Verse 39
एतन्मे संशयं कृष्ण छेत्तुमर्हस्यशेषतः | त्वदन्यः संशयस्यास्य छेत्ता न ह्युपपद्यते ||६-३९||
etanme saṃśayaṃ kṛṣṇa chettumarhasyaśeṣataḥ . tvadanyaḥ saṃśayasyāsya chettā na hyupapadyate ||6-39||
Meaning
6.39 This doubt of mine, O Krishna, do Thou dispel completely; because it is not possible for any but Thee to dispel this doubt.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Arjuna closes his line of questioning with a beautiful expression of trust and surrender. He asks Krishna to dispel this samshaya — this doubt — asheshatah, completely, leaving nothing unresolved. And he adds a moving statement of faith: no one but Krishna is capable of cutting through this doubt. He has brought his deepest uncertainty to the only one he believes can truly resolve it.
This verse models the right relationship between seeker and teacher. Arjuna does not wrestle alone with a doubt too great for him, nor does he pretend it does not exist. He brings it openly and humbly to his guide, confident that genuine wisdom can dissolve what mere argument cannot. The word chettum, 'to cut', suggests a doubt severed cleanly at the root, not merely soothed. By placing his confusion entirely in Krishna's hands, Arjuna shows the trust that makes real teaching possible — and prepares the ground to receive an answer that will lay his fear completely to rest.
💡 Key Takeaway
When a doubt is too deep to resolve alone, bring it openly and humbly to a trusted source of wisdom.
Related Verses
प्रशान्तात्मा विगतभीर्ब्रह्मचारिव्रते स्थितः | मनः संयम्य मच्चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्परः ||६-१४||
praśāntātmā vigatabhīrbrahmacārivrate sthitaḥ . manaḥ saṃyamya maccitto yukta āsīta matparaḥ ||6-14||
6.14 Serene-minded, fearless, firm in the vow of a Brahmachari, having controlled the mind, thinking of Me and balanced in mind, let him sit, having Me as his supreme goal.
अर्जुन उवाच | योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन | एतस्याहं न पश्यामि चञ्चलत्वात्स्थितिं स्थिराम् ||६-३३||
arjuna uvāca . yo.ayaṃ yogastvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana . etasyāhaṃ na paśyāmi cañcalatvātsthitiṃ sthirām ||6-33||
6.33 Arjuna said This Yoga of eanimity taught by Thee, O Krishna, I do not see its steady continuance, because of the restlessness (of the mind).
अर्जुन उवाच | अयतिः श्रद्धयोपेतो योगाच्चलितमानसः | अप्राप्य योगसंसिद्धिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ||६-३७||
arjuna uvāca . ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāccalitamānasaḥ . aprāpya yogasaṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati ||6-37||
6.37 Arjuna said He who is unable to control himself though he has the faith, and whose mind wanders away from Yoga, what end does he, having failed to attain perfection in Yoga, mee,t O Krishna?