Chapter 7, Verse 27
इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत | सर्वभूतानि सम्मोहं सर्गे यान्ति परन्तप ||७-२७||
icchādveṣasamutthena dvandvamohena bhārata . sarvabhūtāni sammohaṃ sarge yānti parantapa ||7-27||
Meaning
7.27 By the delusion of the pairs of opposites arising from desire and aversion, O Bharata, all beings are subject to delusion at birth, O Parantapa.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna diagnoses the root of bondage: the dvandva, the pairs of opposites — pleasure and pain, gain and loss, honour and disgrace — which spring from desire (iccha) and aversion (dvesha). From the moment of birth, beings are caught in this pendulum, chasing the pleasant and fleeing the unpleasant, and in that ceaseless reaction they fall into delusion, losing sight of the changeless Self.
The insight is psychologically precise. Almost every movement of the unawakened mind is a 'yes' to what we like or a 'no' to what we dislike, and this restless preference keeps us spinning. To be free is not to feel nothing, but to stop being dragged by these opposites. The seeker who learns to meet pleasure and pain with the same steady equanimity steps out of the trance and recovers clear sight of the Divine that lies beyond the swinging pairs.
💡 Key Takeaway
Most of our suffering is being dragged by likes and dislikes — meet the pairs of opposites with equanimity to step out of the trance.
Related Verses
अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् | जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ||७-५||
apareyamitastvanyāṃ prakṛtiṃ viddhi me parām . jīvabhūtāṃ mahābāho yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat ||7-5||
7.5 This is the inferior Prakriti, O mighty-armed (Arjuna); know thou as different from it My higher Prakriti (Nature), the very life-element, by which this world is upheld.
बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् | धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ ||७-११||
balaṃ balavatāṃ cāhaṃ kāmarāgavivarjitam . dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo.asmi bharatarṣabha ||7-11||
7.11 Of the strong, I am the strength devoid of desire and attachment, and in (all) beings, I am the desire unopposed to Dharma, O Arjuna.
त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत् | मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम् ||७-१३||
tribhirguṇamayairbhāvairebhiḥ sarvamidaṃ jagat . mohitaṃ nābhijānāti māmebhyaḥ paramavyayam ||7-13||
7.13 Deluded by these Natures (states or things) composed of the three alities of Nature all this world does not know Me as distinct from them and immutable.