BG 18.59 — Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 18.59Chapter 18 · Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

यदहङ्कारमाश्रित्य न योत्स्य इति मन्यसे ।

मिथ्यैष व्यवसायस्ते प्रकृतिस्त्वां नियोक्ष्यति ॥

yadahaṅkāramāśritya na yotsya iti manyase

mithyaiṣa vyavasāyaste prakṛtistvāṃ niyokṣyati

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

If you think "I will not fight" and lean on your sense of self to back that up, that resolve is hollow. Your own nature will drive you to battle.

ekras · bhāṣya

Yat — what. Ahamkaram ashritya — taking refuge in ahamkara. Na yotsye iti manyase — you think 'I will not fight.' Mithya esha vyavasayah te — false is this resolve of yours. Prakritih tvam niyokshyati — prakriti will compel you.

Krishna calls Arjuna out directly: the resolve to refuse battle is mithya, because prakriti — Arjuna's kshatriya-svabhava — will drive him to fight regardless. The chapter's argument arrives at the warrior's actual situation.

Shankara reads should you, relying on ahamkara — the false 'I'-sense — resolve 'na yotsye,' that resolve is mithya — not because the choice is wicked but because the one who chooses does not exist as an independent agent. Prakriti — the field of nature including the gunas binding the body-mind — will drive you to battle regardless, because the doer you imagine is not the actual doer. The chapter's metaphysics arrives at Arjuna's specific case: the refusal is structurally impossible.

Madhusudana identifies two layers of ahamkara operating simultaneously: the gross 'I-am-a-warrior' identity and a subtler dharmic pride — 'I am righteous, I will not do this cruel act.' Both are mithya-abhimana because they presuppose an independent agent capable of renouncing. Prakriti is the kshatriya-jati-arambhaka rajo-guna-svabhava — the deep conditioning that makes the kshatriya kshatriya. The two ahamkara layers and the prakriti-current together constitute Arjuna's actual condition.

Ramanuja reads Arjuna as imagining svatantrya — capacity to know what is beneficial and harmful for himself and to act accordingly outside the Lord's command. Ahamkara here is precisely this illusion of self-sufficiency: 'I alone know what is right for me.' The resolve to refuse the Lord's niyoga is mithya because Bhagavan is the antaryamin who alone determines the right course. The bhakti-frame's diagnosis is theological: refusing Krishna's command is structurally impossible for an antaryamin-grounded jiva.

Madhva reads ahamkara as the false identificatory ego that Krishna names as the obstacle. The jiva is paratantra, wholly subordinate to svatantra Hari. Any resolve that presumes the jiva can override Hari's will is mithya. Prakriti — Hari's own structuring shakti — will drive the jiva to perform what its svabhava-station requires. The bheda-frame's argument lands hard: real jiva, real resolve, real mithya, real prakriti-compulsion.

Vallabha reads through the lens of seva: Arjuna's 'na yotsye' is mithya — vyartha, fruitless — because it mistakes the ego's revulsion for legitimate claim. Prakriti here is Krishna's bahirangashakti — external power — operating according to the Lord's guna-svarupa. The pushti-marga reading: the bhakta cannot refuse the seva-shape Krishna has assigned; the refusal will fail because prasada-flow has structured the bhakta's whole condition.

Shridhara reads Arjuna's interior monologue as a species of dharmic pride: 'let me perish rather than fight my kin.' That refusal, anchored in ahamkara, ignores Krishna's direct counsel — mat-uktam anadrtya. The vyavasaya is mithya because Arjuna is not svatantra; his being is constituted by rajas-guna in its kshatriya form, which is rajo-guna-rupa Prakriti operating. The chapter's most direct address to Arjuna's specific situation lands here.

Context

where

Chapter 18 · Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 18.58

Keep your mind on Me and you will cross every hard passage by My grace; if pride makes you refuse My word, you will fall.

What's going on

If you think “I will not fight” and lean on your sense of self to back that up, that resolve is hollow. Your own nature will drive you to battle.

Sūtras through this verse (113)

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

13.1Two niṣṭhās, three kāṇḍas — keystone.───→here18.59───→18.78Sealed: the means stands on the end stands.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

18.46Worship the One through natural work.───→here18.59───→18.60What nature compels, do it as worship.

RāmānujaclassicalA

World as the Lord's body (antaryāmin)between

18.46The cluster is recalled.───→here18.59───→18.61Beings as on a machine.

show all 113

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanabetween · other

12.20Mat-paramāḥ as upasaṃhāra───→here18.59───→18.66Take refuge in Me alone

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingbetween

12.20Holding-Me-supreme seals the bhakti chapter.───→here18.59───→18.66Drop every duty; take refuge in Me alone.

MadhusūdanaclassicalF

Every middle chapter opens with a bow to the teacherbetween

15.20The closing verse names Krishna as the supreme.───→here18.59───→18.78Vyāsa, Śaṅkara, and I: one lineage named.

MadhusūdanaclassicalH

Krishna with form is the ground beneath formless Brahmanbetween

15.1Chapter fifteen unfolds what fourteen sealed.───→here18.59───→18.66Final refuge in Me is final refuge in the ground.

MadhusūdanaclassicalK

Arjuna's grief has two roots, not onebetween

11.1Arjuna marks the universal moha cured.───→here18.59───→18.73Confusion gone, memory gained — the cure complete.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsexit

18.1Three kinds of renouncing, one for each grade.───→here18.59───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landexit

18.55Even hearing and reflecting need purity.───→here18.59───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalE

Devotion is how knowing actually arrivesexit

18.55Bhakti is the engine of the highest knowing.───→here18.59───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherexit

18.1At the very end, the line still holds.───→here18.59───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalI

Liberation while alive — the body finishes its runexit

18.55Knowing burns ignorance; body burns its arc.───→here18.59───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalJ

Two kinds of nature — divine and demonicexit

18.1Even renouncing splits into three by disposition.───→here18.59───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalB

Three hexads = tat tvam asibetween

15.20Whole teaching named guhyatamaṃ śāstram.───→here18.59───→18.78Colophon: three kāṇḍas, one śāstra.

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledbetween

12.12Bhakti's gradient is jijñāsu-relative.───→here18.59───→18.66Arjuna lacks formal saṃnyāsa-fitness.

ĀnandagiriclassicalE

Pūrvapakṣa via nanu / āśaṅkyabetween

13.1Boundary protected by stylized doubt.───→here18.59───→18.66Closing verse opened by doubt-and-answer.

ĀnandagiriclassicalI

Bhakti carries jñāna, never parallelbetween

12.20Closing the bhakti hexad on jñāna.───→here18.59───→18.66Surrender read inside the niṣṭhā-dvaya frame.

ĀnandagiriclassicalK

Upasaṃhāra — recap as instrumentbetween

15.20Whole śāstra named most-secret-teaching.───→here18.59───→18.66Final word read as the last upasaṃhāra.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketbetween

18.46Worship-by-own-action fixes the ārādhya.───→here18.59───→18.62Take refuge in Him — the verse before the close.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalB

Prapatti — bhakti's access for those the long path defeatsbetween

12.7I lift them out of saṃsāra's ocean.───→here18.59───→18.66The phala-vilamba grief is what 18.66 closes.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentbetween

18.46Worship by one's work reaches the indweller.───→here18.59───→18.61The Lord turns all beings mounted on a machine.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionbetween

9.33So much more — the sociological span widens.───→here18.59───→18.66The 'sarva' includes 9.32's whole span.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalE

Pūrva-pakṣa — name the rival, close the doorbetween

13.3Knower and field: the boundary is sharp.───→here18.59───→18.66Counterfeit reasonings named, then rejected.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

6.47The mad-gatena yogi: the carama-form here.───→here18.59───→18.66The carama-śloka extracts what's common.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefbetween

16.5Daivī-asuric grief closed mid-text.───→here18.59───→18.66Final mā-śucaḥ closes the long-path grief.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalI

9.24 — the standing citation for ārādhyabetween

18.46Karma-yoga's act IS indweller-worship.───→here18.59───→18.66'Mām' in the carama- śloka = ārādhya of 9.24.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalJ

Sañjaya's frame — evidentiary, not ornamentalbetween

11.50Sañjaya names the viśva-rūpa as witness.───→here18.59───→18.74The frame closes: 'I heard this dialogue.'

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterbetween

12.6Surrender every act, and He lifts you out.───→here18.59───→18.62Take refuge whole; grace is the road.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

12.12Even devotion holds its own gradient.───→here18.59───→18.66Devotion's flagship, and the closing door.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartbetween

15.15Seated in every heart; memory comes from Me.───→here18.59───→18.61He turns all beings mounted on a machine.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here18.59───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsexit

18.1Final chapter compresses seed and answer.───→here18.59───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologyexit

18.1Tyāga and saṃnyāsa named distinct.───→here18.59───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalG

Anūdyate, na vidhīyateexit

17.2Threefold faith: tagged at this site.───→here18.59───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhiexit

18.1Tyāga = renouncing the relationship.───→here18.59───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstexit

18.1Final chapter opens with the same form.───→here18.59───→

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionexit

18.1Tyāga-question resolves ch. 16-17's typology.───→here18.59───→

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)exit

18.1Renouncing means cutting the false relationship.───→here18.59───→

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actexit

18.46Worship the One through your own work.───→here18.59───→

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionexit

18.49Free of longing everywhere — same goal.───→here18.59───→

RamsukhdasclassicalD

The three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas) at workexit

18.19Knowledge, action, doer, each one threefold.───→here18.59───→

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingexit

18.54The goal is just sameness toward all.───→here18.59───→

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsexit

17.5Hard penance off-script is still demonic.───→here18.59───→

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

18.46Work as worship───→here18.59───→18.66Abandon all dharmas

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

9.22Yogakshema───→here18.59───→18.66Take refuge

Ekrasmodernbhakti

Bhakti — devotion pathbetween · v2

12.13Dear-bhakta description begins───→here18.59───→18.66Take refuge in Me alone

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesbetween · v2

18.25Tamasic action───→here18.59───→18.61Lord at the heart

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvabetween · v2

18.16Wrong-seer fails the act───→here18.59───→18.61Lord at the heart, beings spinning

Ekrasmodernforgiveness

Forgivenessbetween · other

18.42Brahmaṇa's kṣamā───→here18.59───→18.66All debts dissolved

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

18.49Naishkarmya-siddhi by sannyāsa───→here18.59───→18.66Bheda-pratyaya dissolved

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

4.42Cut the heart's doubt with the sword of knowledge.───→here18.59───→18.66Grieve not — I free you from every sin.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downbetween

18.49Action-freedom comes from full renunciation.───→here18.59───→18.66Knowledge alone is the means of liberation.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youbetween

5.2Each path bears fruit by its own working.───→here18.59───→18.66The combined-path view named and dismantled.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

13.2One Self lights every body as one sun lights all.───→here18.59───→18.66Beginningless habit ends only with self-knowledge.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

15.1The world-tree is the tree of the Kaṭha.───→here18.59───→18.66Renounce all dharmas — śruti ratifies.

RāmānujaclassicalB

The śāstra is one bracket (2.12 → 18.66)between

11.1Arjuna confirms the bracket from inside.───→here18.59───→18.66The teaching closes with one command.

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

18.46Worship by your own work.───→here18.59───→18.65Be My worshipper.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionbetween

12.7I lift them across.───→here18.59───→18.65Recollection like sight: the final command.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerbetween

13.2Those who posit ajñāna in Brahman fail.───→here18.59───→18.61The yantrin reading forecloses the residue.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

15.4Find the Origin and take refuge in him.───→here18.59───→18.62Take refuge whole-being.

RāmānujaclassicalJ

Śeṣa-śeṣī · pati-vrata similebetween

12.7I lift him across.───→here18.59───→18.65You are dear to Me — I promise.

MadhvaclassicalT9

Devotion and grace — what knowledge cannot do alonebetween

12.5The personal route is easier — by design.───→here18.59───→18.66Drop every refuge, take the One refuge.

MadhvaclassicalT11

Only revealed scripture decides — reason alone cannotbetween

15.15The Veda's whole knowable is named as Hari.───→here18.59───→18.66The closing verdict is sealed by its own authority.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

17.14'Worship of gods' is worship of the One.───→here18.59───→18.65'Me' at the end carries fifteen chapters of gloss.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlybetween

12.20The dear devotee holds the teaching fast.───→here18.59───→18.66Drop every duty; take refuge in Me alone.

VallabhaclassicalB

Grace alone — the technical markbetween

14.26Beyond the modes is grace-rooted love.───→here18.59───→18.66Final verse — pure grace, nothing else.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedbetween

18.1The closing chapter reopens this question.───→here18.59───→18.66Drop only rival worships, never your nature.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractbetween

12.1The object of love is the puruṣottama himself.───→here18.59───→18.65The chariot-driving Lord is the calf-affection ocean.

VallabhaclassicalH

Stilling the mind — into the Lordbetween

12.14Steady, restrained, mind and intellect bound to Me.───→here18.59───→18.66The avatāra exists for the sake of total mind-rest.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

18.55The Nibandha's sevā-section names the means.───→here18.59───→18.66The carama-śloka is cross-stitched to Nibandha.

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentexit · v2

18.49Naishkarmya-siddhi───→here18.59───→

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionexit · v2

18.48No work is fault-free───→here18.59───→

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementexit · other

16.22Released from the three gates───→here18.59───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbaexit · other

18.16Soul's non-doership, not Self's───→here18.59───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentexit

18.41Each order's work is born of its own nature.───→here18.59───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalI

The lover and the knower are one personexit

18.55Knowledge-standing IS the highest devotion.───→here18.59───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedexit

18.49Action-freedom is standing in immediate liberation.───→here18.59───→

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)exit

18.1The closing chapter gathers all questions.───→here18.59───→

RāmānujaclassicalI

Vibhūti as evidence for antaryāminexit

18.46The cluster is recalled.───→here18.59───→

RāmānujaclassicalK

Tri-guṇa diagnostic for the bhaktaexit

18.19Each instrument threefold.───→here18.59───→

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-ruleexit

17.23Oṃ-tat-sat names the Lord, three times.───→here18.59───→

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closeexit

18.14Of the five causes, Viṣṇu is the prime mover.───→here18.59───→

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksexit

18.16'I am not the doer' names the soul, not Self.───→here18.59───→

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadexit

18.14Āyāsya-śruti closes the agency question.───→here18.59───→

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsexit

18.2The ritualists' śruti fixes the closing definition.───→here18.59───→

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesexit

18.1Closing chapter's prelude seals the program.───→here18.59───→

VallabhaclassicalF

Soul as part of the highest Personexit

18.55By love alone the soul knows what and whose it is.───→here18.59───→

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesexit

17.12The threefold yajña/dāna/tapas catalogue is skipped.───→here18.59───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalA

The Gītā as raft across griefbetween

13.2For their rescue, truth-knowledge is uttered.───→here18.59───→18.66I shall release you from every wrong.

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

11.43Teacher, and teacher's teacher beyond compare.───→here18.59───→18.64Hear the supreme word spoken because dear.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homebetween

18.55Through love alone I am known in truth.───→here18.59───→18.65The same refrain sealed at the close.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerbetween

15.15Seated in every heart; memory comes from Me.───→here18.59───→18.62Let go of self-claim; take refuge there.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned alonebetween

10.11I dispel the dark of unknowing for them.───→here18.59───→18.65By My grace, you reach Me through what is given.

ŚrīdharaclassicalG

Soul as His portion, neither cut nor identicalexit

18.55He enters Me; he is not absorbed away.───→here18.59───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineexit

18.1The eighteenth gathers the whole Gītā in one.───→here18.59───→

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsbetween

17.15Mantra and speech. 'Anudvega-karam vakyam satyam priya-hitam cha yat, svadhyaya-───→here18.59───→18.61Astrology-as-externalizer and karma-as-frame for why-bad-things-happen. 'Ishvara

Gauravmodernheart_leadership

Heart Leadershipbetween

12.14'Santushtah satatam yogi yatatma dridha-nishchayah.' Always content, self-contro───→here18.59───→18.61'Ishvarah sarva-bhutanam hrid-deshe'rjuna tishthati.' The Lord stands in the hea

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

13.27Atman / Brahman pillar. 'Samam sarveshu bhuteshu tishthantam parameshvaram.' The───→here18.59───→18.66Closing pillar in the longer CHI deliveries. 'Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionbetween

11.55See the world as Śiva's own body.───→here18.59───→18.73Confusion gone — but Anugītā still waits.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalE

Field and field-knower as Parameśvarabetween

15.16Two persons inside the field, one beyond.───→here18.59───→18.61He turns all beings like a great machine.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesbetween

12.5Every 'Me' from Krishna is Śiva-consciousness speaking.───→here18.59───→18.62Three names yoked — one referent sealed.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalH

Bhakti as non-dual recognitionbetween

12.2Two paths reconciled — one gracious face.───→here18.59───→18.65Four parallel ways of saying one thing.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalI

Anugraha: grace as the active powerbetween

11.35By grace-nature, the secret discloses itself.───→here18.59───→18.62Peace by grace — never by accumulation of work.

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningexit

16.21'Tri-vidham narakasyedam dvaram nashanam atmanah, kamah krodhas tatha lobhah.' T───→here18.59───→

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologyexit

18.46'Yatah pravrittir bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam, sva-karmana tam abhyarchya si───→here18.59───→

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handexit

18.47Pointing finger. Svadharma. 'Shreyan svadharmo vigunah para-dharmat svanushthita───→here18.59───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalF

Three guṇas: contractions of one consciousnessexit

17.2Even faith is graded through the three.───→here18.59───→

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

15.16Refusing kṣara=inert, akṣara=soul.───→here18.59───→18.66Drop varṇāśrama too is blocked here.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitbetween

12.20Dear devotee is at the apex.───→here18.59───→18.66All-dharma surrender is the apex grade.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

15.16Bhūta covers jīva; literal range holds.───→here18.59───→18.66Dharma as upalakṣaṇa of its own results.

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyaexit

18.1Renunciation closes; threads converge.───→here18.59───→

JayatīrthaclassicalH

Pūrva-pakṣa explicit — nanu / iti cet / ity ata āhaexit

18.11No full renouncer; tyāga is of fruit.───→here18.59───→

Śabda · lemmas (13 unique · 14 occurrences)

मन्यसे √man — to think, regard, consider (verbal root) · present indicative 2nd person singular verb · also at 2.19, 2.26, 3.9, 11.4
नियोक्ष्यति ni-√yuj — (ni- + yuj: to yoke) · future indicative 3rd person singular verb

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ते·त्वाम् tvad ×2 — you (2nd person pronoun stem) · genitive singular noun / accusative singular noun
यत् yat — who, which (relative pronoun, variant of yad); also: to strive, exert (verbal root)
अहङ्कारम् ahaṃkāra — ego-sense, the I-maker · accusative masculine singular noun
आश्रित्य āśri — to take refuge in, resort to · conv
न na — not (negation particle)
योत्स्ये √yudh — to fight (verbal root); battle · future indicative 1st person singular verb
इति iti — thus (quotative particle)
मिथ्या mithyā — falsely, in vain
एष etad — this (proximal demonstrative) · nominative masculine singular noun
व्यवसायः vyavasāya — resolve, determination, settled intention (vi- + ava- + √so 'destroy/finish' — 'cutting through to a decision') · nominative masculine singular noun
प्रकृतिः prakṛti — primordial nature (pra- + √kṛ 'do' — 'that from which all is made') · nominative feminine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01What is the difference between genuine non-attachment (vairagya) and ego-driven refusal disguised as ethics — and how does this verse mark that boundary?
02If Prakrti will compel action regardless, in what sense does Krsna's counsel to Arjuna have any force — what is being changed by hearing it?

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03All six schools agree the vyavasaya is mithya, yet they disagree about why: is the falseness ontological (Advaita: the agent doesn't exist), relational (Vishishtadvaita: the Lord's will supersedes), or dispositional (bhakti schools: guna-svabhava drives)? What hangs on that distinction?
04The verse implies that ahankara and dharmic self-image can produce the same avoidance behavior as cowardice — how do we distinguish the two from the inside?
05Prakrti 'will compel' — is this a prediction, a threat, or a structural description? And what does the answer tell us about the nature of free will in this framework?
06Sridhara and Madhusudana both note that Arjuna is ignoring direct counsel (mad-uktam anadrtya) — what does the verse say about the relationship between received wisdom and the ego's independent ethical reasoning?
07If the resolution 'I will not fight' is mithya, is there a resolution that would not be mithya — and what would it look like to arrive at the battlefield from that place instead?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you refuse a difficult obligation by invoking your self-image as a 'principled person,' notice that the refusal is itself generated by the same conditioned mind you believe you are transcending. The Advaita reading invites you to ask: who exactly is refusing, and does that entity have the independence it claims?

Viśiṣṭādvaita

In a team or family context, when you override collective guidance because 'I know what is right for me,' Ramanuja's frame surfaces: that confidence in personal sovereignty may be the very distortion blocking good service. Subordinating your judgment to a trusted larger whole — not blindly, but with examined trust — is kainkarya (service), not weakness.

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Dvaita

When you feel you can simply opt out of what your deepest nature and circumstance demand, the Dvaita frame asks: are you acting as Hari's instrument or as a self-appointed veto? The compulsion that arrives anyway — in the form of consequence, circumstance, or internal drive — is Prakrti executing what your paratantra (dependence) always implied.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's read applies to creative and devotional work: when you withhold effort citing scruple or fatigue, and the work demands to be done anyway and you find yourself doing it, that is Krsna's bahiranga-sakti routing around your resistance. The more fruitful posture is to offer the action before it is extracted from you.

Bhakti

Sridhara's corrective is practical: when you are about to refuse something hard by citing moral principle, check whether you have actually heard the full counsel available to you, or whether you are 'relying on ahankara alone, disregarding what has been said.' The refusal may be less righteous than it feels.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusudana names the subtlest trap: the moment you think 'I am too principled to do this,' you have swapped cowardice-ahankara for dharma-ahankara — but both are ahankara. The integrated reading suggests the only clean exit is surrender that is neither self-righteous nor self-abnegating: acting from dharma without the claim that you are the one upholding it.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

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weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 18, Verse 59: Krishna to Arjuna — Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga