BG 3.34 — Karma-Yoga — Sūtrakṛt-Gītā

Bhagavad Gītā 3.34Chapter 3 · Karma-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ ।

तयोर् न वशमागच्छेत् तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ ॥

indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau

tayor na vaśam āgacchet tau hy asya paripanthinau

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

meaning

Attraction and aversion are seated in every sense and its objects; do not fall under their power, for they are robbers on your road.

ekras · bhāṣya

The verse names where the actual battle is fought. "For each indriya in its vishaya, raga and dvesha are stationed. Do not come under their power. They are the paripanthins — robbers on the road." Two claims and one instruction. The first claim: each sense-organ has, for its specific objects, a pre-stationed pair — raga toward the pleasant, dvesha toward the unpleasant. This is structural; it is not a moral failing of the practitioner. The eye has, ready in it, attraction to beautiful sights and aversion to ugly ones. The ear has, ready in it, attraction to pleasing sounds and aversion to harsh ones. The pre-stationing is what prakriti does. The instruction is to not come under their power — tayoh na vasham agachchhet. Notice what is and is not being asked. The raga and dvesha cannot be made to disappear at will; they are stationed. What can be done is to refuse to be governed by them. The closing image is the paripanthin — the highwayman, the robber on the path. The pair lies in wait at every sense-encounter, and if the traveler hands over his vasha — his agency — the robbers strip him of progress.

Ramanuja calls them avarjaniya — unavoidable — deposits in the field of every indriya.

Madhusudana describes the shastra's strategy: shastra does not suppress raga-dvesha directly. It dismantles their causal conditions by demonstrating that following them carries balavad-anishta-anubandha — strong hidden harm. The traveler who has internalized the shastra's diagnosis no longer hands over agency at the encounter, because he has seen what the robbers actually take.

Context

where

Chapter 3 · Karma-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 3.33

Even a person of knowledge acts according to his own nature; all beings follow their nature. What will restraint accomplish?

What's going on

Attraction and aversion are seated in every sense and its objects; do not fall under their power, for they are robbers on your road.

Sūtras through this verse (73)

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

3.15He refutes by saying na ca.───→here3.34───→6.1Householder is not figurative saṁnyāsin.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downbetween

3.4Mere not-doing is not renunciation at all.───→here3.34───→5.13Lay down all acts in mind; sit at ease, body free.

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actbetween

3.8Even keeping the body alive requires action.───→here3.34───→6.40A fallen seeker still keeps the human birth.

show all 73

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanabetween · other

3.30Offer all your acts───→here3.34───→6.1Renouncer and yogi together

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

3.4Naishkarmya is not just non-doing───→here3.34───→5.13Nine-gated city, all karma laid down

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningbetween

3.21'Yad yad acharati shreshthas tat tad evetaro janah.' Whatever the leader does, o───→here3.34───→6.5'Uddhared atmanatmanam natmanam avasadayet.' Lift yourself by yourself, do not l

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handbetween

3.27Palm, kartala. Akartritva, non-doership. 'Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani s───→here3.34───→5.18Ring finger. Samadrishti. 'Vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane gavi hastini, shuni ch

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

3.27Karma pillar. The 'ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate' line is where Gaura───→here3.34───→4.7Cyclic time. 'Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharata.' Gaurav uses this l

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidbetween

3.3'Loke'smin dvi-vidha nishtha pura prokta mayanagha, jnana-yogena samkhyanam karm───→here3.34───→5.4'Sankhya-yogau prithag balah pravadanti na panditah.' Only the immature say sank

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youbetween

3.3Two paths for two kinds — never combined.───→here3.34───→5.2Each path bears fruit by its own working.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentbetween

3.3Two populations, two distinct paths.───→here3.34───→5.6Renunciation is hard without yoga first.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldbetween

3.25The wise act as the unwise, but unattached.───→here3.34───→4.18The post-knowledge actor does no action at all.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

3.4Brāhmaṇas seek the Self by Veda, then by rite.───→here3.34───→4.13The four orders are the Puruṣa's own body.

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

3.1Self in chapter two; sādhana opens here.───→here3.34───→4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.───→here3.34───→4.11Mām is Viṣṇu, not generic absolute.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

Citation as proof — śruti, smṛti, MB, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pañcarātrabetween

3.15Citation closes: ity āgamāt.───→here3.34───→7.5Parā-prakṛti backed by Pañcarātra.

JayatīrthaclassicalH

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

3.17No-kartavya rival staged then answered.───→here3.34───→7.13Nanu vijñāna-rūpaṁ — canonical shape.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

3.15If literal works, figurative is idle.───→here3.34───→7.5Surrounding clause picks literal Śrī.

JayatīrthaclassicalJ

Reading the silence — iti śeṣaḥ and iti bhāvaḥbetween

3.17Scope of na vidyate filled by iti śeṣaḥ.───→here3.34───→15.1Tat-prasaṅge alaukikaṁ — iti śeṣaḥ.

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

Three groups of six: you, the Lord, the joiningbetween

3.1The whole map laid out at chapter three's door.───→here3.34───→5.1Two chapters settled action and knowing.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsbetween

3.3Arjuna's mixed question gets a sorted answer.───→here3.34───→5.1Not combined, not optional; distributed by fitness.

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landbetween

3.30Even a seeker not-yet-pure offers, drops fruit-claim.───→here3.34───→5.1Action for the ignorant: purification's only door.

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingbetween

3.30Offer all your acts; fight without fruit-claim.───→here3.34───→6.1The fruit-unattached one is yogi and renouncer.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

3.1The grand architecture cannot mix the two.───→here3.34───→4.34Approach a knower; knowing is not earned by action.

MadhusūdanaclassicalI

Liberation while alive — the body finishes its runbetween

3.1The architecture ends in living-liberation, then bodily.───→here3.34───→6.46The yogi with mind-stilled stands above mere knowing.

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here3.34───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologyapproach

───→here3.34───→4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it wereapproach

───→here3.34───→4.6I appear as if born, never really, by māyā.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here3.34───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitapproach

───→here3.34───→4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here3.34───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

3.3Three classes, one niṣṭhā each.───→here3.34───→5.1Every clause tagged jñāna or karma.

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledbetween

3.3Three classes, each its own niṣṭhā.───→here3.34───→5.1Two saṃnyāsas: fruit and means.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsbetween

3.1Buddhi-vyākulatva named the seed.───→here3.34───→5.1Recap-then-question becomes the rule.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

3.3Vaidika action sorted by life-stage rule.───→here3.34───→4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

3.4No mokṣa from mere non-starting.───→here3.34───→4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstbetween

3.1Chapter-1 verse opens with word-fit, then bīja.───→here3.34───→7.1Word-fit holds at the architectural seam.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.───→here3.34───→4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerbetween

3.30Lay every act in Me; I move within.───→here3.34───→7.21I am the one who steadies your chosen faith.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionbetween

2.71The steady seer walks with no want, no mine.───→here3.34───→3.37One enemy alone: desire, only desire.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

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

3.33Even the wise act by their own nature.───→here3.34───→7.12The modes come from the Lord, not in Him.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

2.33Refusal is not safe; it costs everything.───→here3.34───→3.35Your own flawed work beats another's perfect.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursbetween

3.27The modes act, but ego claims the deed.───→here3.34───→5.8The knower thinks, 'I do nothing at all.'

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here3.34───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayapproach

───→here3.34───→4.11However they come, I meet them so.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugeapproach

───→here3.34───→4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here3.34───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here3.34───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsapproach

───→here3.34───→3.37The enemy is desire turning into anger.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

3.20Janaka, lokasangraha───→here3.34───→4.18Action in inaction

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionbetween · v2

3.25Wise act as the unwise act───→here3.34───→18.41Duties divided by guṇa

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvabetween · v2

3.27Modes act, ego claims───→here3.34───→5.13Nine-gated city

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementbetween · other

2.63Anger to ruin───→here3.34───→3.37Kāma is the enemy

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedbetween

3.30Drop the fruit, the mine, the doership — keep the act.───→here3.34───→5.1Arjuna asks the wrong question. first.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

3.1Four-verse prelude frames renunciation.───→here3.34───→4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

3.30The Nibandha is cited again on threefold drop.───→here3.34───→7.14Surrender is the only way past the Lord's māyā.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlyapproach

───→here3.34───→4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractapproach

───→here3.34───→4.7When dharma weakens, the Lord descends to play.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here3.34───→

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

3.30Surrender every act.───→here3.34───→4.24Brahman the offering, Brahman the offerer.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentbetween

3.30'Mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi': read as antaryāmin.───→here3.34───→7.21Whatever form is worshipped, I steady it.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionbetween

3.1Arjuna's question resolves 2.49's hint.───→here3.34───→6.47Top-yogin clause — the chapter-7 hinge.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

3.30Karma offered to the indweller becomes worship.───→here3.34───→4.33Knowledge-rite outranks mere material rites.

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)approach

───→here3.34───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerapproach

───→here3.34───→4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyaapproach

───→here3.34───→4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionapproach

───→here3.34───→4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerbetween

3.1Knowing versus acting is the wrong cut.───→here3.34───→7.1Together they cover everything to be known.

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closebetween

3.27Action is the modes'; the soul only seems to act.───→here3.34───→5.14The soul rules the inert; the Lord rules the soul.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsbetween

3.20Even Janaka acted; the wise still do.───→here3.34───→5.1Renouncing isn't quitting the householder's life.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionapproach

───→here3.34───→4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departureapproach

───→here3.34───→4.1Teaching descends; the teacher does not move.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordapproach

───→here3.34───→4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.

Śabda · lemmas (12 unique · 14 occurrences)

परिपन्थिनौ paripanthin — highwayman, obstructor, enemy (pari- + pantha + -in) · nominative masculine dual noun
अस्य idam — this (proximal demonstrative) · genitive masculine singular noun
इन्द्रियस्य indriya ×2 — sense, sense-organ; the eleven indriyas (5 jñānendriyas + 5 karmendriyas + manas) · genitive neuter singular noun
व्यवस्थितौ √vyavasthā — settled rule, established order (vi- + ava- + √sthā) · nominative masculine dual participle noun
आगच्छेत् √āgam — to come, arrive (ā- + √gam) · present optative 3rd person singular verb

show all 12

तयोः·तौ tad ×2 — that (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronoun · genitive masculine dual noun / nominative masculine dual noun
अर्थे artha — meaning, purpose, wealth, goal · locative masculine singular noun
राग rāga — passion, attachment, color · compound
द्वेषौ dveṣa — aversion, hatred · nominative masculine dual noun
न na — not (negation particle)
वशम् vaśa — will, control, power · accusative masculine singular noun
हि hi — for, indeed, because (particle)

Praśna · so what (7)

01If rāga (attraction) and dveṣa (aversion) are inevitable deposits in every sense-organ, what exactly constitutes 'coming under their power' as opposed to merely noticing them?
02Śaṅkara warns that rāga-dveṣa distort one's reading of śāstra itself — can a person who is rāga-dveṣa-dominated even correctly identify what their dharma is?

show all 7

03Madhusūdana locates the solution in destroying causal conditions (kāraṇa-upamardam) rather than suppressing the drives — does this imply that willpower-based restraint is inadequate or merely slower?
04Rāmānuja identifies these as prācīna-vāsanā (prior-life residues) — does this shift moral responsibility, and what does it mean practically for a practitioner to work against tendencies accumulated across lifetimes?
05Madhva holds that even Brahmā is subject to saṃskāra-pull — where does this leave the claim that liberation is achievable by ordinary jīvas through their own effort?
06Śrīdhara's image of boarding a boat before the river's current takes over suggests that the critical intervention is upstream, not mid-stream — what does this imply about timing in spiritual practice?
07The verse uses dvitīyā-vīpsā ('indriyasya indriyasya') to assert the pattern holds for every individual sense-organ — does this suggest each sensory domain requires a separate practice, or is there a single root intervention?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

Before making any significant decision, pause and ask: 'Is this choice being driven by what I want (rāga) or what I find repellent (dveṣa), or by clear-eyed assessment of what is appropriate?' The Śaṅkara insight is that rāga-dveṣa do not just distort behavior — they distort perception itself. Build the habit of testing whether your reading of a situation is śāstra-sighted (seeing what is) or prakṛti-driven (seeing what desire wants you to see). The daily discipline is not asceticism but epistemic sobriety.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Recognize that spiritual practice is most vulnerable not at moments of obvious temptation but precisely when one is trying hardest: Rāmānuja says rāga-dveṣa seize the jñāna-yoga practitioner who has already restrained the senses. Whenever a sustained practice — meditation, study, service — feels suddenly heavy or aversive, treat this as a signal that prior-life saṃskāras are asserting themselves. The counter-move is not more effort but redirection: offer the practice explicitly to Bhagavān as kainkarya (service), so the 'I' that rāga-dveṣa seize is no longer the engine of the practice.

show all 6

Dvaita

When trying to break a well-worn habit or reactive pattern, do not be discouraged by the effort required — Madhva's commentary is the most honest about how deep these grooves run. Expect the conditioning to reassert itself; extraordinary effort (ati-prayatna) is the minimum price, not evidence of failure. At the same time, Madhva's point is encouraging: the conditioning can be redirected — it is not destiny. Frame each act of resistance as worship of Hari, since in Dvaita the jīva's agency is always dependent agency, which means the effort is most sustainable when dedicated.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's framing makes this verse a message for the middle-range practitioner — someone who is neither fully liberated nor hopelessly ignorant. If you still taste and enjoy the sensory world, this verse is addressed to you specifically. The application is discernment of authorship: ask whether your attraction or aversion right now arises from your own discerning judgment or from an automatic pattern. In Puṣṭi-mārga terms, surrender the saṃskāras to Kṛṣṇa as an offering — not through suppression but through offering the very desire as prasāda.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's boat-metaphor gives the most actionable guidance: intervene before the current takes you, not while you are already being swept. In practical terms, this means establishing worship (parameśvara-bhajana) as the first act of each day, before exposure to the sensory stream. Meditation, prayer, or a moment of dedicated intention at the start of the day functions as boarding the boat. Once the day's current of stimulus and reaction begins, you are already in the vessel. The failure mode is postponing the spiritual act until later — by then the current has you.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's causal-condition analysis points to intellectual work as a spiritual practice: systematically build genuine knowledge of the real consequences of prohibited actions and the real benefits of enjoined ones. This is not moralizing but cognitive renovation — when you viscerally understand (not merely believe) that a habitual indulgence carries hidden harm, the rāga loses its grip not through willpower but through knowledge. The daily application is ruthless honest inquiry: 'Do I actually know what this drive is leading toward, or am I operating on inherited assumption?'

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

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

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

show all metadata

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 3, Verse 34: Krishna to Arjuna — Karma-Yoga