BG 3.37 — Karma-Yoga — Sūtrakṛt-Gītā

Bhagavad Gītā 3.37Chapter 3 · Karma-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः ।

महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥

kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ

mahāśano mahā-pāpmā viddhy enam iha vairiṇam

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

meaning

Desire is your enemy here, and anger is desire blocked and turned, both born of rajas, both insatiable, both generators of sin. Know this one force as the foe.

ekras · bhāṣya

Krishna names the answer in one word — and then qualifies. "This is kama. This is krodha. Born of rajo-guna. Mahashana. Maha-papma. Know this as the enemy here." The first naming is sharp. Kama. Desire. The single root. The second naming clarifies: krodha is not a separate enemy. Krodha is kama in a second form — kama when its motion is blocked. The same energy, redirected when frustrated. The two are one.

Madhva names it precisely: kama is the balavan pravartaka — the forceful activator of all wrong action — and krodha is established in 2.62 as kama in transformation. Three terms qualify the enemy. Rajo-guna-samudbhava — born of rajas, the agitation-quality of prakriti. Mahashana — the great devourer; never satisfied, always demanding more. Maha-papma — the great sin-maker; the producer of every adharmic act.

Madhusudana adds the shruti-anchor: kamamaya evayam purushah — the person is constituted of kama — placing the diagnosis at the deepest ontological level rather than merely psychological. The closing imperative is simple. Viddhi enam iha vairinam. Know this as the enemy here. Iha — here, in this very life, in this very body, in this very moment of action. Not a metaphysical abstraction. The named enemy is what is presently in the practitioner, doing the pushing Arjuna asked about in 3.36. The chapter's diagnostic turn is complete. The next three verses describe the enemy more precisely; the closing two verses give the means of victory.

Context

where

Chapter 3 · Karma-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 3.36

Arjuna asks: what drives a person to sin even against his own will, O Krishna, as if compelled by force?

What's going on

Desire is your enemy here, and anger is desire blocked and turned, both born of rajas, both insatiable, both generators of sin. Know this one force as the foe.

Sūtras through this verse (74)

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

3.15He refutes by saying na ca.───→here3.37───→6.1Householder is not figurative saṁnyāsin.

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actbetween

3.8Even keeping the body alive requires action.───→here3.37───→6.40A fallen seeker still keeps the human birth.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downbetween

3.4Mere not-doing is not renunciation at all.───→here3.37───→5.13Lay down all acts in mind; sit at ease, body free.

show all 74

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionstation · anchor

───→here3.37───→

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionstation · anchor

───→here3.37───→

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsstation · anchor

───→here3.37───→

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsstation

───→here3.37───→

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanabetween · other

3.30Offer all your acts───→here3.37───→6.1Renouncer and yogi together

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

3.4Naishkarmya is not just non-doing───→here3.37───→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───→here3.37───→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───→here3.37───→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───→here3.37───→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───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→5.2Each path bears fruit by its own working.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentbetween

3.3Two populations, two distinct paths.───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.───→here3.37───→4.11Mām is Viṣṇu, not generic absolute.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

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

3.15Citation closes: ity āgamāt.───→here3.37───→7.5Parā-prakṛti backed by Pañcarātra.

JayatīrthaclassicalH

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

3.17No-kartavya rival staged then answered.───→here3.37───→7.13Nanu vijñāna-rūpaṁ — canonical shape.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

3.15If literal works, figurative is idle.───→here3.37───→7.5Surrounding clause picks literal Śrī.

JayatīrthaclassicalJ

Reading the silence — iti śeṣaḥ and iti bhāvaḥbetween

3.17Scope of na vidyate filled by iti śeṣaḥ.───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→5.1Two chapters settled action and knowing.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsbetween

3.3Arjuna's mixed question gets a sorted answer.───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→6.1The fruit-unattached one is yogi and renouncer.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

3.1The grand architecture cannot mix the two.───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→6.46The yogi with mind-stilled stands above mere knowing.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

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

3.33Even the wise act by their own nature.───→here3.37───→7.12The modes come from the Lord, not in Him.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

3.35Your own flawed work beats another's perfect.───→here3.37───→4.13The four orders are His own creation.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursbetween

3.27The modes act, but ego claims the deed.───→here3.37───→5.8The knower thinks, 'I do nothing at all.'

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here3.37───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologyapproach

───→here3.37───→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

───→here3.37───→4.6I appear as if born, never really, by māyā.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here3.37───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitapproach

───→here3.37───→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───→here3.37───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

3.3Three classes, one niṣṭhā each.───→here3.37───→5.1Every clause tagged jñāna or karma.

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledbetween

3.3Three classes, each its own niṣṭhā.───→here3.37───→5.1Two saṃnyāsas: fruit and means.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsbetween

3.1Buddhi-vyākulatva named the seed.───→here3.37───→5.1Recap-then-question becomes the rule.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

3.3Vaidika action sorted by life-stage rule.───→here3.37───→4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

3.4No mokṣa from mere non-starting.───→here3.37───→4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstbetween

3.1Chapter-1 verse opens with word-fit, then bīja.───→here3.37───→7.1Word-fit holds at the architectural seam.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.───→here3.37───→4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerbetween

3.30Lay every act in Me; I move within.───→here3.37───→7.21I am the one who steadies your chosen faith.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayapproach

───→here3.37───→4.11However they come, I meet them so.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugeapproach

───→here3.37───→4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here3.37───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here3.37───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Kāma is the enemystation · other · station 3/7

───→here3.37───→

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

3.20Janaka, lokasangraha───→here3.37───→4.18Action in inaction

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionbetween · v2

3.25Wise act as the unwise act───→here3.37───→18.41Duties divided by guṇa

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvabetween · v2

3.27Modes act, ego claims───→here3.37───→5.13Nine-gated city

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedbetween

3.30Drop the fruit, the mine, the doership — keep the act.───→here3.37───→5.1Arjuna asks the wrong question. first.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

3.1Four-verse prelude frames renunciation.───→here3.37───→4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

3.30The Nibandha is cited again on threefold drop.───→here3.37───→7.14Surrender is the only way past the Lord's māyā.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlyapproach

───→here3.37───→4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractapproach

───→here3.37───→4.7When dharma weakens, the Lord descends to play.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here3.37───→

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

3.30Surrender every act.───→here3.37───→4.24Brahman the offering, Brahman the offerer.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentbetween

3.30'Mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi': read as antaryāmin.───→here3.37───→7.21Whatever form is worshipped, I steady it.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionbetween

3.1Arjuna's question resolves 2.49's hint.───→here3.37───→6.47Top-yogin clause — the chapter-7 hinge.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

3.30Karma offered to the indweller becomes worship.───→here3.37───→4.33Knowledge-rite outranks mere material rites.

RāmānujaclassicalC

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

───→here3.37───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerapproach

───→here3.37───→4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyaapproach

───→here3.37───→4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionapproach

───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→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.───→here3.37───→5.1Renouncing isn't quitting the householder's life.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionapproach

───→here3.37───→4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departureapproach

───→here3.37───→4.1Teaching descends; the teacher does not move.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordapproach

───→here3.37───→4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.

Śabda · lemmas (13 unique · 15 occurrences)

समुद्भवः samudbhava — origin (sam- + ud- 'up' + √bhū 'become') · nominative masculine singular noun
वैरिणम् vairin — enemy (from vaira 'enmity' + -in) · accusative masculine singular noun
पाप्मा pāpman — evil, sin · nominative masculine singular noun

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एष etad ×2 — this (proximal demonstrative) · nominative masculine singular noun
महा mahat ×2 — great, large; the cosmic intellect (mahattattva) · compound
कामः kāma — desire, lust, sensual pleasure · nominative masculine singular noun
क्रोधः krodha — anger, wrath · nominative masculine singular noun
रजः rajas — passion, activity (the second guṇa); dust · compound
गुण guṇa — quality, attribute (esp. the three guṇas: sattva/rajas/tamas) · compound
अशनः aśana — food, eating (from √aś) · nominative masculine singular noun
विद्धि √vid — to know; to find (verbal root) · present imperative 2nd person singular verb
एनम् enad — this, this here (close demonstrative) · accusative masculine singular noun
इह iha — here, in this world, in this life

Praśna · so what (7)

01If krodha (anger) is simply obstructed kāma, does this mean every instance of anger — including righteous fury — traces back to frustrated desire, and how does this affect moral evaluation of anger?
02Śaṅkara and Madhusūdana agree rajas is the proximate cause of kāma; does this mean the remedial path is always guṇa-management (cultivating sattva to suppress rajas) rather than direct willpower against desire?

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03The verse calls kāma mahāśana (great devourer) — Madhusūdana invokes the Manu-smṛti that 'all the earth's wealth cannot fill one person': does this imply desire is structurally insatiable regardless of object, making object-substitution a category error?
04Madhva insists no krodha exists without an antecedent kāma — how does this interact with 'dharma-krodha' (righteous anger at injustice) found in texts like the Mahābhārata, and is dharma-krodha simply desire for dharma frustrated?
05Vallabha reads this verse as specifically addressed to Arjuna's desire for his kinsmen's lives — does the verse have a contextually specific referent (Arjuna's snehavāsanā) that the generalizing philosophical readings risk obscuring?
06The verse says 'viddhy enam iha vairiṇam' — know it as the enemy HERE (iha = in this world, in this path). Does iha scope the enmity to the saṃsāric condition only, implying kāma's nature changes in mokṣa or kainkarya?
07All six schools agree kāma cannot be negotiated with (sāma/dāna fail); Śrīdhara and Madhusūdana both say it must be killed. What distinguishes each school's proposed killing-method — is the divergence methodological or metaphysical?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you notice irritability or anger arising, practice pratīkāra-vicāra (inquiry into the obstacle): ask 'what desire was blocked just now?' This converts every episode of krodha into diagnostic data about the kāma-layer still operating. Over time this weakens identification with the kāma-krodha movement, preparing the antaḥkaraṇa (inner instrument) for jñāna.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Before any activity, offer the underlying desire to Bhagavān as a śeṣabhūta (owned offering of the dependent self). The act converts self-directed kāma into bhagavad-kainkarya-directed intention. When the desire is frustrated and krodha arises, redirect the energy as vigorous service — 'even this frustration belongs to Bhagavān's leelā (divine play).'

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Dvaita

Cultivate the understanding that every frustrated desire exposes a point of svātantrya-bhrama (the illusion of independent agency) — which Madhva considers the root of all bondage. Use each occurrence of krodha as a reminder of the jīva's complete dependence on Hari, and surrender the outcome explicitly: 'Hari is the kartā (agent), not I.'

Śuddhādvaita

Recognize the kāma that arises as Kṛṣṇa's own śakti (power/energy) operating in the jīva — not to indulge it but to see it as misdirected prasāda-energy. Redirect rāga (attachment) toward Kṛṣṇa's svarūpa (divine form) through smaraṇa (remembrance) and sevā (service); transformed rāga becomes bhāva-bhakti, the very vehicle of Puṣṭi-mārga.

Bhakti

Accept that kāma cannot be negotiated with through indulgence (dāna of objects) or reasoning (sāman). The only practical path is the progressive reduction of viṣaya-saṃparka (contact with desire-objects) combined with nāma-smaraṇa (remembrance of the divine name), which Śrīdhara implies when he says 'the method of killing it will be given shortly' — referring to the senses-withdrawal instruction that follows.

Advaita-Bhakti

Use the two-stage method Madhusūdana extracts: first, strengthen sattva through regulated sādhanā (practice) — diet, schedule, association, study — which directly diminishes rajas and thereby starves kāma of its fuel. Second, in moments when kāma surges despite discipline, invoke Kṛṣṇa's name as the daṇḍa (the forceful strike) that Madhusūdana says is the only option left when sāma, dāna, and bheda have all failed against this mahāpāpmā.

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 37: Krishna to Arjuna — Karma-Yoga