Verse 3.01

Arjuna spake with visage all distraught;

If wisdoms path, by thy great mind is taught,

To soar beyond the reach of mortal deed;

Why bid me now, when direst dangers breed,

In battle's press such awful acts to spawn;

Oh, Keshava, ere yet the day be dawn ?

Verse 3.02

Thy hallowed words, a tangled, mystic maze,

My poor perception in confusion sways .

One certain path, I supplicate thee, show,

Whereby the highest blessedness, I'll know .

Verse 3.03

The Blessed Lord then did his voice outpour :

Two paths for men, on lifes ascending shore,

Were shown by Me in ages long since past,

O sinless one, whose lot in life is cast :

For Sankhyas, Knowledge Yogas radiant light,

For Yogis, Actions righteous, forceful might .

Verse 3.04

Not by mere stilling of the busy hand,

Doth mortal man scape lifes tempestuous strand ;

Nor yet by swift renouncement of all claim

To active life, shall one attain his aim .

Verse 3.05

For lo, no soul a single breath can stay,

In idleness, and turn from life away ;

By Natures threads, they ever are constrained,

To ceaseless action, till their goals attained .

Verse 3.06

Who checks his limbs, lest outward acts betray,

Yet in his thought, doth sensual fancies sway,

That foolish man, with semblance false and vain,

As hypocrite is judged, in spirit's reign .

Verse 3.07

But he who holds his senses in control,

With governed mind, where righteous truths enroll,

And acts with limbs from selfish purpose free,

That Yogi, Arjuna, doth excel, we see .

Verse 3.08

Thy set duty, thou must needs embrace,

For action doth attain a nobler place

Than sluggish sloth. Thy very mortal frame,

Without its due exertion, fails its aim .

Verse 3.09

Save acts that spring from holy sacrifice,

This world in karmic bonds doth surely vice .

For that alone, O Kunti's noble son,

Act free from ties, till victory is won .

Verse 3.10

With sacrifice, in ages gone before,

The Lord of beings did his bounty pour

On humankind. By this shall increase bloom,

A wish-granting sacred cow shall pierce the gloom .

Verse 3.11

The gods do nourish with thine offerings true,

And may those gods thy lifeblood grant anew .

Thus fostering care, in mutual might allied,

The highest good shall unto thee betide .

Verse 3.12

The gods, by sacrifice made well content,

Will grant the joys on which thy heart is bent .

But he who takes their bounteous, gracious store,

And offers naught in recompense therefor,

A thief he is, in very truth and deed,

Ignoring duty, whence all blessings proceed .

Verse 3.13

The righteous soul, who but the remnants eats

Of holy offerings, all sin defeats .

But they who cook for their own palate's call,

Do feed on evil, known and scorned by all .

Verse 3.14

From sustenance do living creatures rise,

From rain comes food that earthly need supplies ;

From sacrifice doth gentle rain descend,

And sacrifice from action doth depend .

Verse 3.15

Actions deep source in Brahma thou shalt find (Vedas),

of lineage refined ; And Brahma from the changeless Soul doth spring,

So Brahmas essence everywhere they sing,

Eternally in sacrifice doth dwell .

Verse 3.16

The wheel thus turned, if any soul defy,

And heed not wisdom's heaven-sent cry,

That sinful wight, to base desires bound,

In fruitless search his earthly life is drowned .

Verse 3.17

But that rare man, whose innermost delight

Is in the Self, a pure and radiant light,

Contented deep, within himself complete,

For him, no worldly strivings can compete .

Verse 3.18

No gain for him in virtuous acts well done,

No loss ensues if duties are foregone ;

On no created thing doth he depend,

His perfect joy doth from within ascend .

Verse 3.19

Therefore, unbound, forever strive and strain,

To do those deeds whereby good men attain .

For he who acts, devoid of selfish need,

The Supreme state shall surely give him heed .

Verse 3.20

By actions' path did Janaka ascend

To perfect state, where light and wisdom blend .

And even now, for sake of worlds embrace,

Thy duty calls, in this appointed space .

Verse 3.21

Whate'er the course a noble soul doth wend,

The common folk their imitative steps will bend .

What standard he doth righteous deem and true,

The wider world will diligently pursue .

Verse 3.22

O Partha, naught for Me remains to do,

In these three realms that meet the gazer's view ;

Naught unattained that I should strive to gain,

Yet in My acts, My purpose doth remain .

Verse 3.23

For should I cease from toil one fleeting day,

O Partha, men would surely lose their way .

Theyd ape My still inactions vacant guise,

And these three realms in direst plight would rise

Verse 3.24

In chaos wild, and ruin's surging tide,

And beings all their proper roles cast wide,

And dire confusion would all order quell,

If I from ceaseless action bade farewell .

Verse 3.25

As those in ignorance hold firmly fast

To works ill-wrought, where selfish aims are cast,

So should the wise, detached and spirit-free,

Act for the world's enduring stability .

Verse 3.26

Let not the sage, whose vision doth extend,

The minds of those to clinging labour tend,

Confuse with doubts; but acting justly still,

Their hearts with gentle wisdom he should fill .

Verse 3.27

The spirit soul bewildered by false ego's might,

Thinks 'I'm the doer,' in its darkened plight,

While nature's modes, the threefold energy's sway,

In truth perform the deeds, along life's way

Verse 3.28

But those who know the Absolute Truth's domain,

From sense and pleasure, wisely do refrain,

Discernment clear, 'twixt selfless act and greed,

They plant the seeds of virtue's noble creed

Verse 3.29

By nature's modes confused, the unwise throng,

In worldly acts engage, with grip so strong.

But let the wise not shake their settled view,

Though lacking knowledge, their tasks are followed through.

Verse 3.30

On Me cast all thy actions, grief and care,

With spirits wisdom everywhere to share .

From longing free, from egos binding chain,

Engage in war, with courage to sustain .

Verse 3.31

Those mortals who this sacred teaching heed,

With faith, from envy's bitter arrows freed,

By actions bonds they never shall be tied,

Salvation's gate shall open to their stride .

Verse 3.32

But those who scorn this word that I impart,

And in their souls find no responsive heart,

Know them as lost, in darkened error steeped,

From wisdom's grace forever they are reaped .

Verse 3.33

As nature's impulse holds its sovereign sway,

Does even knowledge point and lead the way ;

All beings follow where their natures call,

What can mere stern restraint accomplish all ?

Verse 3.34

For every sense, its object doth allure,

With likings sweet and dislikings sting impure .

Yield not to these, their potent force restrain,

For they are foes, and sow the seeds of pain .

Verse 3.35

Far better thine own duty, though ill-wrought,

Than alien duty, to perfection brought .

In thine own dharma, death itself is sweet,

Another's path, great fears thy spirit meet .

Verse 3.36

Arjuna then inquired once more:

By what impelled, to sin's dark door,

Does man proceed, O Varshneya?

Against his will, as forced to stray?

Verse 3.37

The Blessed Lord did then impart :

"It is desire, within the heart,

It is fierce wrath, of passion born,

A fire that leaves the spirit torn .

All-consuming, sinful, vast,

Know this as foe, whose die is cast

Verse 3.38

As smoke obscures the blazing fire,

As dust will dim the mirror's choir,

As womb enshrouds the infant's form,

So desire hides wisdom's norm .

Verse 3.39

By this constant foe, wisdom's light Is veiled,

O son of Kunti bright,

As insatiable desire burns,

Against the wise its malice turns

Verse 3.40

The senses, mind, and intellect,

Are said to be its chosen sect.

Through these it clouds the embodied soul,

And steals the wisdom, makes it whole

Verse 3.41

Therefore, O Bharat's noblest son,

First reign your senses, one by one,

And slay this sin, so dark and deep,

That knowledge and discernment sweep

Verse 3.42

The senses they are called supreme,

The mind excels their fleeting dream ;

The intellect is higher still,

And higher yet, the Self's pure will

Verse 3.43

Thus knowing Him, beyond compare,

Who reigns supreme, with watchful care,

Subdue the mind by inner might,

And slay desire, with all your light,

That stubborn foe, so hard to tame,

O mighty-armed, achieve your aim