Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 33
तस्मात्त्वमुत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व
जित्वा शत्रून् भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम्।
मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव
निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन्।।
जित्वा शत्रून् भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम्।
मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव
निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन्।।
tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva
jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṁ samṛddham
mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva
nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin
also searched as "tasmat tvam uttishtha yasho labhasva"
Translation
Therefore, arise, win glory. Conquering your foes, enjoy a prosperous kingdom. By Me they have already been slain. You be merely an instrument, O Arjuna, you great archer!
Vāṇi's rendering
Rise. Win your glory, defeat your enemies, enjoy the kingdom. I have already slain them — be merely my instrument.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तस्मात्tasmāt | therefore, for that reason |
| त्वम्tvam | you |
| उत्तिष्ठuttiṣṭha | stand up, rise |
| यशःyaśaḥ | glory, renown (yaśo before the next word) |
| लभस्वlabhasva | win, take for yourself |
| जित्वाjitvā | having conquered |
| शत्रून्śatrūn | the enemies |
| भुङ्क्ष्वbhuṅkṣva | enjoy, partake of |
| राज्यम्rājyam | the kingdom |
| समृद्धम्samṛddham | flourishing, abundant |
| मयाmayā | by me (joined as mayaivaite) |
| एवeva | indeed, already |
| एतेete | these men |
| निहताःnihatāḥ | struck down, slain |
| पूर्वम्pūrvam | beforehand, long since |
| एवeva | verily |
| निमित्तमात्रम्nimitta-mātram | merely the occasion, nothing but the instrument |
| भवbhava | be, become |
| सव्यसाचिन्savya-sācin | O archer who draws with the left hand as well — Arjuna |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 33 mean?
Krishna tells Arjuna to stand, fight, and take the kingdom — but strips the fight of its terror first. The warriors on that field have already fallen in the vision Arjuna has just seen. Arjuna's part is not to decide their end but to be the hand through which it arrives.
What does 'tasmat tvam uttishtha yasho labhasva' mean?
Rise, and win your glory. It is spoken to a man sitting down inside his own dread. Uttiṣṭha is the same word that begins many of Krishna's hardest instructions — not a promise that the standing will be easy, only that it is yours to do, and now.
If Krishna has already slain them, why must Arjuna fight at all?
Because being unnecessary to the result is not the same as being excused from the act. The outcome is settled; the manner of your participation is not. Krishna removes the burden of authorship and leaves the duty standing. What is taken from Arjuna is the weight, not the work.
What does it mean to be nimitta-matra, merely an instrument?
It means the arrow was never yours to aim alone. Nimitta is the occasion, the immediate cause — the thing through which a larger movement passes. Held rightly, this is relief rather than diminishment. You are still required to be sharp, present, and willing. You are simply not required to be God.
Why does Krishna call Arjuna Savyasachin in this verse?
Savya-sācin names the archer who can draw with either hand — Arjuna at the height of his skill. Krishna uses it precisely when he tells Arjuna he is only an instrument. The mastery is real and it is honoured. It is also being placed in service of something that was never Arjuna's alone.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Krishna has just shown Arjuna time itself eating the armies — Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa, already gone into the mouth of what is coming. Only then does he say: rise. The command comes after the vision, not before, and that order is the teaching. Arjuna is not asked to make the outcome; the outcome is made. He is asked to show up for it. Nimitta-mātra — merely the occasion, the near cause, the hand the arrow leaves. That is smaller than Arjuna wanted and larger than he feared. Your work today was already going to happen. Be the one it happens through.