Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 60
स्वभावजेन कौन्तेय निबद्धः स्वेन कर्मणा।कर्तुं नेच्छसि यन्मोहात्करिष्यस्यवशोऽपि तत्।।
swbhāva-jena kaunteya nibaddhaḥ svena karmaṇā
kartuṁ necchasi yan mohāt kariṣyasy avaśo ’pi tat
also searched as "svabhavajena kaunteya nibaddhah svena karmana"
Translation
O Arjuna, bound by your own duty born out of your own inner disposition, and having no control over your own will, you will be compelled to do that very thing which you now do not desire to do through delusion.
Vāṇi's rendering
Bound by the work born of your own nature, what you now refuse in confusion, you will do anyway — helpless.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| स्वभावजेनsvabhāva-jena | born of your own nature, arising from what you inherently are |
| कौन्तेयkaunteya | Arjuna, son of Kunti |
| निबद्धःnibaddhaḥ | bound, tied fast |
| स्वेनsvena | by your own |
| कर्मणाkarmaṇā | work, action, the doing that is yours |
| कर्तुम्kartum | to do |
| नna | not (joined with what follows as necchasi) |
| इच्छसिicchasi | you wish, you are willing |
| यत्yat | that which |
| मोहात्mohāt | out of confusion, from a clouded mind |
| करिष्यसिkariṣyasi | you will do (final vowel elided before avaśo) |
| अवशःavaśaḥ | helpless, without say in the matter |
| अपिapi | even, all the same |
| तत्tat | that very thing |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 60 mean?
It means the work that belongs to your nature will get done through you regardless of your protest. Arjuna thinks refusal is an option; Krishna tells him it is only a delay. What you decline out of moha you will perform later, helpless. The choice was never whether, only how.
What does svabhavajena kaunteya nibaddhah svena karmana teach?
That you are bound by your own action, born of your own nature — not by fate imposed from outside. The binding is intimate. Krishna is not threatening Arjuna with punishment; he is describing the pull of what a person actually is. Fight it and it drags you. Meet it and it carries you.
Does this verse mean I have no free will?
Not quite. Krishna leaves untouched the one freedom that matters — whether you act clear-eyed or under compulsion. The act itself is already decided by your svabhāva. Your part is consent. To do willingly what you would be dragged into anyway is the difference between bondage and yoga.
Why does Krishna call Arjuna's refusal delusion?
Because Arjuna's reasons look like compassion but rest on avoidance. Moha here is not stupidity; it is the mind arranging good arguments for the thing it wants. Krishna does not debate them. He simply points out that the arguments will lose to Arjuna's own nature, and Arjuna will fight regardless.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Krishna has just told Arjuna his refusal is powerless. Now he says why. There is a work born of your own nature — svabhāva — and it will move through you whether you consent or not. Arjuna imagines he has two options: fight, or lay down the bow. Krishna shows him one door, and it opens the same way either way. What you refuse in confusion you will do anyway; the only thing left to choose is whether you do it awake or dragged. That is the whole of freedom here. Not what you do, but whether your eyes are open while you do it.