Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 1
अर्जुन उवाच
ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन।
तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव।।
ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन।
तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव।।
arjuna uvāca
jyāyasī cet karmaṇas te matā buddhir janārdana
tat kiṁ karmaṇi ghore māṁ niyojayasi keśava
also searched as "jyayasi chet karmanas te mata buddhir janardana"
Translation
Arjuna said, "O Krsna, if you deem knowledge to be superior to action, why then do you urge me to engage in this terrible deed?"
Vāṇi's rendering
If you say wisdom is higher than action, Krishna, why push me into this terrible deed?
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अर्जुनarjuna | Arjuna |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| ज्यायसीjyāyasī | better, higher, superior |
| चेत्cet | if |
| कर्मणःkarmaṇas | than action (sandhi: karmaṇaḥ + te) |
| तेte | by you, in your view |
| मताmatā | is held, is thought |
| बुद्धिःbuddhir | wisdom, the awakened understanding (sandhi: buddhiḥ + janārdana) |
| जनार्दनjanārdana | Janārdana, stirrer of people — Krishna |
| तत्tat | then, in that case |
| किम्kiṁ | why |
| कर्मणिkarmaṇi | in action, into this deed |
| घोरेghore | terrible, dreadful |
| माम्māṁ | me |
| नियोजयसिniyojayasi | you yoke, you push, you set to work |
| केशवkeśava | Keśava — Krishna |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 1 mean?
Arjuna opens the third chapter by catching Krishna in what he thinks is a contradiction. If understanding is higher than action, why is he being harnessed to a battle he calls terrible? The question is honest and slightly accusing. It is the first sign that Arjuna is thinking again rather than sinking.
What does jyayasi chet karmanas te mata buddhir janardana mean?
It means: if you consider buddhi — clear understanding — superior to action, Janārdana. Arjuna is quoting Krishna back at him. He has taken the teaching of the steady mind and turned it into a hierarchy, with action at the bottom, and now demands to know why he is being sent to the bottom.
Why does Arjuna call the battle a terrible deed?
Ghora is his word, not Krishna's. Arjuna has already sentenced the act before examining it — kinsmen, teachers, ruin. The naming is the argument. Much of what feels unbearable to you has been named unbearable first, and then experienced through the name.
Does Krishna actually say knowledge is better than action?
No. Chapter two praised buddhi-yoga, acting from a settled understanding, not withdrawing from acting. Arjuna hears a ladder where Krishna described a manner. The whole of chapter three exists to correct this, and it begins by refusing the choice Arjuna has offered.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna is arguing now, not collapsing. That is progress. Chapter two ended with the still mind, and he heard a ranking in it — wisdom above, action below — so he asks why he is being pushed down the ladder. Krishna never built that ladder. Notice the word Arjuna chooses: ghora, terrible. He has already decided what the deed is before asking whether he must do it. You do this too. You bring a question about something you have named in advance, and the name does the answering. Ask cleanly, or you will only hear your own verdict returning in a borrowed voice.