Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 33
सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर्ज्ञानवानपि।
प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रहः किं करिष्यति।।
प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रहः किं करिष्यति।।
sadṛśaṁ ceṣṭate svasyāḥ prakṛter jñānavān api
prakṛtiṁ yānti bhūtāni nigrahaḥ kiṁ kariṣyati
also searched as "sadrisham cheshtate svasyah prakriter jnanavan api"
Translation
Even the man of knowledge acts according to his nature; all beings follow their own nature. What will repression accomplish?
Vāṇi's rendering
Even the wise act as their nature moves them. All beings follow nature — what can forcing accomplish?
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सदृशम्sadṛśam | in keeping with, matching |
| चेष्टतेceṣṭate | moves, acts, exerts himself |
| स्वस्याःsvasyāḥ | of his own |
| प्रकृतेःprakṛteḥ | nature, inborn make-up (appears as prakṛter before the next word) |
| ज्ञानवान्jñānavān | one who knows, the wise |
| अपिapi | even |
| प्रकृतिम्prakṛtim | their nature |
| यान्तिyānti | go after, follow |
| भूतानिbhūtāni | all beings, living creatures |
| निग्रहःnigrahaḥ | holding down, forcible restraint |
| किम्kim | what |
| करिष्यतिkariṣyati | will do, will accomplish |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 33 mean?
It means knowledge alone does not overrule temperament. Even one who understands clearly still acts along the lines of his own prakṛti, as every being does. Krishna's question — what will nigraha accomplish? — is not despair. It is a warning that sheer suppression is the wrong tool for the work.
What is the meaning of sadrisham cheshtate svasyah prakriter jnanavan api?
Even the one with knowledge behaves in a way that matches his own nature. Krishna places jñānavān and api side by side deliberately: even him. The verse removes the comfortable belief that once you finally understand something, the old pattern will simply stop appearing.
Is Krishna saying we cannot change ourselves?
No. He is saying force is not how change happens. Nature can be given work, direction, a channel — the next verses speak of attraction and aversion sitting in the senses, and of not falling under their sway. What cannot be done is holding the whole of yourself down by will and calling that freedom.
How does this verse apply when I keep repeating the same mistake?
Stop treating the repetition as proof that you never really understood. You understood. Understanding was never going to be enough by itself. Ask instead what your nature is actually built to do, and put it there, rather than spending your strength pressing it flat.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has just spoken of those who ignore his teaching. Now something harder: knowing better does not make you act better. The wise man too moves as his nature moves him. This is not permission; it is diagnosis. Arjuna wants to lay down the bow, to force himself into a stillness his whole make-up refuses, and Krishna tells him the force will not hold. Nature is not defeated by clenching. It is met, worked with, given a direction. What you press down with your will comes back at midnight. Learn your grain before you try to cut against it.