Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 43
एवं बुद्धेः परं बुद्ध्वा संस्तभ्यात्मानमात्मना।
जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम्।।
जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम्।।
evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā sanstabhyātmānam ātmanā
jahi śatruṁ mahā-bāho kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam
also searched as "evam buddheh param buddhva sanstabhyatmanam atmana"
Translation
Thus, knowing that which is higher than the intellect and fixing the mind with the help of the intellect in Karma Yoga, O Arjuna, slay this enemy which takes the form of desire, and which is difficult to overcome.
Vāṇi's rendering
Know what stands above even understanding. Steady yourself by yourself, and slay craving — the enemy so hard to defeat.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| एवम्evaṁ | in this way, having seen it thus |
| बुद्धेःbuddheḥ | than the understanding, the deciding faculty |
| परम्paraṁ | higher, beyond |
| बुद्ध्वाbuddhvā | having known, having woken to |
| संस्तभ्यsaṁstabhya | steadying, holding firm (joined by sandhi to the next word) |
| आत्मानम्ātmānam | yourself, the self as the one held |
| आत्मनाātmanā | by yourself, by that same self |
| जहिjahi | slay, strike down |
| शत्रुम्śatruṁ | the enemy |
| महाबाहोmahā-bāho | O mighty-armed one — Arjuna |
| कामरूपम्kāma-rūpaṁ | whose form is craving |
| दुरासदम्durāsadam | hard to get at, hard to overcome |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 43 mean?
It closes the chapter on action by naming the last opponent. Craving hides behind the senses, the mind, and even the reasoning that thinks it is in charge. Krishna tells Arjuna to know what stands higher than all of them, to hold himself steady by his own hand, and to strike.
What does evam buddheh param buddhva sanstabhyatmanam atmana teach?
That the cure sits above the disease. Buddhi decides, but craving can bend the deciding. So Krishna points past buddhi to what watches it. Standing there, you are no longer arguing with the want on its own ground — you are simply higher than it, and the argument ends.
Who is the enemy Krishna asks Arjuna to slay?
Kāma — craving. Not appetite, not the body's ordinary needs, but the wanting that turns into demanding. Krishna calls it durāsadam, hard to get at, because it never appears as an enemy. It appears as your own good idea. That is exactly why it must be named as a foe.
How can I steady myself by myself when my mind is the problem?
Because the mind is not the whole of you. Something in you notices the mind churning; that noticing is not churning. Krishna's instruction rests on this. Rest your weight on the part that watches, not the part that wants, and the wanting loses its foothold.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Steady yourself by yourself — the same word twice, ātmānam ātmanā. There is no second person coming to help. Krishna has just traced craving through the senses, the mind, the understanding, and named a place above even that; from there, and only there, the grip loosens. Notice the verb: jahi, slay. Not manage, not negotiate, not wait out. Arjuna is called mahā-bāho, mighty-armed, at the exact moment the enemy turns out to be inside him. The chapter on action ends with the hardest action there is. What you cannot argue with, you can outrank — stand higher than the wanting, and swing.