Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 4, Verse 42
तस्मादज्ञानसंभूतं हृत्स्थं ज्ञानासिनाऽऽत्मनः।
छित्त्वैनं संशयं योगमातिष्ठोत्तिष्ठ भारत।।
छित्त्वैनं संशयं योगमातिष्ठोत्तिष्ठ भारत।।
tasmād ajñāna-sambhūtaṁ hṛt-sthaṁ jñānāsinātmanaḥ
cchittvainaṁ sanśayaṁ yogam ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata
also searched as "tasmad ajnana-sambhutam hrit-stham jnanasinatmanah"
Translation
Therefore, sever, with the sword of knowledge, this doubt present in your heart resulting from ignorance concerning the Self. Practice this Yoga, O Arjuna, and arise.
Vāṇi's rendering
Take the sword of knowledge and cut the doubt born of ignorance from your heart. Stand up.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तस्मात्tasmād | therefore |
| अज्ञान-सम्भूतम्ajñāna-sambhūtaṁ | born out of not-knowing |
| हृत्-स्थम्hṛt-sthaṁ | seated in the heart |
| ज्ञान-असिनाjñāna-asinā | with the sword of knowledge (joined in the verse as jñānāsinā) |
| आत्मनःātmanaḥ | of the Self — the knowledge is knowledge of the Self |
| छित्त्वाchittvā | having cut through (written cchittvā where it meets the next word) |
| एनम्enaṁ | this one, right here |
| संशयम्sanśayaṁ | doubt, the mind divided against itself |
| योगम्yogam | yoga, the practice just taught |
| आतिष्ठātiṣṭha | take your stand in it |
| उत्तिष्ठuttiṣṭha | stand up (joined with the previous word as ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha) |
| भारतbhārata | O descendant of Bharata — Arjuna |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 42 mean?
It closes the chapter with an instruction, not a conclusion. The doubt in Arjuna's heart came from not knowing who he is; knowledge of the Self is the blade that ends it. Krishna does not ask him to feel better. He asks him to cut, to stand in yoga, and to rise.
What does tasmad ajnana sambhutam hrit stham jnanasinatmanah mean?
Therefore — because of everything just said — cut the heart-seated doubt that was born of ignorance, using the sword that is knowledge of the ātman. The word tasmāt matters. This is not a fresh teaching but the edge of the previous forty-one verses, sharpened and placed in Arjuna's hand.
Why does Krishna call doubt something to be cut rather than solved?
Because saṁśaya feeds on being examined. A mind split in two will keep producing reasons for both halves forever. Krishna refuses that loop. He treats doubt as a growth in the heart with a root in ignorance — and roots are severed, not reasoned with. Then you act.
What does uttistha at the end of this verse ask of me?
Movement. Arjuna has been sitting in his chariot since the first chapter, collapsed. Krishna's final word here is stand up. Whatever clarity you have gathered is not finished until it changes your posture. Some doubts only dissolve after you rise, never before.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Doubt is not treated here as a mood to wait out. It is given a location — hṛt-sthaṁ, sitting in the heart — and therefore it becomes something that can be cut. Krishna hands Arjuna a blade, and the blade is knowledge. Not more argument, not more weighing of options; weighing is what doubt does for a living. Then the last word: uttiṣṭha. Stand up. A whole chapter of teaching ends not in understanding but in a man rising to his feet. Your doubt will not resolve while you sit with it. Cut it, and get up.