Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 7, Verse 11
बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम्।
धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ।।
धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ।।
balaṁ balavatāṁ cāhaṁ kāma-rāga-vivarjitam
dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo ’smi bharatarṣabha
also searched as "balam balavatam chaham kama raga vivarjitam"
Translation
In the strong, I am strength, devoid of desire and passion. In all beings, I am the desire which is not contrary to Dharma, O Arjuna.
Vāṇi's rendering
I am strength without craving in the strong. In all beings, I am the desire that dharma allows.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बलम्balaṁ | strength, force |
| बलवताम्balavatāṁ | of the strong, in those who have power |
| चca | and (sandhi: ca + ahaṁ becomes cāhaṁ) |
| अहम्ahaṁ | I |
| कामरागविवर्जितम्kāma-rāga-vivarjitam | free of craving and clinging attachment |
| धर्माविरुद्धःdharmāviruddhaḥ | not at odds with dharma (sandhi: dharma + aviruddhaḥ) |
| भूतेषुbhūteṣu | in all living beings |
| कामःkāmaḥ | desire, wanting |
| अस्मिasmi | I am (sandhi: kāmaḥ + asmi becomes kāmo 'smi) |
| भरतर्षभbharatarṣabha | O bull among the Bharatas — Arjuna |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 11 mean?
Krishna names himself as two things people usually distrust: strength and desire. He qualifies each. The strength is his when it carries no craving; the desire is his when it does not stand against dharma. Power and wanting are not condemned here — they are claimed, on condition.
What is the meaning of balam balavatam chaham kama raga vivarjitam?
Balaṁ balavatāṁ — the strength in the strong. But Krishna immediately strips it: kāma-rāga-vivarjitam, without craving, without clinging. Strength that wants something from you is appetite wearing armour. Strength that wants nothing can simply stand where it is needed. That second kind, Krishna says, is himself.
Does the Gita say desire is bad?
Not here. Krishna calls kāma in all beings his own, so long as it is dharmāviruddha — not opposed to dharma. The Gītā's quarrel is with desire that devours the one desiring, not with wanting itself. Hunger for food, for work, for someone's wellbeing — these move in step with dharma.
How do I know if my desire is aligned with dharma?
Ask what it costs and who pays. Desire that runs with dharma leaves the people around you intact and leaves you able to sleep. Desire opposed to it needs concealment, needs someone diminished, needs tomorrow to be sacrificed for tonight. You usually know already. The difficulty is admitting it.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna claims strength — but only the strength that has nothing to prove. Take craving out of power and what remains is still power; it simply no longer needs an enemy. Then he goes further, into ground most teachings fence off: desire itself is his, wherever it does not run against dharma. Not desire tolerated. Desire as him. Arjuna came ready to renounce everything and call that holiness. Krishna will not let him. The wanting that feeds your work, your love, your care for the people who depend on you — that is not the obstacle. Check what your wanting is opposed to. That is the only test.