2. Transcendental Knowledge

Sānkhya Yog

BG 2.3

Do not yield to impotence, Arjuna. This does not befit you. Arise above this petty weakness of the heart and conquer your enemies.

क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप

Krishna uses mā-smagamaḥ - do not be a coward - to chastise Arjuna. He calls him Pārtha, a reference to his noble birth, and a subtle reminder that such timidity is not befitting to someone of his background. Arjuna will reply that his refusal is not due to cowardice, but due to the respect and compassion he has for those he is fighting.

Krishna characterizes Arjuna's "weakness of the heart" (hṛdaya-daurbalyaṃ) as "petty" (kṣudraṃ), a word of Vedic origins which refers to something "small, despicable, avaricious" (Rigveda 1.129.6). In this chapter, Krishna will explain just how small and insignificant Arjuna's concern really is, and how the concern itself is keeping him in the bondage of attachment.

  • klaibyaṁ — impotency
    In this context, means "impotence in the form of timidity toward performance of one’s duty", but could also be translated to "unmanliness".

    क्लैब्यं

  • mā sma — do not

    मा स्म

  • gamaḥ — yield to

    गमः

  • pārtha — Arjuna

    पार्थ

  • naitat — not this, not at all

    • na — not

    • etat — this

    नैत

  • tvayyupapadyate — appropriate for you

    • tvayi — to you

      त्वय्य्

    • upapadyate — befitting

      उपपद्यते
    त्वय्य् उपपद्यते

  • kṣhudraṁ — petty
    In this context, refers to a weakness of the mind caused by grief and delusion, rather than by reason and compassion.

    क्षुद्रं

  • hṛidaya-daurbalyaṁ — weakness of the heart

    • hṛidaya — heart

    • daurbalyaṁ — weakness

    हृदयदौर्बल्यं

  • tyaktvottiṣhṭha — arise from surrender

    • tyaktvā — surrender, abandon

      त्यक्त्वा

    • uttiṣhṭha — arise

    त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ

  • parantapa — conqueror of the enemy

    • param — enemies

    • tapa — cause pain

    परन्तप
...2.1

Krishna asked: How has this delusion overcome you in this hour of peril? This is a crude mentality, practiced by those who do not reach the higher abodes.

[2]

Do not yield to impotence, Arjuna. This does not befit you. Arise above this petty weakness of the heart and conquer your enemies.

[3]

2.4...

Similar verses

Chapter 2, Verse 3