अर्जुन उवाचअथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुषः ।
अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥
अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
अर्जुन बोले हे वार्ष्णेय फिर यह मनुष्य न चाहता हुआ भी जबर्दस्ती लगाये हुएकी तरह किससे प्रेरित होकर पापका आचरण करता है ॥
English
Arjuna said: O descendant of the Vrishni clan, what drives a person to commit wrongdoing, even unwillingly, as if forced?
What this verse means
Arjuna asks what makes a person do wrong even when they do not want to, as if some force is pushing them.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, Arjuna has already been told to rise above attachment and follow his duty. Instead of accepting the teaching, he turns to Krishna with a deeper question: what power makes people act against their own will?
Why this verse still matters
You promise yourself you will not send that text, open that tab, or say that cutting remark. Then you do it anyway. The question is no longer moral blame — it is: what is driving me?
The takeaway
It gives language to the strange moment when you feel split between intention and action.
Word-by-word translation
अर्जुन उवाच (Arjuna said) / अथ (then) / केन (by what) / प्रयुक्तः (impelled) / अयम् (this) / पापम् (wrongdoing) / चरति (does) / पूरुषः (person) / अनिच्छन् (not desiring) / अपि (even) / वार्ष्णेय (O descendant of the Vrishni clan) / बलात् (by force) / इव (as if) / नियोजितः (appointed / driven) ॥
This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3: Karma Yoga — The Yoga of Action, which contains 43 verses.
Explore related themes: rajas (21 verses)