तस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ ।ज्ञात्वा शास्त्रविधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुमिहार्हसि ॥
tasmāc chāstraṃ pramāṇaṃ te kāryākāryavyavasthitau |jñātvā śāstravidhānoktaṃ karma kartum ihārhasi ||
- तस्मात् · tasmāt
- therefore
- शास्त्रम् · śāstram
- scripture
- प्रमाणम् · pramāṇam
- the authority, measure
- ते · te
- for you
- कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ · kāryākāryavyavasthitau
- in deciding what should and should not be done
- ज्ञात्वा · jñātvā
- having known
- शास्त्रविधानोक्तम् · śāstravidhānoktam
- declared in scriptural rule
- कर्म · karma
- action
- कर्तुम् · kartum
- to do
- इह · iha
- here
- अर्हसि · arhasi
- you ought
“Therefore let scripture be your measure in deciding what to do and what to leave undone. Knowing what the rule enjoins, you ought to act here accordingly.”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT Use wise guidance to decide what to do and what to avoid.
The chapter ends by handing Arjuna a compass, not a cage: tested wisdom as the check on both license and doubt. 'Here' pointedly means on this battlefield, facing this choice. Chapter 17 takes up the obvious reply — what of faith that acts outside the rules? It is like checking the railway timetable before a journey instead of guessing the platform by mood.
— Reader's notes (original)