स्वभावजेन कौन्तेय निबद्धः स्वेन कर्मणा ।कर्तुं नेच्छसि यन्मोहात्करिष्यस्यवशोऽपि तत् ॥
svabhāvajena kaunteya nibaddhaḥ svena karmaṇā |kartuṃ necchasi yan mohāt kariṣyasy avaśo 'pi tat ||
- स्वभावजेन · svabhāvajena
- born of one's own nature
- कौन्तेय · kaunteya
- O son of Kunti
- निबद्धः · nibaddhaḥ
- bound
- स्वेन · svena
- by one's own
- कर्मणा · karmaṇā
- by karma, by work
- कर्तुम् · kartum
- to do
- न · na
- not
- इच्छसि · icchasi
- you wish
- यत् · yat
- which
- मोहात् · mohāt
- from delusion
- करिष्यसि · kariṣyasi
- you will do
- अवशः · avaśaḥ
- helplessly, involuntarily
- तत् · tat
- that
“Bound by your own karma born of your nature, O son of Kunti, what from delusion you wish not to do — that you will do helplessly.”
— Original plain-language translation
Past action has shaped present temperament; the kshatriya fiber in Arjuna will fight whether he wills it or not. Delusion can veto the will but not nature's momentum. The argument prepares the theology of 18.61: freedom comes through the indwelling Lord, not through denial of nature.
— Reader's notes (original)