यदहङ्कारमाश्रित्य न योत्स्य इति मन्यसे ।
मिथ्यैष व्यवसायस्ते प्रकृतिस्त्वां नियोक्ष्यति ॥
मिथ्यैष व्यवसायस्ते प्रकृतिस्त्वां नियोक्ष्यति ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
अहंकारका आश्रय लेकर तू जो ऐसा मान रहा है कि मैं युद्ध नहीं करूँगा, तेरा यह निश्चय मिथ्या झूठा है क्योंकि तेरी क्षात्रप्रकृति तेरेको युद्धमें लगा देगी ॥
English
Relying on ego, you think, 'I will not fight.' That resolve is false; your nature will drive you into battle.
What this verse means
Refusing your duty out of pride will not hold. Your deeper nature will still push you toward the action that fits you.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, Arjuna has dropped into paralysis and Krishna is stripping away every excuse. After telling him to act without ego, Krishna says even this refusal is unstable: Arjuna's warrior nature will still drive him back into battle.
Why this verse still matters
You sit in the car outside the house, rehearsing the text you do not want to send. The longer you delay, the more obvious it becomes: avoidance is not the same as freedom.
The takeaway
It brings relief from fake control: denial cannot erase what you are built to do.
Word-by-word translation
यत् (which) / अहङ्कारम् (ego) / आश्रित्य (taking refuge in) / न (not) / योत्स्ये (I will fight) इति (thus) / मन्यसे (you think) / मिथ्या (false) / एषः (this) / व्यवसायः (resolve) / ते (your) / प्रकृतिः (nature) / त्वाम् (you) / नियोक्ष्यति (will impel)
This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18: Moksha Sanyasa Yoga — Liberation through Renunciation, which contains 78 verses.
Explore related themes: battlefield (20 verses), ahankara (10 verses)