Bhagavad Gita 18.72
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 72 of 78
कच्चिद् एतच् छ्रुतं पार्थ त्वयैकाग्रेण चेतसा । कच्चिद् अज्ञानसम्मोहः प्रनष्टस् ते धनञ्जय ॥
kaccid etac chrutaṃ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa cetasā | kaccid ajñāna-sammohaḥ pranaṣṭas te dhanañjaya ||
O Pārtha, was this heard with one-pointed mind? O Dhanañjaya, has the delusion of ignorance been completely destroyed?
Word by word (3)
- kaccid etac chrutaṃ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa cetasā
- — kaccid = has it? (interrogative particle expressing inquiry with hope/concern — the question of a caring teacher anxious about genuine reception); etad = this (the entire teaching); śrutam = been heard (past passive participle of śru = to hear); tvayā = by you; ekāgreṇa cetasā = with one-pointed/concentrated mind (eka = one + agra = tip/point; cetasā = by the mind/consciousness — instrumental)
- kaccid ajñāna-sammohaḥ pranaṣṭas te dhanañjaya
- — kaccid again = has it? (the double kaccid shows genuine concern — two questions: was it heard? AND has the delusion lifted?); ajñāna-sammohaḥ = the complete delusion born of ajñāna/ignorance (sam-moha = total/complete confusion; not just moha but sammoha — emphasising the thoroughness of the original delusion); pranaṣṭaḥ = completely destroyed/gone (pra = thoroughly + naṣṭa = destroyed); te = your; Dhanañjaya = winner of wealth (Arjuna's name from Ch.1)
- kaccid… kaccid… (double interrogative structure)
- — Krishna's final check — two questions, not one: (1) Was the hearing itself attentive? (ekāgreṇa cetasā — one-pointed mind); (2) Has the transformation actually occurred? (ajñāna-sammohaḥ pranaṣṭaḥ). The teacher does not assume the student understood. The double kaccid is the master's final pedagogical act: has the outer hearing AND inner transformation both happened? This is the diagnostic question before Arjuna's answer in V73.
O Pārtha, has all this been heard by you with a concentrated, one-pointed mind? O Dhanañjaya, has the delusion of ignorance been completely destroyed in you?
A modern analogy
A great surgeon completes a delicate operation and asks the patient: 'Are you with me? Can you feel the improvement?' Krishna's double kaccid is that question — not rhetorical, but genuinely checking. The whole Gita has been delivered; now Krishna looks Arjuna in the eye and asks: did it reach you? Has the wound of delusion actually healed? Arjuna's reply — 'Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored; I will do Your word' — is his answer.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Has it been heard by thee, O Partha, with an attentive mind? Has the delusion of ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya? [1]
Has this been heard by thee, O Partha, with an attentive mind? Has the delusion of thy ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya? [4]
O Partha, has this been heard by thee with concentrated mind? O Dhananjaya, has the distraction caused by ignorance been destroyed? [9]
O Partha, has this been heard by thee with a concentrated mind? O Dhananjaya, has thy ignorance-born delusion been dispelled? [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Therefore remember Me at all times and fight — mind and intellect fixed on Me, you will come to Me without doubt.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
Yoga is the disconnection from suffering — practise it with firm resolve and a mind that does not despond.
O Madhusūdana — I see no stable foundation for this yoga: the mind's restlessness defeats all steadiness.
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
Verse 72 of 78 · back to Chapter 18