Bhagavad Gita 18.73
Spoken by Arjuna ☆ Key verse · Verse 73 of 78 · Arjuna's Journey
नष्टो मोहः स्मृतिर् लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान् मयाऽच्युत । स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देहः करिष्ये वचनं तव ॥
naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā tvat-prasādān mayā'cyuta | sthito'smi gata-sandehaḥ kariṣye vacanaṃ tava ||
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
Word by word (3)
- naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā tvat-prasādān mayā acyuta
- — naṣṭaḥ = destroyed/gone (past participle of naś = to be destroyed/lost); mohaḥ = the delusion (the moha of Ch.1, diagnosed and treated through the entire Gita); smṛtiḥ = memory/self-knowledge (smṛ = to remember; smṛti here is not ordinary memory but the recognition of ātman — the memory of one's true nature lost under moha); labdhā = obtained/regained (labh = to gain); tvat-prasādāt = through Your grace/favour (tvat = Your; prasāda = grace, clarity, favour — lit. 'making clear/pure'); mayā = by me; Acyuta = O Achyuta (the Infallible One, Krishna's name meaning 'the one who does not fall/slip')
- sthitaḥ asmi gata-sandehaḥ
- — sthitaḥ asmi = I am established/firm/standing (sthita = established, from sthā = to stand; asmi = I am; the first-person affirmation of stability — from Ch.1's collapse to Ch.18's standing firm); gata-sandehaḥ = doubts are gone (gata = gone; sandeha = doubt, from sam + dih = clinging together; the doubts that clung are gone) — the sthita-prajña ideal of Ch.2 V54-72 is now Arjuna's own lived reality
- kariṣye vacanaṃ tava
- — kariṣye = I will do/act (future of kṛ = to do; first-person active — Arjuna's declaration of will); vacanaṃ = word/instruction (from vac = to speak); tava = Your (genitive of tvam = you) — Arjuna's final declaration: 'Your word, I will act upon.' Three words, 18 chapters of journey: the entire Gita arrives at kariṣye vacanaṃ tava. The student has moved from 'I will not fight' (Ch.1 V46) to 'I will do Your word' (Ch.18 V73).
My delusion is destroyed, and through Your grace, O Achyuta, I have regained my memory (my true self-knowledge). I am firm. My doubts are gone. I will act according to Your word.
A modern analogy
At the start of the Gita, in his collapse on the battlefield, Arjuna dropped his bow and said: 'I will not fight.' Now he says: 'I will do Your word.' The bow is the same. The battlefield is the same. The enemy is the same. But Arjuna is different. Eighteen chapters of teaching — on death, the soul, action, knowledge, devotion, the cosmos, liberation — have turned 'I will not' into 'I will.' Not through force, but through the clearing of moha (delusion) and the recovery of smṛti (true self-knowledge). This is what a truly transformative teaching looks like.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Destroyed is delusion, and I have gained recognition through Thy Grace, O Achyuta. I am firm, with doubts gone. I will do Thy word. [1]
Destroyed is my delusion, and I have gained my memory through Thy grace, O Achyuta. I am firm; my doubts are gone. I will do Thy bidding. [4]
My delusion is destroyed, and through Thy favour, O Achyuta, I have recovered my memory. I am firm. My doubts are gone. I will act according to Thy word. [9]
My delusion has been destroyed and I have now, through Thy grace, O Achyuta, recovered my memory. I stand now, my doubts resolved. I will do Thy bidding. [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.
Surrender all action to Me, mind on the Self, free from hope and possessiveness — then fight, free from fever.
Even the wise are confused about action vs. inaction. I will explain — knowing this frees you from all wrong.
Mentally offering all actions to Me, with Me as highest — resorting to buddhi-yoga, always be mind-in-Me.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Do My work, hold Me supreme, be My devotee, attachment-free, without enmity toward all — such a one comes to Me!
Verse 73 of 78 · back to Chapter 18