Bhagavad Gita 2.3
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 3 of 72
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते। क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप॥
klaibyaṃ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayy upapadyate / kṣudraṃ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṃ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa
Cast off this petty weakness of heart — rise. This is not who you are.
Word by word (6)
- klaibyam mā sma gamaḥ
- — do not yield to unmanliness / do not fall into weakness · 'Klaibyam' — literally, the state of being without virility. A strong, even harsh term in the warrior context. Krishna is using the language of martial honor to rouse Arjuna.
- pārtha
- — O Partha — son of Pritha (Arjuna's mother Kunti's name)
- na etat tvayy upapadyate
- — this does not befit you / this is not appropriate for you
- kṣudram hṛdaya-daurbalyam
- — the petty weakness of heart / this small-hearted faintheartedness · 'Kṣudra' — small, petty, mean. 'Hṛdaya-daurbalyam' — weakness of heart. Krishna is saying: your heart is capable of more than this. This weakness is beneath your heart's actual size.
- tyaktvā uttiṣṭha
- — having abandoned it, rise up / cast it off and stand
- parantapa
- — O Parantapa — Scorcher of Enemies (Arjuna's battle-epithet)
'Do not yield to this unmanliness, O Partha — it does not befit you. Cast off this petty weakness of heart. Rise up, O Parantapa!'
A modern analogy
A coach, a mentor, or a great friend who refuses to accept your collapse as final: 'This is not who you are. Get up.' Not denial of the pain — but insistence on the person beneath the pain. Krishna uses Arjuna's battle-epithet: 'Parantapa' (Scorcher of Enemies). He is reminding Arjuna of what he is at his best.
Take with you
- 'Tyaktvā uttiṣṭha' — having abandoned it, rise. The sequence matters: let go of the weakness, then act.
- Krishna calls it 'kṣudram' (petty, small) — not to insult but to accurately size the obstruction: it is smaller than Arjuna.
- Calling Arjuna 'Parantapa' (Scorcher of Enemies) while he is weeping is an act of vision: seeing the person's capacity, not just their current state.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Yield not to impotence, O Arjuna; it does not befit thee. Cast off this faint-heartedness and arise, O Parantapa! [4]
Yield not to unmanliness, O son of Pritha: it does not become thee. Shake off thy faint-heartedness and arise. [6]
Yield not to impotence, O Pritha's Son! It is unworthy of thee! Quit thy faint heart! Arise! O thou that burnest enemies! [7]
Yield not to impotence, O son of Pritha; it does not befit thee. Shaking off this faint-heartedness, arise, O destroyer of enemies. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
Arise and win glory! These warriors are already slain by Me — be merely the instrument, O Savyasācin!
Three gates to hell, destructive of the self: kāma, krodha, lobha. Therefore abandon this triad.
Duryodhana catalogues the Pandava heroes — naming his fears, one by one.
Duryodhana lists his greatest champions — and every name carries its own tragic irony.
A grandfather blows his conch to lift a grandson's spirits — love and war entangled.
Verse 3 of 72 · back to Chapter 2