Bhagavad Gita 7.11
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 11 of 30
बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् | धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ ||११||
balaṃ balavatāṃ cāhaṃ kāma-rāga-vivarjitam | dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo'smi bharatarṣabha || 11 ||
I am the strength of the strong, free from craving — and the desire in beings that does not conflict with dharma.
Word by word (3)
- balaṃ balavatāṃ ca aham kāma-rāga-vivarjitam
- — and I am the strength of the strong, devoid of desire and attachment · balam = strength, power, vital force (the quality of being powerful — physical, mental, or moral strength). balavatām = of the strong (genitive plural of balavat — one who has strength). ca = and (continuing the V8-11 'I am' series). aham = I. kāma-rāga-vivarjita = devoid of desire and attachment (kāma = desire, the motivational pull toward an object of enjoyment; rāga = attachment, the coloring/clinging to what is enjoyed; vivarjita = devoid of, free from). The qualifier is critical: Krishna is not the raw strength that serves desire and attachment — he is the strength that operates free from both. The strength of genuine equanimity, of the person who can act powerfully precisely because they are not driven by craving. This is the karma yoga application of balam: the strength that makes right action possible is the strength free from selfish motivation.
- dharma-aviruddhaḥ bhūteṣu kāmaḥ asmi bharatarṣabha
- — I am the desire in beings that is unopposed to dharma, O bull of the Bharatas · dharma-aviruddha = unopposed to dharma (dharma = the cosmic order, righteousness, right action; aviruddha = not opposed to, not in conflict with — a negative compound). bhūteṣu = in beings (locative plural). kāmaḥ = desire (the motivational force; the same kāma that was excluded from balam — but here a specific, qualified kāma). asmi = I am. bharatarṣabha = O bull of the Bharatas (bharata = descendant of Bharata; ṛṣabha = bull — an epithet of strength and nobility for Arjuna). The teaching: not all desire is opposed to the Divine. Desire that is dharma-aviruddha (not opposed to dharma) — desire for knowledge, for liberation, for righteous fulfillment of duties, for genuine love — is the Divine's presence in the being. This prevents the Gita from being read as a teaching of desire-suppression: some desires are the Divine.
- kāma-rāga-vivarjita balam vs. dharma-aviruddha kāma
- — strength free from craving vs. desire not opposed to dharma — the Gita's nuanced position on desire · V11 holds two positions in careful balance: (1) The highest strength (balam balavatāṃ) is free from kāma (desire for personal gain) and rāga (attachment). This is the karma yoga ideal. (2) But not all kāma is to be eliminated — desire that does not conflict with dharma IS the Divine. This prevents both extremes: the extreme of desire-indulgence (all kāma is fine) and the extreme of desire-suppression (all kāma must be eliminated). The Gita's position: strength reaches its fullest expression when free from craving; but dharma-aligned desires are divine. The practitioner's task: not elimination of desire but refinement — from craving/attachment (to be released) to dharma-aligned desire (to be honored as divine).
Among the strong, I am the strength that is free of craving and attachment. I am desire in beings, when that desire does not conflict with dharma, O best of the Bharatas.
A modern analogy
The difference between a surgeon's strength (free from personal agenda, aligned with the patient's wellbeing — dharma-aligned) and a bully's strength (driven by desire for dominance and craving for control) is the very distinction this verse draws. The surgeon's strength IS the Divine; the bully's is not. Both have strength; the quality of motivation distinguishes the divine from the egoic.
What it does NOT mean
This verse does NOT say all strength and all desire are divine. Only strength free from craving (kāma-rāga-vivarjita) and desire not opposed to dharma (dharma-aviruddha kāma) are identified with Krishna. This is a qualitative distinction: the same faculty (strength or desire) can be either divine expression or egoic indulgence, depending on whether it is free from craving and aligned with dharma.
Take with you
- The verse's balam (strength free from craving) is the karma yoga ideal: act with full strength and capability, but without the motivational contamination of personal desire or attachment to outcome. This strength — free from craving — is the Divine's presence.
- The verse's dharma-aviruddha kāma opens space for legitimate desire: the desire for liberation, the desire to fulfill one's dharma, the desire for genuine love and connection, the desire to know the Divine — these are dharma-aligned and are the Divine's presence. Not all desire is to be suppressed.
- This teaching in daily life: before acting, notice the quality of the strength or desire driving the action. Is it free from craving and aligned with dharma? Or is it driven by personal attachment and opposed to what is right? The first is divine; the second is egoic.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
Of the strong, I am the strength devoid of desire and attachment; I am the desire in beings that is not contrary to dharma, O bull among Bharatas. [1]
Of the strong, I am the strength devoid of desire and attachment. I am, O bull among the Bharatas, desire in beings, unopposed to Dharma. [4]
Of the strong I am the strength, free from desire and passion; in beings I am the desire unopposed to duty, O best of Bharatas. [5]
Of the strong I am the strength unaffected by desire and passion, and in all beings I am the desire which is in accordance with duty. [6]
The might of those who are mighty I am, when this is free from lust and selfishness; the Love which is not against the Law am I in them that breathe. [7]
And I am the strength of the strong — devoid of desire and passion. I am, O bull of the Bharatas, desire in beings unopposed to virtue. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Know Me as the eternal seed of all beings — I am the intelligence of the intelligent, the splendour of the splendid.
The enemy is desire and anger, born of rajas — all-devouring, all-sinful. Know this as your internal enemy.
All sāttvic, rājasic, and tāmasic states proceed from Me — yet I am not in them; they are in Me.
Brahman-become, serene, neither grieving nor desiring, equal to all beings — he attains supreme bhakti to Me.
This most secret śāstra spoken — knowing it, one becomes truly wise and kṛta-kṛtya: all duties fulfilled.
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
Verse 11 of 30 · back to Chapter 7