Topic

Compulsion

2 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on compulsion. Explore teachings across 2 chapters.

All Verses

Chapter 3 • Verse 36 →The Yoga of Action
Arjuna uvaca: Atha kena prayukto 'yam papam charati purushah, anicchann api varshneya balad iva niyojitah

Arjuna said: O Krishna, what is it that drives a person to commit sin, even unwillingly, as if by force?

  • •Understanding the root of harmful action
  • •The compulsion behind negative behaviors
  • •Questioning our motivations
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Chapter 18 • Verse 60 →The Yoga of Liberation and Renunciation
svabhava-jena kaunteya nibaddha svena karmana kartum necchasi yan mohat karisyasy avaso 'pi tat

Bound by your own duty born of your own nature, that which out of delusion you wish not to do — you will be compelled to do even against your will. One cannot escape the dharma written into one's own nature.

  • •One's own svabhava-born duty binds more powerfully than any external compulsion
  • •What delusion makes us refuse, nature eventually compels us to perform
  • •Freedom lies not in escaping duty but in embracing it consciously with wisdom
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