Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 73

Chapter 18 – Moksha Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

अर्जुन उवाच ।
नष्टो मोहः स्मृतिर्लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान्मयाच्युत ।
स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देहः करिष्ये वचनं तव ॥

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca .
naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtirlabdhā tvatprasādānmayācyuta .
sthito.asmi gatasandehaḥ kariṣye vacanaṃ tava ॥

Meaning

Arjuna said: My delusion is destroyed, and by your grace, O Achyuta, I have regained my memory. I stand firm, my doubts dispelled. I will do as you say.

Word meanings

अर्जुनः उवाच – Arjuna said
नष्टः – destroyed
मोहः – delusion
स्मृतिः – memory — awareness of one's true nature and duty
लब्धा – regained
त्वत्प्रसादात् – by your grace
मया – by me
अच्युत – O Achyuta, the unfailing one
स्थितः – firm, established
अस्मि – I am
गतसन्देहः – with doubts gone
करिष्ये – I will do
वचनम् – word, command
तव – your

Anvaya (word order)

अर्जुनः उवाच — अच्युत, त्वत्प्रसादात् (मम) मोहः नष्टः, मया स्मृतिः लब्धा; (अहं) गतसन्देहः स्थितः अस्मि; तव वचनं करिष्ये ।

Explanation

This is the most satisfying moment in the Gita — the transformation of the disciple. After seven hundred verses of teaching, these four sentences from Arjuna's lips are the fruit of the entire Gita. In the first chapter Arjuna said, sidanti mama gatrani (1.29) — 'my limbs give way'; and in the second, na yotsye (2.9) — 'I will not fight'. Now the same Arjuna says, karishye vachanam tava — 'I will do as you say'. This transformation is the proof of the Gita's success.

The first sentence is nashto mohah — my delusion is destroyed. It directly answers Krishna's previous question (18.72). Krishna asked pranashtah? — 'is it destroyed?' Arjuna replies nashtah — 'yes, destroyed'. Attachment to kinsmen, the ego of doership, confusion about right and wrong — all that fog has lifted.

The second is smritir labdha — I have regained my memory. This is a profound phrase. Arjuna does not say 'I have gained new knowledge' but 'I have regained memory' — the recollection of what he always was has returned. For Shankara this is the memory of the reality of the Self, which had been covered by ignorance; with its attainment all the knots of the heart are loosened, as the Chandogya Upanishad says, smriti-lambhe sarva-granthinam vipramokshah. Ramanuja takes it as the memory of one's true nature — that I am a part of the Lord and subservient to him, and that the world is under his rule. It is also the memory of his kshatriya svadharma, which delusion had made him forget.

For both, Arjuna takes no credit himself: tvat-prasadat — by your grace. This is the humility of the disciple, and it confirms that the highest knowledge of the Gita is finally revealed by divine grace. The address Achyuta is fitting too — by the grace of the one who never falls from his own nature, Arjuna, who had fallen, is re-established in his own.

The third is sthito 'smi gata-sandehah — I stand firm, my doubts gone. In Chapter 2 (2.7) Arjuna had said he was dharma-sammudha-chetah, 'my mind is confused about dharma'. Now he is steady and free of doubt. The word sthita recalls the sthita-prajna of Chapter 2, the one of steady wisdom — Arjuna has now moved towards that steadiness.

The fourth and decisive sentence is karishye vachanam tava — I will do as you say. The final fruit of knowledge is action. Arjuna will now fight — not with the old ego and delusion, but as the Lord's instrument, obedient to his word. This is the practical form of the surrender of 18.66: he has handed the burden of decision to the Lord. It also proves that 'abandoning all dharmas' never meant abandoning duty — the surrendered Arjuna embraces his own svadharma.

For our own lives this verse is a mirror. True knowledge is that which destroys delusion, restores the memory of our real identity, dispels doubt and prepares us for right action. If after studying the Gita we too can say nashto mohah smritir labdha, our study has succeeded.

Context

In the previous verse Krishna asked whether Arjuna's delusion was destroyed. This verse is Arjuna's reply and his last words in the Gita — delusion destroyed, memory regained, doubts dispelled, ready to obey. From the next verse (18.74) Sanjaya tells Dhritarashtra about the effect of this dialogue.

Life lesson

The test of true knowledge is that it destroys delusion, awakens the memory of who we really are, and readies us for right action. Give credit for your understanding humbly to divine grace and to your teacher. The final fruit of knowledge is action — having understood, engage steadily in your duty.

Key terms

Nashto mohah: Delusion destroyed — the fruit of the Gita
Smriti: Recollection of one's true nature and duty
Tvat-prasada: The Lord's grace
Gata-sandeha: One whose doubts are all dispelled
Karishye vachanam tava: 'I will do as you say' — surrender in practice
Achyuta: The one who never falls from his nature — Krishna