Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7, Verse 11

Chapter 7 – Jnana Vijnana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् ।
धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ ॥

Transliteration

balaṃ balavatāṃ cāhaṃ kāmarāgavivarjitam .
dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo.asmi bharatarṣabha ॥

Meaning

Of the strong, I am the strength that is free from desire and attachment; and in all beings, O best of the Bharatas, I am desire that is not contrary to dharma.

Word meanings

बलम् – strength
बलवताम् – of the strong
च – and
अहम् – I
कामरागविवर्जितम् – free from desire (for what is not had) and attachment (to what is had)
धर्माविरुद्धः – not contrary to dharma
भूतेषु – in beings
कामः – desire
अस्मि – am
भरतर्षभ – O best of the Bharatas

Anvaya (word order)

भरतर्षभ, अहं बलवतां कामरागविवर्जितं बलं च (अस्मि); भूतेषु धर्माविरुद्धः कामः अस्मि ।

Explanation

In this verse Krishna speaks of two forces that are very powerful in human life — strength and desire — and attaches an important condition to each.

Balam balavatam chaham kama-raga-vivarjitam — I am the strength of the strong that is free from kama and raga. Shankara distinguishes the two words: kama is craving for objects not yet obtained, and raga is attachment to objects already obtained. Strength driven by greed or attachment — to oppress, to seize, to serve selfish ends — is not the Lord's glory. The Lord is the strength that serves duty, protects dharma and helps the weak. For Arjuna this is a direct message: let your strength serve not personal hatred or greed, but dharma.

Dharmaviruddho bhuteshu kamo 'smi — in beings I am desire that is not contrary to dharma. This is the Gita's remarkably balanced view. Krishna does not call all desire evil. The desire for food, for family, for children, for progress — if these remain within the bounds of dharma, they too are divine. Shankara's example is desire in accordance with scripture, such as the desire for food needed to sustain the body.

The verse shows that spirituality is not opposed to life. Strength and desire are both gifts of the Lord; they need only be directed toward dharma.

Context

In 7.10 Krishna called Himself the seed, the intelligence and the splendour. Here He names His glory as selfless strength and as desire in harmony with dharma. In the next verse (7.12) He says that all states — sattvic, rajasic and tamasic — come from Him, yet He is not in them.

Life lesson

Test your strength and desires with one question: is this in harmony with dharma and the good of others? If yes, move forward, regarding it as God's gift; if not, restrain it with self-control.

Key terms

Kama: desire for what one does not yet have
Raga: attachment to what one already has
Dharmaviruddha: not contrary to dharma, in harmony with it
Bharatarshabha: best of the Bharatas — Arjuna