अर्जुन उवाच | मदनुग्रहाय परमं गुह्यमध्यात्मसंज्ञितम् | यत्त्वयोक्तं वचस्तेन मोहोऽयं विगतो मम ||१||
arjuna uvāca | mad-anugrahāya paramaṃ guhyam adhyātma-saṃjñitam | yat tvayoktaṃ vacas tena moho'yaṃ vigato mama || 1 ||
My delusion is gone — dispersed by Your compassionate words on the Self and its deep mysteries.
Word by word (3)
- mad-anugrahāya
- — Out of compassion for me, for my benefit · mad = me (genitive of aham — 'my'). anugrahāya = out of grace/compassion/benefit for (dative of anugraha = 'grace, compassion, favor' — from anu = following + √grah = to grasp; anugraha = 'the grasping-after [the disciple], the grace that follows [to support]; often translated: grace, compassion, favor, kindness'; the dative here = 'for the sake of bestowing grace upon me'). Mad-anugrahāya = 'out of compassion directed toward me' — Arjuna opens Ch.11 by naming the MOTIVATION of Krishna's entire teaching: it was not impersonal instruction but anugrahāya (grace directed toward him specifically). This framing carries Ch.9's V9.22's yoga-kṣema vahāmy aham (I bear the burden of his welfare) forward: Krishna's teaching was an act of grace, not duty.
- paramaṃ guhyam adhyātma-saṃjñitam
- — The supremely secret teaching known as adhyātman — the knowledge of the Self · paramaṃ = supreme, highest (superlative of para = other/beyond; paramaṃ = 'the supremely beyond, the highest'). guhyam = secret, mystery (guhya = 'hidden, secret, esoteric' — from √guh = to hide; guhyam = 'what is hidden, the secret'). adhyātma-saṃjñitam = known/designated as adhyātma (adhyātma = 'relating to the ātman, Self-knowledge' — from adhi = over/about + ātman = Self; adhyātma = 'knowledge concerning the Self'; saṃjñita = 'designated, known as, called' — from saṃjñā = name/designation). V11.1: Arjuna names what he has received — paramaṃ guhyam adhyātma-saṃjñitam: the supreme secret knowledge CALLED adhyātman. This is Ch.10's vibhūti teaching's deepest core: the vibhūtis were the external catalogue; the adhyātma (Self-knowledge) was the inner teaching — V10.20's aham ātmā = the teaching about the universal Self. Arjuna confirms he has received and understood the inner teaching.
- yat tvayā uktaṃ vacaḥ tena mohaḥ ayaṃ vigataḥ mama
- — By those words spoken by You, this delusion of mine is gone · yat = which (relative pronoun — 'which words'). tvayā = by You (instrumental of tvaṃ = you; tvayā = 'by You'). uktaṃ = spoken (past passive participle of √vac = to speak; uktaṃ = 'spoken, declared'). vacaḥ = words, speech (vacas = 'speech, word' — from √vac = to speak; vacas = 'the word, the speech'). tena = by that (instrumental of tat = that; tena = 'by that [speech]'). mohaḥ = delusion, bewilderment (moha = 'delusion, bewilderment, confusion' — from √muh = to be confused; moha = 'the state of confusion, the veil of illusion'; moha is the specific condition that led to Arjuna's collapse in Ch.1 V1.30: moha + grief → inability to act). ayaṃ = this (proximate demonstrative — 'this [delusion] of mine'). vigataḥ = gone, departed (vi = away + gata = gone; vigata = 'completely gone, departed'). mama = my (genitive of aham). 'By those words spoken by You, this my delusion is gone.' V11.1 is the explicit confirmation that Ch.10's teaching achieved its purpose: Arjuna's moha (V1.30's original crisis-condition) is vigataḥ (completely dispersed). The Gita's arc from V1.30 (moha-onset) to V11.1 (moha-viguṃā) = the first major milestone of Arjuna's journey.
V11.1: Arjuna speaks. mad-anugrahāya (out of compassion directed toward me — naming the motivation of the entire teaching as grace, not duty) + paramaṃ guhyam adhyātma-saṃjñitam (the supreme secret known as adhyātma — Self-knowledge, the deepest core of Ch.7-10's teaching) + yat tvayoktaṃ vacas tena moho'yaṃ vigato mama (by those words spoken by You, this my delusion is gone). V11.1 is the explicit confirmation: the moha (delusion) that drove Arjuna's collapse in Ch.1 V1.30 is now vigataḥ (completely departed). The first major milestone of Arjuna's journey: from crisis (V1.28-V1.47) to clarity (V11.1). Arjuna is not yet fully liberated — but his delusion is gone.
A modern analogy
V11.1's moha-dispersal parallels the experience of emerging from a mental fog that has kept you paralyzed. You've been receiving teaching, guidance, perspective — and at some point you notice: the confusion that was preventing me from seeing clearly and acting decisively has lifted. You're not fully arrived, but you can see the path. V11.1 is that moment in Arjuna's journey: the bewilderment of Ch.1 has cleared through Chs.2-10's teaching. Now he can move forward — and he immediately moves to the next request.
What it does NOT mean
V11.1's moho'yaṃ vigato mama (this my delusion is gone) is not saying Arjuna is fully enlightened or liberated. The delusion (moha = the specific confusion/bewilderment that made him drop his bow and refuse to fight) has been dispelled by the teachings of Ch.2-Ch.10. But he still has much to learn — Ch.11's cosmic vision will still terrify him (V11.24, V11.45), and V18.73 will be his final complete resolution ('my delusion is destroyed'). V11.1's moha-departure = intellectual clarity; V18.73's moha-nāśa = complete realization.
Take with you
- V11.1's arc-completion recognition: the Gita moves from V1.30's moha-onset (Arjuna's collapse under grief and confusion) to V11.1's moha-vigama (departure of delusion). Locate yourself in your own moha-arc: is there a confusion or bewilderment in your life that the right teaching or perspective has been gradually dispersing? V11.1 teaches: moha is not permanent — it is a condition (moha = the state of being confused) that dissolves when the right understanding arrives.
- V11.1's mad-anugrahāya (compassion toward me) as a gratitude recognition: before asking for more (which Arjuna does in V11.3), Arjuna first recognizes the grace he has already received. The teaching was not obligation or performance — it was anugrahāya (directed grace). V11.1 practice: before making any new request in your life, pause and recognize what has already been given. Name it. Acknowledge it. Then ask.
- V11.1 as a chapter-transition marker: Ch.11 opens with Arjuna's confirmation that he has received Ch.10's teaching. Then he immediately requests MORE (V11.3). This is the Gita's model of learning: receive → confirm (V11.1-V11.2) → integrate → request the next level. At any point in your study, practice the V11.1 move: explicitly confirm what you've received and integrated before requesting more.
V11.1 performs a structural function that is often overlooked: it explicitly confirms the success of the Ch.2-Ch.10 teaching before the cosmic vision of Ch.11 begins. The Gita's arc: V1.28-V1.47 (Arjuna's collapse — the onset of moha, grief, and inability) → V2.1 (Krishna's initial critique: 'don't yield to this unmanliness') → Ch.2-Ch.10 (the teaching ladder: karma yoga, jñāna, bhakti, vibhūtis) → V11.1 (the confirmed: 'my moha is gone') → V11.5-V11.55 (the cosmic vision that goes beyond words to direct experience). The sequence of Arjuna's journey: 1. V1.30: moha-onset — 'my limbs fail, my mouth dries, my body trembles' 2. V2.7: śiṣyaḥ te'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam — 'I am your disciple; teach me' 3. V11.1: moho'yaṃ vigato mama — 'my delusion is gone' 4. V18.73: naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā — 'delusion is destroyed, memory is regained' V11.1 is milestone 3: intellectual clarity restored. V18.73 is the final liberation from moha at the deepest level. Mad-anugrahāya: Arjuna names the teaching's motivation as COMPASSION (anugraha = grace directed toward) — not duty, not inevitability, not abstract necessity. This naming is theologically significant: the Gita's teaching was a personal act of grace by the divine toward a specific disciple in a specific crisis. V9.22's yoga-kṣema vahāmy aham (I carry the welfare of my devotees) is fulfilled in mad-anugrahāya: Krishna's teaching of the vibhūtis and adhyātma WAS the yoga-kṣema (wellbeing-carrying) in action.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: moho'yaṃ vigato mama — the departure of moha is the first stage of the Advaita path: from avidyā (ignorance = the condition that makes the ātman appear other than it is) through śravaṇa (hearing the teaching) to the beginning of the recognition. Arjuna has completed śravaṇa (Ch.2-Ch.10). The moha (which is the cognitive symptom of avidyā) has departed. But manana (contemplative pondering) and nididhyāsana (sustained meditation-recognition) remain. V11.1's moha-departure = the completion of śravaṇa; V18.73's naṣṭo mohaḥ = the completion of nididhyāsana.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti, V11.1 opens with Arjuna's recognition of mad-anugrahāya (the divine's compassion directed toward me). This is the bhakta's foundational recognition: the teaching was not an impersonal instruction but a personal act of divine love and grace. The bhakta's relationship with the teacher-divine is always anugrahāya — grace directed personally. V11.1's Arjuna models the bhakta's appropriate response to teaching: first, acknowledge the grace; then, confirm the fruit (moha-dispersal); then, make the next request from a place of gratitude, not urgency.
Karma-Yoga lens
V11.1 for karma yoga: Tilak's reading — moho'yaṃ vigato mama is the result of Ch.10's teaching applied to V2.49-V3.1's question (how to act?). The karma yogi's moha (the specific confusion about right action in difficult circumstances) dissolves when they clearly understand: all action is within the divine's viṣṭabhya (one-fragment sustaining of the cosmos). V11.1 marks the karma yogi's cognitive liberation from the paralysis that moha produces — they can now act from clarity rather than from confusion.
Modern parallels
V11.1's moha-dispersal through teaching parallels cognitive behavioral therapy's concept of 'cognitive restructuring' — the process by which distorted thought patterns (the cognitive equivalents of moha) are systematically addressed through new understanding, until the distorted pattern loses its grip. Ch.2-Ch.10's teaching is the Gita's cognitive restructuring: each chapter addresses a specific aspect of Arjuna's moha (fear of death, grief for the dying, confusion about duty, ignorance of the self's nature) with targeted teaching. V11.1's vigata (gone) is the successful completion of that restructuring.
Practice
V11.1 milestone recognition meditation (10 minutes): sit quietly. Bring to mind a moha (confusion, bewilderment, paralysis) that you have experienced and that has genuinely been dispersed through some teaching, insight, or guidance. Hold the memory of that confusion — its texture, its weight. Then hold the recognition that it is now gone — vigataḥ (departed). Feel the difference. Rest in the clarity that replaced the confusion for 5 minutes. Then: recognize the source of the teaching that dispersed it — hold it with gratitude. This is the V11.1 practice: honoring both the moha that was and the clarity that arrived.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
By the supremely profound words, on the discrimination of Self, that have been spoken by Thee out of compassion towards me, this my delusion is gone. [4]
My delusion has been dispersed by the words which thou for my soul's peace hast spoken concerning the mystery of the Adhyatma — the spirit. [6]
This, for my soul's peace, have I heard from Thee, / The unfolding of the Mystery Supreme / Named Adhyatman; comprehending which, / My darkness is dispelled [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
He cannot stand. His mind spins. He sees only bad signs ahead.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
This divine māyā of Mine, made of the guṇas, is hard to cross — but those who take refuge in Me alone do cross it.
At the end of many births, the wise takes refuge in Me — 'Vāsudeva is all.' That great soul is exceedingly rare.
I am the origin of all; from Me all evolves — knowing this, the wise worship Me with loving devotion.