तस्मात्त्वमुत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व जित्वा शत्रून् भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम्। मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन् ॥
tasmāttvamuttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṃ samṛddham| mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvameva nimittamātraṃ bhava savyasācin ||
Arise and win glory! These warriors are already slain by Me — be merely the instrument, O Savyasācin!
Word by word (3)
- tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva
- — Therefore you arise and obtain/win glory! · Tasmāt = therefore (causal connector: BECAUSE I am Time and they are already slain, THEREFORE...). Tvam uttiṣṭha = you arise (uttiṣṭha = imperative of ut + √sthā = to stand up, arise; the same root as Arjuna's first imperative in Ch.2 to which the Gita builds. The final answer to Ch.2.3's 'klaibya = cowardice' is this uttiṣṭha = ARISE). Yaśaḥ labhasva = win glory (yaśas = fame, glory, honor — what is preserved after physical death; labhasva = obtain, gain, win). Glory (yaśas) is not ego-gratification but the fulfillment of one's dharma-function publicly witnessed. A warrior who fulfills their dharma achieves yaśas — not as a reward but as a natural consequence.
- mayaivate nihitāḥ pūrvam eva
- — by Me alone these are already slain before / already placed/struck down by Me · Mayā eva = by Me ALONE (emphatic; eva = solely, exclusively — it is I, not you, who have done this). Ete nihitāḥ = these are laid down/slain (nihita = placed, deposited, struck down — past passive participle of ni + √dhā = to place; nihita = placed/committed — here in the sense of pre-determined, already accomplished). Pūrvam eva = already, from before, from the beginning (pūrva = former, prior; eva = emphatic: ALREADY). The triple emphasis: mayā (by Me) + eva (alone/already) + pūrvam eva (from before) = the cosmic pre-determination is absolute, complete, and Krishna's alone. This is the most direct statement of divine determination in the Gita.
- nimitta-mātraṃ bhava savyasācin
- — be merely the instrument, O Savyasācin (Arjuna, ambidextrous archer)! · Nimitta = instrument, proximate cause, means, pretext (in Sāṃkhya/Nyāya philosophy: nimitta-kāraṇa = instrumental/efficient cause, as opposed to upādāna-kāraṇa = material cause); mātra = only, merely; bhava = be! (imperative of √bhū = to be). Nimitta-mātra = be MERELY the instrument — not even a significant cause, just a proximate occasion. The philosophical weight is immense: the ultimate cause (kālaḥ = Time/God) is Krishna; Arjuna is only the nimitta (instrument). Savyasācin = the ambidextrous one (savya = left; sacin = able/skilled) — Arjuna's distinctive epithet referring to his ability to use the bow with either hand. This epithet here is not mere flattery: it points to Arjuna's unique capacity to act from both sides (perhaps also: non-dual action).
Having revealed Himself as Time, Krishna now commands Arjuna to act: arise, win glory, conquer, enjoy the kingdom. But the crucial teaching follows: these warriors are already slain BY ME. Arjuna is nimitta-mātra — merely the instrument of what the cosmic order has already accomplished.
A modern analogy
Like a doctor being told: 'The disease process has already determined the outcome — your role is to be the skilled instrument of the body's own healing. You are not the cause of recovery; you are the means through which recovery expresses itself.' Act with full skill, without claiming to be the ultimate cause.
Sit with this: Krishna says 'these are already slain by Me — be merely the instrument.' Does this make Arjuna more or less responsible for his actions? Is the karma yogi liberated by being 'merely an instrument,' or does this create a dangerous abdication of moral responsibility?
V33 is the apex of the karma yoga teaching across the Gita. Every key karma yoga verse (Ch.2.47: karmaṇy-evādhikāras te; Ch.3.8: niyatam kuru karma; Ch.4.18: akarmaṇi karma; Ch.5.8-9: naiva kiñcit karomīti yuktamatvā) converges here in the explicit formula: nimitta-mātra = be merely the instrument. The philosophy: the ego claims authorship of its actions (ahaṃkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate = the deluded self thinks 'I am the doer,' Ch.3.27). The nimitta-mātra teaching dissolves this claim. The cosmic order (expressed here as kālaḥ) is the ultimate cause; individuals are the proximate instruments. Acting from this recognition IS karma yoga: full action + no authorship = the yoga of action.
Advaita lens
Nimitta-mātra bhava (be merely the instrument) is Advaita's deepest practical instruction. The jñānin (one established in Brahman) acts without ego-ownership — not because they are passive but because they have recognized the Ātman as non-agent (akartā). The Ātman does not act; only the guṇas act through the body-mind complex (Ch.3.27). When Arjuna becomes nimitta-mātra, he ceases to be the 'doer' and becomes the 'transparent instrument' through which Brahman acts. This is not passive nihilism but the highest form of activity: action aligned with the Whole, free from the distortions of ego.
Bhakti lens
From the bhakti perspective, nimitta-mātra bhava (be merely the instrument) is the ultimate expression of śaraṇāgati (complete surrender). The devotee says: 'I am Your instrument — You are the cause; I am the means.' This surrender of authorship is the highest devotional act. Savyasācin (ambidextrous) as the closing epithet is bhakti's recognition: Arjuna's unique capacities are acknowledged even in the command to be 'merely' the instrument. Krishna sees Arjuna's skill; the command is not diminishment but elevation into the role of the perfect divine instrument.
Karma-Yoga lens
V33 is the karma yoga formula in its purest, most distilled form: tasmāt (therefore) + uttiṣṭha (arise = act!) + yaśo labhasva (win glory = act excellently, in alignment with dharma) + mayaivate nihitāḥ pūrvam eva (God has already determined the outcome = don't claim the fruit) + nimitta-mātra bhava (be the instrument = act without ego-authorship). The four imperatives are the karma yoga method: arise, act excellently, release outcomes, become the instrument. This is what Ch.2.47-51 theorized; V33 makes it existentially concrete on the Kurukṣetra battlefield.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Therefore do thou arise and obtain fame. Conquer the enemies and enjoy the unrivalled dominion. By Myself have they been already slain; be thou a mere instrument, O Savyasachin. [1]
Therefore do thou arise and acquire fame. Conquer the enemies, and enjoy the unrivalled dominion. Verily by Myself have they been already slain; be thou merely an apparent cause, O Savyasachin (Arjuna). [4]
Dismayed no longer be! Arise! obtain renown! destroy thy foes! Fight for the kingdom waiting thee when thou hast vanquished those. By Me they fall — not thee! the stroke of death is dealt them now, even as they show thus gallantly; My instrument art thou! [7]
Wherefore, arise, gain glory, and vanquishing the foe, enjoy this swelling kingdom. By me have all these been already slain. Be only my instrument. O thou that canst draw the bow with even the left hand. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Your right is to act — never to the fruits. Don't act for results. Don't hide in inaction.
All actions are done by the gunas of nature. The ego-deluded one thinks 'I am the doer' — this is the root of bondage.
Seeing inaction in action, action in inaction — that one is wise, a yogi, a complete doer of all actions.
Five causes of action: body-locus, agent, various instruments, diverse efforts, and — fifth — the Divine/Fate.
Sat means: being/reality, goodness/virtue, and praiseworthy action — three registers of the one word.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.