कच्चिद् एतच् छ्रुतं पार्थ त्वयैकाग्रेण चेतसा । कच्चिद् अज्ञानसम्मोहः प्रनष्टस् ते धनञ्जय ॥
kaccid etac chrutaṃ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa cetasā | kaccid ajñāna-sammohaḥ pranaṣṭas te dhanañjaya ||
O Pārtha, was this heard with one-pointed mind? O Dhanañjaya, has the delusion of ignorance been completely destroyed?
Word by word (3)
- kaccid etac chrutaṃ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa cetasā
- — kaccid = has it? (interrogative particle expressing inquiry with hope/concern — the question of a caring teacher anxious about genuine reception); etad = this (the entire teaching); śrutam = been heard (past passive participle of śru = to hear); tvayā = by you; ekāgreṇa cetasā = with one-pointed/concentrated mind (eka = one + agra = tip/point; cetasā = by the mind/consciousness — instrumental)
- kaccid ajñāna-sammohaḥ pranaṣṭas te dhanañjaya
- — kaccid again = has it? (the double kaccid shows genuine concern — two questions: was it heard? AND has the delusion lifted?); ajñāna-sammohaḥ = the complete delusion born of ajñāna/ignorance (sam-moha = total/complete confusion; not just moha but sammoha — emphasising the thoroughness of the original delusion); pranaṣṭaḥ = completely destroyed/gone (pra = thoroughly + naṣṭa = destroyed); te = your; Dhanañjaya = winner of wealth (Arjuna's name from Ch.1)
- kaccid… kaccid… (double interrogative structure)
- — Krishna's final check — two questions, not one: (1) Was the hearing itself attentive? (ekāgreṇa cetasā — one-pointed mind); (2) Has the transformation actually occurred? (ajñāna-sammohaḥ pranaṣṭaḥ). The teacher does not assume the student understood. The double kaccid is the master's final pedagogical act: has the outer hearing AND inner transformation both happened? This is the diagnostic question before Arjuna's answer in V73.
O Pārtha, has all this been heard by you with a concentrated, one-pointed mind? O Dhanañjaya, has the delusion of ignorance been completely destroyed in you?
A modern analogy
A great surgeon completes a delicate operation and asks the patient: 'Are you with me? Can you feel the improvement?' Krishna's double kaccid is that question — not rhetorical, but genuinely checking. The whole Gita has been delivered; now Krishna looks Arjuna in the eye and asks: did it reach you? Has the wound of delusion actually healed? V73 is Arjuna's answer.
V72 is Krishna's final question — the teacher's closing diagnostic before receiving the student's response. The entire Gita (18 chapters, 700 verses) has been spoken. Now Krishna turns and asks: was it received? Has transformation happened? The double kaccid (has it been heard? has delusion been destroyed?) separates outer hearing from inner transformation. Arjuna's V73 response will show whether both have occurred.
Ajñāna-sammohaḥ returns us to Ch.1's diagnosis: Arjuna was afflicted by karuṇā-sammūḍha (delusion of compassion, Ch.2 V1) and vishāda (grief). The entire Gita has been the treatment. pranaṣṭaḥ (completely destroyed) is the outcome marker — not just reduced, not just managed, but utterly gone. This is the Gita's therapeutic model: the teaching is complete when ajñāna-sammoha is pranaṣṭa.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Has it been heard by thee, O Partha, with an attentive mind? Has the delusion of ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya? [1]
Has this been heard by thee, O Partha, with an attentive mind? Has the delusion of thy ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya? [4]
O Partha, has this been heard by thee with concentrated mind? O Dhananjaya, has the distraction caused by ignorance been destroyed? [9]
O Partha, has this been heard by thee with a concentrated mind? O Dhananjaya, has thy ignorance-born delusion been dispelled? [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Therefore remember Me at all times and fight — mind and intellect fixed on Me, you will come to Me without doubt.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
Yoga is the disconnection from suffering — practise it with firm resolve and a mind that does not despond.
O Madhusūdana — I see no stable foundation for this yoga: the mind's restlessness defeats all steadiness.
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.