कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेताः। यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्॥
kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ pṛcchāmi tvāṃ dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ / yac chreyaḥ syān niścitaṃ brūhi tan me śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
Word by word (7)
- kārpaṇya-doṣa-upahata-svabhāvaḥ
- — my nature overwhelmed by the weakness of miserliness/pity · 'Kārpaṇya' — from kṛpaṇa (miserly, helpless, wretched). A strong self-diagnosis: Arjuna calls his state not just grief but a kind of moral smallness that has overtaken his true nature. Shankaracharya comments: kārpaṇya is the excessive sorrow that leads to loss of discrimination.
- pṛcchāmi tvām
- — I ask you / I am asking you
- dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ
- — with my mind bewildered about dharma / confused about what is right · 'Dharma-sammūḍha': completely confused (sam + mūḍha) about dharma. This is Arjuna's self-diagnosis: he is not just sad — he cannot determine what duty requires. This is the precise gap the Gita's teaching will fill.
- yat śreyaḥ syāt niścitam
- — what is definitely the good / what is certainly beneficial (śreyas)
- brūhi tan me
- — tell that to me
- śiṣyaḥ te aham
- — I am your disciple · The formal declaration of discipleship. By saying 'śiṣyas te 'ham' Arjuna enters the guru-śiṣya relationship explicitly. The Gita's teaching officially begins at this moment.
- śādhi mām tvām prapannam
- — instruct me who has taken refuge in you · 'Prapannam' — one who has taken refuge, surrendered. This is the first use of śaraṇāgati (refuge) in the Gita. The full expression comes in 18.66: 'take refuge in Me alone.'
'My nature is overwhelmed by the weakness of excessive grief. My mind is completely confused about what dharma requires. I ask you — tell me clearly what is good for me. I am your disciple. Teach me. I have taken refuge in you.'
A modern analogy
The person who has tried to figure everything out on their own, reached the end of their resources, and finally says: 'I need help. I don't know what to do. Will you teach me?' This is not failure. This is the beginning of the most important learning. Arjuna's 'śiṣyas te 'ham' — I am your disciple — is one of the most important sentences in world literature.
Take with you
- 'Dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ' — confused about dharma. Arjuna's problem is precisely named: not grief, not fear, but not knowing what is right.
- 'Śiṣyas te 'ham' — I am your disciple. The formal declaration of willingness to receive teaching. Nothing can be taught to someone who isn't ready to learn.
- 'Prapannam' — taken refuge. The first act of surrender in the Gita. The teaching begins here.
Verse 7 is one of the most important verses in the entire Gita — the pivot point between Arjuna's crisis and Krishna's teaching. Three elements make this verse pivotal: 1. Self-diagnosis: 'kārpaṇya-doṣa-upahata-svabhāvaḥ' — my nature is overwhelmed by the weakness of miserliness/pity. Arjuna does not just describe his state; he evaluates it: 'doṣa' means fault or defect. He knows something has gone wrong in his own character. 2. Precise identification of the problem: 'dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ' — bewildered about dharma. This is not emotional distress (though he has that too). It is specifically confusion about what is right. This is the gap the Gita fills. 3. Formal discipleship: 'śiṣyas te 'ham tvāṃ prapannam' — I am your disciple, I have taken refuge in you. This is the formal initiation of the guru-śiṣya relationship. Without this, no teaching can be given.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: kārpaṇya (the fault of pitifulness) arises from ahañkāra (ego-identification) — specifically, from identifying the self with the body and its relationships. Arjuna's confusion about dharma is the result of trying to reason about duty while still identified with the ego. The teaching will dissolve the ego-identification, after which the confusion about dharma also dissolves.
Bhakti lens
Ramanuja: 'tvāṃ prapannam' (having taken refuge in you) is the essential act of bhakti. Arjuna surrenders to Krishna — not yet with full understanding, but with full sincerity. The Gita's teaching is Krishna's response to that act of surrender. In the bhakti tradition, this verse is the model for all spiritual practice: come to God with your confusion, not with your certainty.
Karma-Yoga lens
Tilak: Arjuna's declaration 'I am your disciple' is the moment he ceases to be acting from his own limited perspective and opens himself to a larger frame. The Karma Yoga teaching will give him that larger frame: act from svadharma (one's own duty), offered to the divine, without attachment to the fruit.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
My being is overwhelmed with the fault of weakness; my mind is bewildered about duty. I ask Thee: what is certainly better — that tell me. I am Thy disciple — teach me who have taken refuge in Thee. [1]
My heart is overwhelmed with the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to duty. I ask Thee: tell me decisively what is good for me. I am Thy disciple. Instruct me, who has taken refuge in Thee. [4]
My heart is overpowered by a miserable dejection; my mind is confused in regard to duty. I ask Thee which may be better — that tell me decidedly. I am Thy disciple and entreat Thee, who art my refuge, to instruct me. [6]
My heart is faint with grief! I scarce know good From ill; I have forgotten all my lore Of holy wisdom, O, thou Teacher! hear! For I am thy disciple; come to me For refuge, and instruct me. [7]
My very being is stricken with the taint of pitifulness; my mind is bewildered as to duty. I ask thee which may be the better — that tell me for certain. I am thy pupil; teach me, who am seeking refuge in thee. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Approach the teacher with prostration, inquiry, and service. The knowers of truth will instruct you in jñāna.
Abandon all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone — I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
Whoever teaches this supreme secret among My devotees, with supreme bhakti — comes to Me without doubt.