एवं बुद्धेः परं बुद्ध्वा संस्तभ्यात्मानमात्मना । जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम् ॥
evaṃ buddheḥ paraṃ buddhvā saṃstabhyātmānam ātmanā | jahi śatruṃ mahā-bāho kāma-rūpaṃ durāsadam ||
Know the Self as higher than the intellect. Steady the self by the Self. Then slay the formidable enemy — desire.
Word by word (3)
- buddheḥ param buddhvā
- — knowing what is beyond the intellect · Buddheḥ = of/from the intellect. Param = beyond, higher. Buddhvā = having known, having understood (gerund of budh, same root as Buddha = the awakened). Having thoroughly understood the hierarchy of V42 — specifically, that the Self is higher than the intellect — the next step becomes possible.
- saṃstabhya ātmānam ātmanā
- — steadying the self by the Self · Saṃstabhya = having steadied, having firmly established (sam+stabh). Ātmānam = the self (lower self, the ego-personality). Ātmanā = by the Self (higher Self, Ātman). The technique: use the higher Self to steady/ground the lower self. The instrument of stabilization is the same as what is being stabilized — but at different levels.
- jahi śatrum kāma-rūpam durāsadam
- — slay the enemy in the form of desire — hard to approach · Jahi = slay! (same imperative as V41's prajahi). Śatru = enemy. Kāma-rūpa = in the form of desire. Durāsada = hard to approach, difficult to overcome (duḥ + āsada, from ā+sad = to approach). The closing challenge: the enemy is formidable (durāsada) but the weapon — abiding in the Self — is the ultimate counter.
Thus knowing what is beyond the intellect — steadying the lower self by the higher Self — slay the enemy in the form of desire, O mighty-armed Arjuna, which is so hard to overcome.
A modern analogy
When you are fully grounded in your deepest values and identity — not your ego's desires but your actual Self — the pull of craving loosens. Not by force but by perspective. From the mountaintop, the valley's apparent importance diminishes. V43: the Self is the mountaintop; desire's power is the valley's illusion of size.
Take with you
- The complete weapon against desire: Self-knowledge + Self-abidance + decisive action (jahi).
- Saṃstabhya ātmānam ātmanā — steady the self by the Self. This is the whole practice of karma-yoga in one phrase.
- Durāsada (hard to overcome) — the Gita does not underestimate the enemy. The path is real but not easy.
- This verse closes Ch.3 where V1 opened: Arjuna's confusion about action is resolved — act, from the Self, against desire.
V43 is the closing verse of Chapter 3 and the resolution of its central argument. The chapter arc: Arjuna's confusion about action (V1-2) → Krishna's two-path answer (V3) → why action is necessary (V4-8) → the yajna-cosmology (V9-16) → why even the free act (V17-24) → lokasaṃgraha and the wise person's engaged example (V25) → guna-doership (V27-28) → svadharma (V35) → desire as the enemy of wisdom (V37-42) → final weapon: abide in the Self and slay desire (V43). Shankaracharya identifies saṃstabhya ātmānam ātmanā as the essence of yoga practice: the higher Self steadies the lower self — not by force but by its own superior reality. The chapter that began with 'why should I act?' ends with 'act from the Self, having slain the enemy.'
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya reads V43 as the karma-yoga resolution pointing toward jñāna-yoga: saṃstabhya ātmānam ātmanā is ultimately the practice of abiding in the Ātman. When one is fully established in the Self (the sthitaprajña of V2.55-72), desire does not arise with the same compulsory force — because the Self, knowing its own infinity, has nothing left to want. V43 is therefore the bridge from karma-yoga to jñāna: act rightly → develop Self-knowledge → abide in Self → desire loses its grip → truly free action.
Karma-Yoga lens
The karma-yoga synthesis: you cannot simply decide to stop desiring by an act of will. But by consistently acting as yajna (V9), for lokasaṃgraha (V20), without attachment (V19), you progressively thin the ego's investment in outcomes. Over time, the Self — always present but usually obscured — becomes more available as the ground of action. V43's saṃstabhya ātmānam ātmanā is the fruit of sustained karma-yoga practice. Chapter 3 complete: the path from duty to freedom through action-without-desire, grounded in Self.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Thus knowing the Self to be higher than the intellect and restraining the self by the Self, slay the enemy, O mighty-armed, in the form of desire, very difficult to overcome. [1]
Thus knowing Him to be higher than the intellect, and restraining the self by the Self, slay, O mighty-armed, the enemy in the form of desire, difficult to overcome. [4]
Thus knowing that which is higher than the intellect, and restraining the self by the self, slay, O mighty-armed, the enemy in the form of desire, so hard to overcome. [6]
Thus knowing Him beyond thy knowing, Arjuna! Be thy thought steady, slay the foe! Slay lust, O Bharata! — mighty, proud desire! [7]
Thus understanding that which is higher than the intellect, and restraining the self by the self, slay the enemy, O mighty-armed one, who is hard to approach and appears in the form of desire. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Lift the self by the Self; let not the self drown itself — you alone are your own friend and your own foe.
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
Where yogeśvara Kṛṣṇa is, where archer Pārtha stands — there abide fortune, victory, flourishing, and steadfast dharma.
Acting for reward is the lowest form of action. Seek the wisdom that transcends reward-seeking.