तस्माद्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च | मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम् ||७||
tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca | mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mām evaiṣyasy asaṃśayam || 7 ||
Therefore remember Me at all times and fight — mind and intellect fixed on Me, you will come to Me without doubt.
Word by word (3)
- tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca
- — Therefore, at all times, remember Me; and fight · tasmāt = therefore (from tad = that + ablative suffix — tasmāt = from that, therefore; this is the crucial inference: V6's principle demands V7's practice). sarveṣu kāleṣu = at all times (sarva = all; kāla = time; sarveṣu kāleṣu = in all times, at every moment — locative plural, indicating continuous temporal scope). mām = Me (objective case — not 'God in general' but specifically Krishna). anusmara = remember continually (anu = after, along, following — anusmara = remember continuously, keep remembering — stronger than smara alone; suggests ongoing continuous remembrance, not a single act). yudhya = fight (second person singular imperative from √yudh = to fight — 'fight!' — Arjuna's duty as a warrior is not suspended but integrated with the practice of remembrance). ca = and (connecting anusmara and yudhya — remember AND fight; the two are not alternatives but simultaneous). The teaching: the tasmāt (therefore) is the structural key — V6 showed that constant bhāva shapes the departure; V7's logical conclusion is: make Krishna the constant bhāva, while performing one's duty (yudhya).
- mayy arpita-mano-buddhiḥ mām evaiṣyasi asaṃśayam
- — With mind and intellect surrendered to Me — you will come to Me alone, without doubt · mayy = in Me (mayi = locative of aham — 'in Me', the ground and recipient). arpita = surrendered, placed (from √ṛ = to place, dedicate — arpita = placed in, dedicated to, offered to). mano-buddhiḥ = mind and intellect (manas = the lower-processing, emotional, willing mind; buddhi = the higher discriminating intellect — together they cover the full cognitive apparatus). So: mayy arpita-mano-buddhiḥ = one whose mind (manas) and intellect (buddhi) are placed/surrendered into Me. mām eva = Me alone (emphatic — the same 'alone' as V5's mām eva smaran). eṣyasi = you will come (future tense, second person singular from √i = to go — 'you will come to'). asaṃśayam = without doubt (a = not; saṃśaya = doubt — 'certainly, without any doubt'). The assurance echoes V5's 'nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ' — both verses close with the same absolute certainty. V7 is the practical bridge: do this (mām anusmara + yudhya) and the result (mām evaiṣyasi) is guaranteed (asaṃśayam).
- The synthesis of mām anusmara and yudhya — contemplation and action as one
- — Remember Me AND fight — not alternately, but simultaneously; this is karma yoga's highest formulation · V7's command is syntactically simple but philosophically radical: mām anusmara yudhya ca — 'remember Me and fight.' The 'and' (ca) is the most important word in the verse. It is not 'remember Me instead of fighting' (renunciation) nor 'fight as your sole duty and remember Me sometimes' (distracted action). It is both simultaneously — the integration that is the entire Gita's teaching compressed into two words. This is the karma yoga teaching from Ch.3-4 arriving at its fullest expression: act with complete engagement (yudhya — fight!) while holding the Divine as the constant inner orientation (mām anusmara). The warrior who fights AND remembers Krishna simultaneously embodies V6's sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ: being constantly formed by Krishna while fully engaged in action. This integration — action with inner remembrance — is the Gita's distinctive contribution to spiritual life.
V7 draws the direct practical conclusion from V6's principle: since the death-state follows from the dominant orientation of life (V6), the instruction is: make Me (Krishna) that dominant orientation — at all times (sarveṣu kāleṣu) — while continuing to do your duty (yudhya — fight!). The result is guaranteed: you will come to Me, without any doubt.
A modern analogy
A skilled surgeon performing a complex operation has simultaneously: complete technical focus on the procedure (yudhya — action done with full competence) AND a quality of inner steadiness and presence that is not disturbed by external pressures (mām anusmara — inner remembrance). The two do not conflict — the inner steadiness actually enhances the outer performance. V7's 'remember Me and fight' is this integration.
What it does NOT mean
V7 does NOT mean that Arjuna should think about Krishna instead of focusing on fighting. The 'and' (ca) — mām anusmara yudhya ca — is simultaneous, not alternating. The teaching is the integration of inner remembrance with outer action. This is the Gita's distinctive contribution: not withdrawal from action but action done with inner God-remembrance.
Take with you
- V7's tasmāt (therefore) makes the practice instruction a logical conclusion, not an arbitrary command. Once you accept V6's principle — that you become what you repeatedly contemplate — V7 is the obvious next step: choose what to contemplate. V7 gives the specific prescription: choose Me (the Divine) as your constant contemplation.
- V7's sarveṣu kāleṣu (at ALL times) is the scope of the practice. Not 'in meditation time' or 'in prayer time' but at all times — while working, while talking, while resting. This is the practice of constant remembrance (anusmara) — a devotional practice found across traditions (the Jesus Prayer in Christian hesychasm; dhikr in Sufism; japa in Hinduism). V7 is the Gita's formulation of this universal practice.
- V7 integrates spiritual practice and worldly duty: fight AND remember. This resolves the false dichotomy that spiritual life requires withdrawal from the world. The Gita's path is engagement with full inner remembrance — the world is the context for practice, not its obstacle.
V7 is one of the most practically important verses in the Gita — the direct practical instruction that flows from V6's principle and defines the method for achieving V5's assurance. The verse structure is elegant: tasmāt (therefore — from V6) + sarveṣu kāleṣu (at all times, generalizing beyond the battlefield) + mām anusmara (continuous divine remembrance) + yudhya ca (AND fight — action is not suspended) + mayy arpita-mano-buddhiḥ (mind and intellect surrendered in Me — the quality required) + mām evaiṣyasi (you will come to Me alone) + asaṃśayam (without doubt — same absolute assurance as V5). The verse is the Gita's most concise integration of its two great teachings: karma yoga (yudhya — engaged action as spiritual practice) and bhakti/dhyāna (mām anusmara — devotional remembrance). These are not two separate paths here — they are one integrated practice: act fully while remembering continuously. The mayy arpita-mano-buddhiḥ (mind and intellect surrendered in Me) is the deeper quality required. Arpita (from √ṛ = to place, to offer) means the mind and intellect are not merely 'thinking about' Krishna but are dedicated to/offered into Krishna — a more complete surrender than simple thought. The manas (emotional-willing mind) and buddhi (discriminating intellect) together cover the full range of cognitive function — both dimensions of knowing are to be anchored in the Divine.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: mām anusmara = remember the Brahman that is My essential nature, not just the personal form. The mind and intellect (mano-buddhi) surrendered 'in Me' (mayi) is the process of gradually dissolving the ahankāra (ego-identification) into the ātmā-Brahman recognition. The 'come to Me' (mām evaiṣyasi) is the ātman recognizing its identity with Brahman at the time of death.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti traditions, V7 is the most important practical instruction in the Gita: 'at ALL times, remember Me.' This is the smaraṇa (remembrance) aspect of bhakti — one of the nine forms of devotion — elevated to a constant, all-encompassing practice. The asaṃśayam (without doubt) assurance is the foundation of the devotee's faith: consistent remembrance guarantees Divine attainment.
Karma-Yoga lens
V7 is the karma yoga synthesis: yudhya ca (fight — perform your full duty) integrated with mām anusmara (remember Me — inner divine orientation). The karma yogi who acts as V3.30 prescribes ('offering all actions to Me, with mind fixed on the Self') is already living V7. The battlefield is the karma yogi's context for practice, not the obstacle to it.
Modern parallels
V7's 'remember Me at all times while acting' parallels the practice of 'mindfulness in action' — presence during activity rather than reserved for formal meditation. V7 anticipates the modern research showing that contemplative practices integrated into daily life are more transformative than isolated formal sessions: 'sarveṣu kāleṣu' (at all times) reflects this insight. The asaṃśayam (without doubt) is the Gita's equivalent of evidence-based confidence in the practice.
Practice
V7 integration practice: after formal meditation, before returning to activity, take three breaths and set the intention: 'I return to my duties (yudhya) while maintaining inner remembrance (mām anusmara) of what was present in this meditation.' Then carry that quality — gently, without force — through the first activity of the day. This is V7 practiced as a transition ritual between formal and active life.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Therefore, at all times, constantly remember Me, and fight. With mind and intellect absorbed in Me, thou shalt doubtless come to Me. [4]
Therefore at all times remember me, and fight. With mind and intellect set on me, without doubt thou shalt come to me. [5]
Therefore, O Arjuna, think of me at all times and fight. If thy mind and thy understanding be fixed on me, thou shalt without doubt come to me. [6]
Have Me, then, in thy heart always! and fight! Thou too, when heart and mind are fixed on Me, Shalt surely come to Me! [7]
Therefore, at all times remember me, and engage in battle. Fixing your mind and understanding on me, you will come to me, there is no doubt. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Whatever state of being one remembers at death — to that state one attains, shaped by one's constant thought.
Surrender all action to Me, mind on the Self, free from hope and possessiveness — then fight, free from fever.
Of all yogis, the one whose inner self is merged in Me, worshipping with śraddhā — that one I hold to be most united.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
Even the wise are confused about action vs. inaction. I will explain — knowing this frees you from all wrong.
Knowledge, action, and agent are each three-fold by guṇa-distinction — as declared in the guṇa-science. Hear them.