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Chapter 3
Link:—Why does a man not perform his own duty, when he knows that one's own duty is better, even though devoid of merit than the duty of another, well discharged? For this Arjuna, puts a question, in the verse that follows
arjuna uvaca
atha kena prayukto'yam papam carati purusah
anicchannapi varsneya baladiva niyojitah
Arjuna said:-
But, why is a man impelled to commit sin, as if by force, even against his will, 0 Varsneya (Krsna)? 36
Comment:-
Atha kena prayukto'yam papam carati purusah anicchannapi varsneya baladiva niyojitah:-Lord Krsna has been addressed as 'Varsneya, because he belonged to the Vrsni clan. In the preceding verse, Lord Krsna praised the performance of one's duty, and duty as performed, according to one's caste and clan. So Arjuna, addresses the Lord as Varsneya. A sensible man does not want to commit sin, by thinking of its bitter and sad fruit.
Here the term 'anicchan does not mean, discarding desire for pleasure and prosperity. It rather, stands for the renunciation of desire, to commit sin. A sensible man does not want to commit sin, but it is the desire for pleasure and prosperity, which deviates him from the performance of his duty and forces him to perform sinful acts.
The expression baladiva niyojitah' (as if driven by force) has been used, to point out the fact that a sensible man, by knowing the bitter fruit of a sinful act does not want to commit it, yet he is forcibly driven to it. From this, it appears that some force is there, to compel him to commit sins.
The root of this sin is desire, for worldly pleasures and prosperity. But a man does not give any heed to this desire, and so he is unable to know the root of evils (sins). He understands that he wants to abstain from committing sins, but some entity is forcibly engaging him, in sins. Duryodhana also declares:
"i know what is righteousness, but I am not inclined to it; I also know what is unrighteousness, but I cannot get rid of it. There is some 'deva' (force) in my heart, which drives me to act" (Garga-Samhita, Asvamedha. 50/36).
The term 'deva' used by Duryodhana stands for desire, (for pleasure and prosperity) which forces him to commit sin, and not to follow righteousness.
The expression 'Kona prayukto'yam papam care—also shows that he is impelled to commit sin by some other force.
The Lord, in the thirty-fourth verse, said, "Attachment and aversion (which are subtle forms of desire and anger) are, the foes of a striver (i.e., these are the roots of sins)". As it was said in a general way, Arjuna could not understand this point. So he puts this question. Arjuna, means to ask whether it is lack of faith or carping spirit or villainous nature or clouded understanding or force of one's own nature or attachment and aversion, or disinclination for one's own duty and inclination to the duty of another (described from the thirty-first verse to the thirty-fifth verse), which drives a man to commit sin. Besides these, is it God or fortune or time or circumstance or action or bad company or society or custom or any government law etc., which is impelling him to commit sin?
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