Chapter XI · Śloka 33
तस्मात्त्वमुत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व
जित्वा शत्रून्भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम् |
मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव
निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन् ||
जित्वा शत्रून्भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम् |
मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव
निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन् ||
tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva
jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṃ samṛddham |
mayaivāite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva
nimittamātraṃ bhava savyasācin ||
jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṃ samṛddham |
mayaivāite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva
nimittamātraṃ bhava savyasācin ||
Therefore, arise and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They have already been put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasācin, can be but an instrument in the fight.
The word 'nimittamātram' — instrument only — is the pivot of the whole teaching. Once a soul understands that it is the channel and not the doer, all guilt, pride, and anxiety dissolve. Action continues; its burden does not.