Chapter III · Śloka 36
Arjuna uvāca
अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुषः ।
अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥
अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥
atha kena prayukto 'yaṃ pāpaṃ carati pūruṣaḥ |anicchan api vārṣṇeya balād iva niyojitaḥ ||
But by what is a person impelled to commit sin, O Vārṣṇeya, even against his will, as if driven by force?
Arjuna raises the perennial question of why human beings act against their own better judgment and conscience. He senses that there is some force — distinct from the conscious will — that compels harmful action even when the person does not desire it.