Shloka 61
भीष्मविक्रमदर्शनं तथा क्रौञ्चारुणव्यूहविधानम् | Bhīṣma’s Ascendancy and the Organization of the Krauñcāruṇa Formation
सम्बन्ध-- पूर्वश्लोकोंनें कर्म करनेगें मनुष्यको स्वभावके अधीन बतलाया गया: इसपर यह शंका हो सकती है कि प्रकृति या स्वभाव जड है; वह किसीको अपने वशमें कैसे कर सकता है; इसलिये भगवान् कहते हैं-- ईश्वर: सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेडर्जुन तिष्ठति । भ्रामयन् सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया
īśvaraḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ hṛddeśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati | bhrāmayan sarvabhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā ||
The Lord abides in the heart of every being, O Arjuna. By His māyā He causes all creatures to move and turn about, as though mounted on a machine—indicating that embodied agency operates under an inner divine governance even while moral responsibility for one’s chosen alignment remains central to dharma.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
God (Īśvara) is present within the heart of every being and, through māyā, governs the movement of embodied life—like a rider carried by a machine—so the sense of independent control is limited; therefore one should align one’s will with dharma and surrender to the divine guidance rather than egoic compulsion.
In the Gītā discourse on the battlefield, after discussing how actions follow one’s nature, a doubt can arise about how an inert ‘nature’ can compel. This verse answers by pointing to the indwelling Lord as the inner governor who orchestrates the motion of all beings through the body-mind mechanism.