18.63 Then do as you choose Krishna speaks
इति ते ज्ञानमाख्यातं गुह्याद्गुह्यतरं मया
विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु
iti te jñānam ākhyātaṁ guhyād guhyataraṁ mayā
vimṛiśhyaitad aśheṣheṇa yathechchhasi tathā kuru
So I have told you this knowledge, more secret than what is secret. Consider it fully, and then do as you choose.
Explanation
Then do as you choose.
yathecchasi tathā kuru. After seventeen chapters, this.
The knowledge has been given and the decision is handed back. Whatever the Gita is, it is not a book that ends by compelling anyone — and the verse before it said he would do it anyway.
Going further
Word by word
- iti
- thus
- te
- to you
- jñānam
- knowledge
- ākhyātam
- explained
- guhyāt
- than secret knowledge
- guhya-taram
- still more secret knowledge
- mayā
- by me
- vimṛiśhya
- pondering
- etat
- on this
- aśheṣheṇa
- completely
- yathā
- as
- ichchhasi
- you wish
- tathā
- so
- kuru
- do
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Yathechchhasi tathā kuru — then do as you choose.
After seventeen chapters, this. The knowledge has been given and the decision is handed back. It is worth noticing what is not said: no threat, no condition, no final argument. The text stops persuading three verses before it stops speaking.