बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् | धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ || ११ ||
balaṁ balavatāṁ cāhaṁ kāma-rāga-vivarjitam dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo 'smi bharatarṣabha
balam—strength; bala-vatām—of the strong; ca—and; aham—I am; kāma—desire; rāga—attachment; vivarjitam—devoid of; dharma-aviruddhaḥ—not contrary to dharma; bhūteṣu—in beings; kāmaḥ—desire; asmi—I am; bharata-ṛṣabha—O chief of the Bharatas.
“I am the strength of the strong, devoid of desire and attachment. I am desire in beings when that desire is not contrary to dharma, O chief of the Bharatas.”
Not all desire is to be rejected. Krishna carefully distinguishes: desire that flows through dharma (righteousness) and is free from selfish attachment is itself divine energy. The error lies not in having desires but in the clinging (rāga) that makes them an obstruction to liberation.
Examine your motivations honestly. A desire to serve, to create, to understand—when these are not contaminated by ego-driven attachment—is dharmic desire and a legitimate spiritual energy. Channel your strengths toward dharmic ends and you align with the Divine in you.