Therefore, O best of the Bharatas, first bring the senses under control, and then strike down this sinful thing, the destroyer of knowledge and realization.
Explanation
Krishna has just said that desire (kāma) takes hold of the senses, mind and intellect and covers over knowledge. Here he gives Arjuna the practical conclusion: start by disciplining the senses, then root out desire itself, called the 'sinful one' (pāpman). 'Knowledge' (jñāna) and 'realization' (vijñāna) are read differently across traditions: some take them as scriptural knowledge and its direct experience, others as knowledge of the self and of the wider world.