BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:31

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:31

 

na ca sreyo 'nupasyami

hatva sva-janam ahave

na kankse vijayam krsna

na ca rajyam sukhani ca

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

na--nor; ca--also; sreyah--good; anupasyami--do I foresee; hatva--by

killing; sva-janam--own kinsmen; ahave--in the fight; na--nor;

kankse--do I desire; vijayam--victory; krsna--O Krsna; na--nor;

ca--also; rajyam--kingdom; sukhani--happiness thereof; ca--also.

 

TRANSLATION

 

I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this

battle, nor can I, my dear Krsna, desire any subsequent victory,

kingdom, or happiness.

 

PURPORT

 

Without knowing that one's self-interest is in Visnu (or Krsna),

conditioned souls are attracted by bodily relationships, hoping to be

happy in such situations. In such a blind conception of life, they

forget even the causes of material happiness. Arjuna appears to have

even forgotten the moral codes for a ksatriya. It is said that two

kinds of men, namely the ksatriya who dies directly in front of the

battlefield under Krsna's personal orders and the person in the

renounced order of life who is absolutely devoted to spiritual

culture, are eligible to enter into the sun globe, which is so

powerful and dazzling. Arjuna is reluctant even to kill his enemies,

let alone his relatives. He thinks that by killing his kinsmen there

would be no happiness in his life, and therefore he is not willing to

fight, just as a person who does not feel hunger is not inclined to

cook. He has now decided to go into the forest and live a secluded

life in frustration. But as a ksatriya, he requires a kingdom for his

subsistence, because the ksatriyas cannot engage themselves in any

other occupation. But Arjuna has no kingdom. Arjuna's sole opportunity

for gaining a kingdom lies in fighting with his cousins and brothers

and reclaiming the kingdom inherited from his father, which he does

not like to do. Therefore he considers himself fit to go to the forest

to live a secluded life of frustration.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.