Bhagavad Gita 1.45

Sanskrit

अहो बत महत्पापं कर्तुं व्यवसिता वयम् । यद्राज्यसुखलोभेन हन्तुं स्वजनमुद्यताः ॥1.45॥

Transliteration

aho bata mahatpāpaṃ kartuṃ vyavasitā vayam | yadrājyasukhalobhena hantuṃ svajanamudyatāḥ ‖1.45‖

Meaning

“Alas! We are resolved to commit a great sin, prepared to slay our own kinsmen out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom.”

Key learning

Arjuna reframes the whole war as nothing but greed for power and pleasure. In his despair, he shrinks a hard question about justice and duty down to the ugliest possible motive. Panic and depression do this: they paint every option in the darkest color and erase all the nuance.

How to apply this today

When you're low, notice how your mind shrinks complex situations down to their ugliest single motive, usually about yourself. "I only want this promotion out of ego" erases all the real good you could do with it. "This whole effort was just vanity" throws away its real value. Despair tells a dishonest story about your own motives and only remembers the shameful version. When you hear yourself saying "it was all just greed," suspect your mood, not the facts.

Theme: The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair

This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1: Arjuna Vishada Yoga , read all verses in this chapter.

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