Bhagavad Gita 2.4-6

Sanskrit

कथं भीष्ममहं सङ्ख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन । इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन ॥2.4॥गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान् श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके । हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् ॥2.5॥न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः । यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषाम स्तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः ॥2.6॥

Transliteration

kathaṃ bhīṣmamahaṃ saṅkhye droṇaṃ ca madhusūdana | iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāvarisūdana ‖2.4‖ gurūnahatvā hi mahānubhāvān śreyo bhoktuṃ bhaikṣyamapīha loke | hatvārthakāmāṃstu gurūnihaiva bhuñjīya bhogān rudhirapradigdhān ‖2.5‖ na caitadvidmaḥ kataranno garīyo yadvā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ | yāneva hatvā na jijīviṣāma ste'vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ ‖2.6‖

Meaning

“Arjuna said: How shall I strike Bhishma and Drona with arrows in battle, O Krishna, they who are worthy of my worship? Better to live in this world even on alms than to slay these noble elders; having slain them I would enjoy only blood-stained pleasures. We do not know which is better for us, that we should conquer them or they should conquer us. Those very sons of Dhritarashtra, after slaying whom we would not wish to live, stand before us.”

Key learning

Arjuna is torn, how can he fight people he loves and respects? He'd rather give up than win at such a cost, and he honestly can't tell what's right anymore. Real moral pain looks exactly like this.

How to apply this today

Some choices have no clean answer, every option hurts someone. When you're caught between two painful paths, don't pretend it's easy. Name the real cost on both sides honestly; that's the start of an honest decision, not a rushed one.

Theme: The Yoga of Knowledge

This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga , read all verses in this chapter.

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