Bhagavad Gita 1.45अहो बत महत्पापं कर्तुं व्यवसिता वयम्।यद्राज्यसुखलोभेन हन्तुं स्वजनमुद्यताः ॥
aho bata mahat pāpaṁ kartuṁ vyavasitā vayam
yad rājya-sukha-lobhena hantuṁ sva-janam udyatāḥ
Sanskrit recitation
When the body freezes · 1.28–1.47 · Teaching
Translation
Alas! We are involved in a great sin, for we are prepared to kill our kinsmen, out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom.
Hindi translation
यह बड़े आश्चर्य और खेद की बात है कि हमलोग बड़ा भारी पाप करने का निश्चय कर बैठे हैं, जो कि राज्य और सुख के लोभ से अपने स्वजनों को मारने के लिये तैयार हो गये हैं!
Meaning
It is the custom – according to kṣatriya fighting principles – that an unarmed and unwilling foe should not be attacked. Arjuna, however, decided that even if attacked by the enemy in such an awkward position, he would not fight. He did not consider how much the other party was bent upon fighting. All these symptoms are due to soft-heartedness resulting from his being a great devotee of the Lord.
After A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When the body freezes· 1.28–1.47→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 1.28Arjuna said, "O Krishna, seeing my kinsmen arrayed here, eager to fight,
- 1.29My limbs fail, my mouth is parched, my body quivers, and my hair stands on end.
- 1.30The Gandiva slips from my hand, and my skin burns all over; I am unable to stand, and my…
- 1.31And I see ill omens, O Kesava. I do not see any good in slaying my kinsmen in battle.
- 1.32I desire not victory, O Krishna, nor kingdom, nor pleasures. What use is dominion to us, O…
- 1.33Those for whose sake we desire kingdom, enjoyments, and pleasures stand here in battle,…
- 1.34Teachers, fathers, sons, and grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons,…
- 1.35These I do not wish to kill, O Krishna, even though they kill me, for the sake of dominion…
- 1.36By killing these sons of Dhritarashtra, what pleasure could be ours, O Janardana? Only sin…
- 1.37Therefore, we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our relatives; for how can we be…
- 1.38Though they, with intelligence overpowered by greed, see no evil in the destruction of…
- 1.39Why should we not, who clearly see the evil in the destruction of families, learn to turn…
- 1.40In the destruction of a family, the immemorial religious rites of that family perish; on…
- 1.41O Krishna, by the prevalence of impiety, the women of the family become corrupt; and, when…
- 1.42Confusion of castes leads to hell for the slayers of the family, for their forebears fall,…
- 1.43By these evil deeds of the destroyers of the family, which cause confusion of castes, the…
- 1.44We have heard, O Janardana, that those men in whose families the religious practices have…
1.45Alas! We are involved in a great sin, for we are prepared to kill our kinsmen, out of…
- 1.46If the sons of Dhritarashtra, with weapons in hand, should slay me in battle, unresisting…
- 1.47Sanjaya said, Having thus spoken in the midst of the battlefield, Arjuna cast away his bow…
Word-by-word→
- aho
- alas
- yat
- because
- bata
- how
- mahat
- great
- vayam
- we
- hantum
- to kill
- kartum
- to perform
- pāpam
- sins
- sva-janam
- kinsmen
- udyatāḥ
- intending
- vyavasitāḥ
- have decided
- rājya-sukha-lobhena
- driven by the desire for kingly pleasure
Related verses
- 7.27O Bharata, all beings are subject to delusion at birth due to the delusion of the pairs of…
- 1.27He saw fathers-in-law and friends in both the armies. The son of Kunti, Arjuna, seeing all…
- 4.36Even if thou art the most sinful of all sinners, yet thou shalt surely cross over all sins…
- 2.1Sanjaya said: To him, who was thus overcome with pity, despondent, with eyes full of tears…