Bhagavad Gita

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita: Arjuna Vishada Yogam: Chapter 1: Verse 36

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita: Arjuna Vishada Yogam: Chapter 1: Verse 28 to 31

(Image courtesy krishna.org)

A Confused State of Mind Leads to Unnecessary Fears

पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिन: |
तस्मान्नार्हा वयं हन्तुं धार्तराष्ट्रान्स्वबान्धवान् |
स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिन: स्याम माधव || 1.36||

pāpam evāśhrayed asmān hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ
tasmān nārhā vayaṁ hantuṁ dhārtarāṣhṭrān sa-bāndhavān
sva-janaṁ hi kathaṁ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava || 36||

Shloka Translation

BG – Ch. 1- Ver. 36:

What pleasure shall we receive from killing these Dhritarashtra’s kin, Janardhana? We will only commit sin if we kill these criminals. Even if they are offenders, if we kill them, we will undoubtedly commit sin. As a result, killing our own cousins, Dhritarashtra’s sons, and friends is not in our best interests. How can we hope to be happy by killing our own relatives, Madhava (Krishna)?

Explanation

As Arjuna argued for not fighting the war, he added another argument: that doing so would result in sin. In most cases, killing or taking the life of another person is considered a grave sin, resulting in remorse and repentance.
Vedas say “do not harm any living person.” Violence in any form is a sin, and nonviolence is a higher virtue unless it is absolutely necessary in an extreme situation. Even if the enemy’s wrongdoings were unforgivable, Arjuna refused to kill them because he believed it was immoral.

Verse & What we can learn

A confused state of mind gives rise to all kinds of unnecessary and irrelevant fears.

In the next verses, we will know what more Arjuna continues to say in a confused state of mind.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…

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