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Chapter 1 · Verse 35 · Arjuna Visada Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 1.35

contemplative Dharma & Duty Attachment & Letting Go Fear & Courage

Sanskrit

एतान्न हन्तुमिच्छामि घ्नतोऽपि मधुसूदन। अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः किं नु महीकृते।।1.35।।

Transliteration

etān na hantum ichchhāmi ghnato ’pi madhusūdana api trailokya-rājyasya hetoḥ kiṁ nu mahī-kṛite

हिंदी अर्थ

मधुसूदन! मैं इन लोगों को मारना नहीं चाहता, भले ही वे मुझे मार रहे हों। तीनों लोकों का राज्य पाने के लिए भी मैं इन्हें नहीं मारना चाहता, फिर पृथ्वी के राज्य की तो बात ही क्या है।

Word by Word

etān these
na not
hantum to slay
ichchhāmi I wish
ghnataḥ killed
api even though
madhusūdana Shree Krishna, killer of the demon Madhu
api even though
trai-lokya-rājyasya dominion over three worlds
hetoḥ for the sake of
kim nu what to speak of
mahī-kṛite for the earth
Simplified Perspective

Arjuna's heart breaks at the threshold of duty—he cannot bear to slay his beloved teachers and kinsmen, even for the three worlds themselves. This is the soul's deepest cry: how can right action justify the severing of love?

Yet in this very anguish lies the seed of transformation, for authentic dharma must first pass through the furnace of our attachments and fears. When we face what we truly cannot do, we begin to understand what we actually must—and that understanding rewrites everything.

Listen

Bhagavad Gita 1.35 — BG 1.35

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Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

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