Mahakatha
M 80% OFF

Chapter 1 · Verse 36 · Arjuna Visada Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 1.36

contemplative Dharma & Duty Karma & Action Attachment & Letting Go

Sanskrit

निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याज्जनार्दन। पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिनः।।1.36।।

Transliteration

nihatya dhārtarāṣhṭrān naḥ kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana pāpam evāśhrayed asmān hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ

हिंदी अर्थ

हे कृष्ण, धृतराष्ट्र के पुत्रों को मारकर हमें क्या खुशी मिलेगी? ये लोग हमारे ऊपर हमला करने वाले हैं, फिर भी उन्हें मारने से हम पर पाप का बोझ आएगा।

Word by Word

nihatya by killing
dhārtarāṣhṭrān the sons of Dhritarashtra
naḥ our
what
prītiḥ pleasure
syāt will there be
janārdana he who looks after the public, Shree Krishna
pāpam vices
eva certainly
āśhrayet must come upon
asmān us
hatvā by killing
etān all these
ātatāyinaḥ aggressors
Simplified Perspective

Arjuna's anguish reveals the deepest human conflict: the mind caught between duty and the heart's revulsion at causing harm. Yet Krishna will show him that true compassion lies not in the refusal to act, but in acting from dharma—from the truth of what must be done—without attachment to the consequences or ownership of the outcome.

When we flee from our rightful duty out of sentiment or fear, we don't avoid sin; we inherit it through inaction. In your own struggles between what feels good and what is true, remember: the greatest compassion sometimes wears the face of difficult choice.

Listen

Bhagavad Gita 1.36 — BG 1.36

0:00
Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

Your Mantra Prescription

This mantra is prescribed for clarity and purpose. Is that what you're going through?

2.2M people trust Mahakatha