Chapter 1 · Verse 36 · Arjuna Visada Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 1.36
Sanskrit
निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याज्जनार्दन। पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिनः।।1.36।।
Transliteration
nihatya dhārtarāṣhṭrān naḥ kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana pāpam evāśhrayed asmān hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ
In plain words
You're caught between what your heart wants to avoid and what you know, deep down, you must do—and that paralysis is its own kind of suffering. The lesson for you: when you refuse to act from what is true and right because you're afraid of the cost or ashamed of the consequence, you don't escape harm; you multiply it through your own abandonment. The path through your pain is not to avoid the hard choice, but to make it with a clear conscience and an open hand.
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
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
Your Mantra Prescription
This mantra is prescribed for clarity and purpose. Is that what you're going through?
2.2M people trust Mahakatha