Chapter 2 · Verse 34 · Sankhya Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 2.34
Sanskrit
अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम्। संभावितस्य चाकीर्तिर्मरणादतिरिच्यते।।2.34।।
Transliteration
akīrtiṁ chāpi bhūtāni kathayiṣhyanti te ’vyayām sambhāvitasya chākīrtir maraṇād atirichyate
In plain words
You're afraid of what people will say if you change course, if you admit you were wrong, if you stop pretending to be who you thought you had to be. Krishna says: your real shame isn't in being seen failing at the wrong thing—it's in abandoning what you actually came here to do. The only infamy that outlasts you is the one you create by staying silent when your soul is asking you to speak.
हिंदी अर्थ
लोग तुम्हारी बदनामी का जिक्र करेंगे और सम्मानित व्यक्ति के लिए बदनामी मौत से भी बुरी होती है।
Word by Word
Krishna speaks here not to shame Arjuna, but to awaken him to the living consequences of his choices. When a person of standing abandons their sacred duty, that betrayal echoes through generations—people speak of it, remember it, learn the wrong lesson from it.
The infamy of a broken vow outlasts the body itself. Yet understand this: Krishna offers this not as punishment, but as love—showing Arjuna that his true honor lies not in avoiding death, but in meeting his dharma with unwavering presence, which transforms even death into dignity.
Listen
Bhagavad Gita 2.34 — BG 2.34
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