Chapter 1, Verse 36 (Bhagavad Gita 1.36)
Chapter 1: Arjun Viṣhād Yog – Arjuna's Dilemma
Sanskrit Shloka
निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याज्जनार्दन। पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिनः
Transliteration
nihatya dhārtarāṣhṭrān naḥ kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana pāpam evāśhrayed asmān hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ
Word Meanings
nihatya—by killing; dhārtarāṣhṭrān—the sons of Dhritarashtra; naḥ—our; kā—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;
Translation
By killing these sons of Dhritarashtra, what pleasure could be ours, O Janardana? Only sin would accrue to us from killing these felons.
Meaning & Commentary
Arjuna here experiences a moral crisis where empathy conflicts with duty, reflecting the psychological struggle of choosing between personal affection and the necessity of confronting injustice. He erroneously equates the performance of righteous action with the accumulation of sin, revealing a misunderstanding of detached duty (Nishkama Karma).