Chapter 1 · Arjuna's Despair

अर्जुनArjuna speaks

Text 1.33

न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा येषामर्थे काङ्क्षितं नो राज्यं भोगा: सुखानि च त इमेऽवस्थिता युद्धे प्राणांस्त्यक्त्वा धनानि च

na kāṅkṣhe vijayaṁ kṛiṣhṇa na cha rājyaṁ sukhāni cha kiṁ no rājyena govinda kiṁ bhogair jīvitena vā yeṣhām arthe kāṅkṣhitaṁ no rājyaṁ bhogāḥ sukhāni cha ta ime ’vasthitā yuddhe prāṇāṁs tyaktvā dhanāni cha

Recitation · Text 1.33
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Word-for-Word Śabda-Artha (33 words)

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Purport Overview & Key Insights

He repeats and extends the point: kingdom, pleasures, even life itself mean nothing when they can only be had at the cost of the very people they were meant for — Arjuna is not rejecting duty in the abstract, he is asking what any of it is actually for.

✨ Devotional Takeaway:Arjuna is not rejecting duty in the abstract — he is asking what any of it is actually for.