Gita : Ch-1. Slo-31.







Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :


Chapter-1. ( Arjuna-vishada -yogam )


Slokam-31. ( I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle, nor can I, my dear Krishna, desire any subsequent victory, kingdom, or happiness. I foresee only evil. )





Nimittani     ca     pasyami      viparitani     kesava,


Na    ca     sreyonupasyami     hatva     svajanamahave.




kesava   =   O krishna;

pasyami   =    I  foresee; 

viparitani     nimittani      ca   =   also   just the opposite causes; 

ahave     svajanam       hatv     =      in the fight ( war )    killing     own kinsmen; 

sreyah      ca    na     anupasyami    =    nor    do I   foresee     attain    Sreyas  ( goodness ).



Here Arjuna exclaims that he cannot foresee any benefit from slaying his own kinsman in battle. In the Vedic scriptures it is revealed that in this world 2 types of living entities are automatically granted entrance to the heavenly planets: one being the renunciate who is disciplined in the practice of yoga and the other is the warrior slain in battle. So Arjuna's arguement is that although there is provision for the slain, there is no declaration of any merit for the slayer. 




Without knowing that one's self-interest is in  Krishna, conditioned souls are attracted by bodily relationships, hoping to be happy in such situations. Under delusion, they forget that Krishna is also the cause of material happiness. Arjuna appears to have even forgotten the moral codes for a kshatriya. It is said that two kinds of men, namely the kshatriya who dies directly in front of the battlefield under Krishna's personal orders and the person in the renounced order of life who is absolutely devoted to spiritual culture, are eligible to enter into the sun-globe, which is so powerful and dazzling. Arjuna is reluctant even to kill his enemies, let alone his relatives. He thought that by killing his kinsmen there would be no happiness in his life, and therefore he was not willing to fight, just as a person who does not feel hunger is not inclined to cook. He has now decided to go into the forest and live a secluded life in frustration. But as a kshatriya, he requires a kingdom for his subsistence, because the kshatriyas cannot engage themselves in any other occupation. But Arjuna has had no kingdom. Arjuna's sole opportunity for gaining a kingdom lay in fighting with his cousins and brothers and reclaiming the kingdom inherited from his father, which he does not like to do. Therefore he considers himself fit to go to the forest to live a secluded life of frustration.  

To be continued ...




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