Verse 1.34
Speaker: Arjuna
Sanskrit
मातुलाः श्वशुराः पौत्राः श्यालाः सम्बन्धिनस्तथा | एतान्न हन्तुमिच्छामि घ्नतोऽपि मधुसूदन ||३४||
Transliteration (IAST)
mātulāḥ śvaśurāḥ pautrāḥ śyālāḥ sambandhinas tathā | etānna hantumicchāmi ghnato'pi madhusūdana ||34||
Word-by-Word Meanings
मातुलाः-maternal uncles
श्वशुराः-fathers-in-law
पौत्राः-grandsons
सम्बन्धिनः-relatives
हन्तुम्-to kill
इच्छामि-I wish
घ्नतः-even if they kill me
Translation
I do not wish to kill them, O Madhusudana, even if they kill me - not even for the sovereignty of the three worlds, let alone this earth.
Commentary
Arjuna's declaration that he would rather be killed than kill reveals the depth of his moral crisis. By addressing Krishna as 'Madhusūdana' (slayer of the demon Madhu), he unconsciously invokes Krishna's role as a destroyer of evil - an irony given his own refusal to fight.
Themes
dharmadutysurrender