Verse 1.45
Speaker: Arjuna
Sanskrit
यदि मामप्रतीकारमशस्त्रं शस्त्रपाणयः | धार्तराष्ट्रा रणे हन्युस्तन्मे क्षेमतरं भवेत् ||४५||
Transliteration (IAST)
yadi māmapratīkāramaśastraṁ śastrapāṇayaḥ | dhārtarāṣṭrā raṇe hanyustanme kṣemataraṁ bhavet ||45||
Word-by-Word Meanings
अप्रतीकारम्-unresisting
अशस्त्रम्-unarmed
शस्त्रपाणयः-with weapons in hand
धार्तराष्ट्राः-the sons of Dhritarashtra
रणे-in battle
हन्युः-would kill
क्षेमतरम्-better
Translation
It would be better for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, were to kill me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield.
Commentary
Arjuna reaches the nadir of his despair - he would rather die passively than fight. This is not the non-violence of a sage but the paralysis of a confused mind. Krishna will distinguish between the non-violence born of wisdom and the inaction born of delusion in Chapter 18.
Themes
dharmasurrenderduty