Chapter 1, Verse 35
एतान्न हन्तुमिच्छामि घ्नतोऽपि मधुसूदन। अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः किं नु महीकृते।।
etān na hantum icchāmi ghnato 'pi madhusūdana api trailokya-rājyasya hetoḥ kiṁ nu mahī-kṛte
Meaning
I do not wish to kill them, O Madhusudana, even if they kill me — not for sovereignty over the three worlds, let alone for the sake of this earth.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Arjuna reaches the apex of his moral statement: he would not kill these people even if they killed him first, not for the lordship of all three worlds (heaven, earth, and the lower realms), much less for a single earthly kingdom. This is, on its face, a noble statement — a willingness to sacrifice oneself rather than harm those one loves. In a different context, it could be the utterance of a saint.
But the Gita is precise about context. Arjuna is not a private individual who can choose non-violence as a personal path without consequence. He is the greatest warrior in a righteous war that has already consumed years of diplomatic effort and represents the last stand of dharma against a powerful adharmic order. His personal preference for non-harm, however beautiful, cannot be exercised in isolation from the responsibilities of his role.
This verse encapsulates the perennial tension between personal ethics and role-based duty. The Gita's answer — nuanced and demanding — is not to dismiss personal ethics but to show how genuine dharma operates at both levels simultaneously, requiring wisdom rather than the simple application of either principle alone.
💡 Key Takeaway
Personal ethics and role-based responsibility must be integrated wisely; claiming one to avoid the other is rarely the full answer.
Related Verses
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच | धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः | मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥१॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ | māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kim akurvata sañjaya ||1||
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjaya, after assembling in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukshetra, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do, being desirous to fight?
सञ्जय उवाच दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा। आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत्।।
sañjaya uvāca dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ vyūḍhaṁ duryodhanas tadā ācāryam upasaṅgamya rājā vacanam abravīt
Sanjaya said: Having seen the army of the Pandavas arrayed in battle formation, King Duryodhana then approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words.
पश्यैतां पाण्डुपुत्राणामाचार्य महतीं चमूम्। व्यूढां द्रुपदपुत्रेण तव शिष्येण धीमता।।
paśyaitāṁ pāṇḍu-putrāṇām ācārya mahatīṁ camūm vyūḍhāṁ drupada-putreṇa tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā
O teacher, behold this mighty army of the sons of Pandu, so skilfully arrayed by the son of Drupada — your own talented student.