Painful does not always mean wrong; comfortable does not always mean right.
Sanjaya narrates to King Dhritarashtra
तस्मान्नार्हा वयं हन्तुं धार्तराष्ट्रान् स्वबान्धवान्।स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिनः स्याम माधव।।
tasmān nārhā vayaṁ hantuṁ dhārtarāṣṭrān sva-bāndhavān sva-janaṁ hi kathaṁ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava
Use this verse when comfort and duty are pulling in different directions.
Meaning
Therefore, we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our own relatives. How can we be happy after killing our own people, O Madhava?
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Arjuna concludes that action will destroy happiness. He is looking at the emotional cost, but not yet the full dharmic picture.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
This verse shows how the mind forms conclusions under distress. Arjuna’s question is valid: how can happiness arise from harming one’s own people? Yet the Gita will reveal that dharma cannot be decided by emotional pain alone.
Sometimes avoiding action may also create suffering. This is relevant in families, businesses, and society. A person may avoid confronting harmful behavior because it will disturb peace, but that avoidance may allow deeper harm.
The verse is powerful because it captures a very human reasoning: if this hurts now, it must be wrong. The Gita will expand this into a mature understanding of duty, consequence, and inner freedom.
Read the traditional commentary
Arjuna's ethical logic crystallises: we cannot be happy after killing our own. The word 'arha' — worthy — is significant. It is not just that he is unwilling; he argues that such an action is beneath the standard of right behaviour. To be worthy in the Gita's framework is to act in accordance with one's deepest dharma and higher nature. Arjuna is arguing that killing kin is unworthy in principle.
The question 'how can we be happy?' is one of the most human questions in all of scripture. Happiness — or rather, its absence — is the real experiential problem the entire Gita is addressing. All the philosophy, all the metaphysics, all the instructions on yoga and karma — they are all ultimately in service of answering the question Arjuna asks here: how does one find wellbeing, peace, and fulfilment in a life that demands difficult and painful choices?
Krishna's answer, which will unfold across eighteen chapters, is that true happiness (ānanda) is not a product of favourable circumstances but of alignment with the deepest truth of one's own being. It is available even in the midst of grief, loss, and the fulfilment of painful duty.
In daily life
Do not use immediate emotional comfort as the only measure of dharma.
A family may avoid discussing addiction to keep peace, but silence can allow damage to grow.
Try this today
Name one hard action that may create short-term discomfort but long-term healing.
I choose long-term dharma over short-term comfort.Reflect
Am I avoiding necessary action because it will disturb short-term peace?
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Quick check
What does ‘न अर्हाः वयम्’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on grief, in other chapters
- Verse 2.1 · SanjayaWhen we are most overwhelmed by emotion is precisely when we most need the clear wisdom of a true guide.
- Verse 3.4Walking away from your duties does not free you — freedom is found by acting without attachment, not by avoiding action.
- Verse 13.22What you cling to shapes where you go — attachment to nature's qualities keeps the wheel of rebirth turning.
- Verse 14.6Even peace and wisdom can quietly bind you if you cling to them as possessions rather than passing gifts.
Swipe left for 1.38 · Greed blinds the mind to consequences.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 1.37
Who says Bhagavad Gita 1.37, and to whom?
Sanjaya narrates to King Dhritarashtra in verse 1.37, in Chapter 1, Arjuna's Dilemma (Arjuna Vishada Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 1.37 mean?
Therefore, we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our own relatives. How can we be happy after killing our own people, O Madhava? (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 1.37 for daily life?
Do not use immediate emotional comfort as the only measure of dharma. A family may avoid discussing addiction to keep peace, but silence can allow damage to grow.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 1.37 mean?
तस्मात् — therefore; न अर्हाः वयम् — we are not worthy to; हन्तुम् — to kill; धार्तराष्ट्रान् — the sons of Dhritarashtra; स्वबान्धवान् — our own kinsmen.
Where does verse 1.37 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 37 of 47 in Chapter 1, Arjuna's Dilemma. The next verse is 1.38.