Bhagavad Gita 1.35
Chapter 1, verse 35
Meaning
“Madhusūdana, I do not want to kill them, even if they strike me down. Not even for rule over all three worlds would I do it, so how could I do it for a piece of land on earth?”
The Sanskrit
एतान्न हन्तुमिच्छामि घ्नतोऽपि मधुसूदन ।
अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः किं नु महीकृते ॥ ३५ ॥
etān na hantum icchāmi ghnato 'pi madhusūdana
api trailokyarājyasya hetoḥ kiṃ nu mahīkṛte
Say it
ay-taan nuh hun-toom ich-chaa-mi ghnuh-to-pi muh-dhoo-soo-duh-nuh
uh-pi trai-lo-kyuh-raa-jyuh-syuh hay-to-ho kim noo muh-hee-kri-tay
Word by word
- etān
- these people
- na hantum icchāmi
- I do not want to kill
- ghnataḥ api
- even if they kill me
- madhusūdana
- O Madhusūdana (Krishna, slayer of the demon Madhu)
- api trailokya-rājyasya
- even for rule over the three worlds
- hetoḥ
- for the sake of
- kim nu
- how much less, what then of
- mahī-kṛte
- for the sake of the earth, a mere earthly kingdom
Read it in context: verses 1.33–36Not for three worldsWith the story so far, commentary, and today's lesson: When the prize loses its shine
Another translation and audio recitation: verse 1.35 on holy-bhagavad-gita.org.
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