Not for three worlds

Where we are

Sañjaya is still reporting to the blind king. In the previous reading Arjuna's body gave way: his limbs weakened, his mouth went dry and his bow slipped from his hand, and he told Krishna he wanted no victory, no kingdom and no comforts. Now he explains why. He looks across at the other army and starts naming who is standing there.

The verses

1. 1.33

   “The very people for whose sake we wanted a kingdom, its pleasures and its comforts are standing here ready for battle, prepared to give up their lives and everything they own.”

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.33

   येषामर्थे काङ्क्षितं नो राज्यं भोगाः सुखानि च ।
   त इमेऽवस्थिता युद्धे प्राणांस्त्यक्त्वा धनानि च ॥ ३३ ॥

   yeṣām arthe kāṅkṣitaṃ no rājyaṃ bhogāḥ sukhāni ca
   ta ime 'vasthitā yuddhe prāṇāṃs tyaktvā dhanāni ca

   Say it

   yay-shaam ur-thay kaan-kshi-tum no raa-jyum bho-gaah soo-khaa-ni chuh
   tuh i-may-vuh-sthi-taa yood-dhay praa-naans tyuk-tvaa dhuh-naa-ni chuh

   Word by word

   yeṣām arthe

   for whose sake

   kāṅkṣitam naḥ

   was wished for by us

   rājyam

   kingdom, rule

   bhogāḥ sukhāni ca

   enjoyments and comforts

   te ime

   these very people

   avasthitāḥ yuddhe

   are standing in battle

   prāṇān tyaktvā

   having given up their lives, ready to die

   dhanāni ca

   and their wealth

2. 1.34

   “Teachers, fathers, sons and grandfathers; uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law and other relatives: they are all here.”

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.34

   आचार्याः पितरः पुत्रास्तथैव च पितामहाः ।
   मातुलाः श्वशुराः पौत्राः श्यालाः सम्बन्धिनस्तथा ॥ ३४ ॥

   ācāryāḥ pitaraḥ putrās tathaiva ca pitāmahāḥ
   mātulāḥ śvaśurāḥ pautrāḥ śyālāḥ saṃbandhinas tathā

   Say it

   aa-chaar-yaah pi-tuh-ruh-ha poo-traas tuh-thai-vuh chuh pi-taa-muh-haa-ha
   maa-too-laah shvuh-shoo-raah pau-traah shyaa-laah sum-bun-dhi-nus-tuh-thaa

   Word by word

   ācāryāḥ

   teachers

   pitaraḥ

   fathers, elders of the father's generation

   putrāḥ

   sons

   tathā eva ca

   and likewise

   pitāmahāḥ

   grandfathers

   mātulāḥ

   uncles on the mother's side

   śvaśurāḥ

   fathers-in-law

   pautrāḥ

   grandsons

   śyālāḥ

   brothers-in-law

   saṃbandhinaḥ tathā

   and other relatives by marriage

3. 1.35

   “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?”

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.35

   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

4. 1.36

   “Janārdana, what happiness could we find in killing the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra? Even though they are the aggressors, only wrongdoing would cling to us if we killed them.”

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.36

   निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याज्जनार्दन ।
   पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिनः ॥ ३६ ॥

   nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrān naḥ kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana
   pāpam evāśrayed asmān hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ

   Say it

   ni-huh-tyuh dhaar-tuh-raash-traan nuh-ha kaa pree-tee-hee syaaj juh-naar-duh-nuh
   paa-pum ay-vaa-shruh-yay-duh-smaan huh-tvai-taan aa-tuh-taa-yi-nuh-ha

   Word by word

   nihatya

   having struck down

   dhārtarāṣṭrān

   the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra

   naḥ kā prītiḥ syāt

   what joy could there be for us

   janārdana

   O Janārdana (Krishna, the one people turn to)

   pāpam eva

   only wrong, only sin

   āśrayet asmān

   would cling to us

   hatvā etān

   having killed these

   ātatāyinaḥ

   aggressors, those who attack with weapons drawn

Context and commentary

In 1.34 Arjuna stops speaking of “the enemy” and lists relationships: teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, uncles, in-laws, grandsons. The Kaurava army really was full of family and elders, such as his great-uncle Bhīṣma, who helped raise him, and Droṇa, the teacher who made him an archer. In 1.35 he raises the stakes to trailokya, the three worlds (earth, the sky between, and the heavens): he would not fight them even for all of that, let alone for one kingdom. He calls Krishna Madhusūdana, “slayer of the demon Madhu,” a name that quietly recalls Krishna's role as a destroyer of real evil, and Janārdana, often explained as the one people turn to for help. In 1.36 he uses a strong word, ātatāyin: in the old law books an ātatāyin is an aggressor (someone who sets fire to your house, poisons you, or attacks with weapons drawn), and such a person could be resisted without blame. Arjuna admits the Kauravas are exactly that, yet says killing them would still leave a stain. Readers weigh this differently. Śaṅkara treats Arjuna's argument as sincere but rooted in confusion about the self and about duty, which Chapter 2 will address. Rāmānuja and devotional readers see real compassion in it, while noting that Krishna will not accept the conclusion. Gandhi read the war allegorically, as the struggle inside each person, and saw Arjuna's hesitation as the honest moment before that inner battle is understood (interpretation).