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Bhagavad-gītā 1.45
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 45
- यदि मामप्रतीकारमशस्त्रं शस्त्रपाणयः ।
- धार्तराष्ट्रा रणे हन्युस्तन्मे क्षेमतरं भवेत् ॥४५॥
- yadi mām apratīkāram
- aśastraṁ śastra-pāṇayaḥ
- dhārtarāṣṭrā raṇe hanyus
- tan me kṣemataraṁ bhavet
yadieven if — even if; māmme — me; apratīkāramwithout being resistant — without being resistant; aśastramwithout being fully equipped — without being fully equipped; śastrathose with weapons in hand-pāṇayaḥthose with weapons in hand — those with weapons in hand; dhārtarāṣṭrāḥthe sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra — the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra; raṇeon the battlefield — on the battlefield; hanyuḥmay kill — may kill; tatthat — that; mefor me — for me; kṣemabetter-tarambetter — better; bhavetwould be — would be.
Better for me if the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, weapons in hand, were to kill me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield.
It is the custom—according to kṣatriya fighting principles—that an unarmed and unwilling foe should not be attacked. Arjuna, however, decided that even if attacked by the enemy in such an awkward position, he would not fight. He did not consider how much the other party was bent upon fighting. All these symptoms are due to soft-heartedness resulting from his being a great devotee of the Lord.