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Bhagavad-gītā 2.5
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 5
- गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान्
- श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके ।
- हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव
- भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् ॥५॥
- gurūn ahatvā hi mahānubhāvān
- śreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣyam apīha loke
- hatvārtha-kāmāṁs tu gurūn ihaiva
- bhuñjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān
gurūnthe superiors — the superiors; ahatvānot killing — not killing; hicertainly — certainly; mahāgreat souls-anubhāvāngreat souls — great souls; śreyaḥit is better — it is better; bhoktumto enjoy life — to enjoy life; bhaikṣyamby begging — by begging; apieven — even; ihain this life — in this life; lokein this world — in this world; hatvākilling — killing; arthagain — gain; kāmāndesiring — desiring; tubut — but; gurūnsuperiors — superiors; ihain this world — in this world; evacertainly — certainly; bhuñjīyaone has to enjoy — one has to enjoy; bhogānenjoyable things — enjoyable things; rudhirablood — blood; pradigdhāntainted with — tainted with.
It would be better to live in this world by begging than to live at the cost of the lives of great souls who are my teachers. Even though desiring worldly gain, they are superiors. If they are killed, everything we enjoy will be tainted with blood.
According to scriptural codes, a teacher who engages in an abominable action and has lost his sense of discrimination is fit to be abandoned. Bhīṣma and Droṇa were obliged to take the side of Duryodhana because of his financial assistance, although they should not have accepted such a position simply on financial considerations. Under the circumstances, they have lost the respectability of teachers. But Arjuna thinks that nevertheless they remain his superiors, and therefore to enjoy material profits after killing them would mean to enjoy spoils tainted with blood.