Chapter 1 • Verse 45

Arjuna Vishada Yoga

The Yoga of Arjuna's Dejection

Sanskrit Verse

aho bata mahat papam kartum vyavasita vayam, yad rajya-sukha-lobhena hantum sva-janam udyatah

Translation & Meaning

Arjuna laments: alas, what a great sin we are about to commit, as we are prepared to slay our own kinsmen out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom. With piercing self-awareness, Arjuna implicates himself in the very greed he accused the Kauravas of — yet Krishna will later clarify that fighting for righteous restoration is not greed.

Key Teachings

  • •Genuine self-examination is always more painful than judging others
  • •The line between righteous action and greed must be drawn carefully and with wisdom
  • •Assuming guilt before understanding the full dharmic picture is a premature form of humility

Topics

moral dilemmaethicsdespairconfusiongrief
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