Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 6
Bhagavad Gītā 2.6: Which is better?
न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः ।
यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषामस्तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः ॥
na caitadvidmaḥ kataranno garīyo yadvā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ
yāneva hatvā na jijīviṣāmaste'vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
We do not know which is better for us, that we should conquer them or that they should conquer us. The sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra stand before us, the very ones after slaying whom we would not wish to live. Arjuna reaches honest uncertainty: neither outcome looks good, and his own reasoning has run out.
For children
Arjuna says: “I don’t know what is right! If we win, the people we love will be hurt. If we lose, that is bad too. What should I do?”
Arjuna’s doubts deepen (2.4–2.5): he no longer knows whether victory would even be good.
Word by word
न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो — We do not even know which is better for us
- na: not
- vidmaḥ: we know
- katarat: which of the two
- garīyas: better, weightier
यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः — that we should win, or that they should win
- jayema: we should win
- jayeyuḥ: they should win
यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषामस् — The very people without whom we would not wish to live
- yān: whom
- hatvā: having killed
- jijīviṣāmaḥ: we wish to live
तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः — stand facing us: the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra
- avasthita: standing, placed
- pramukhe: in front
- dhārtarāṣṭra: sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra
Arjuna speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.