Bhagavad Gita BG 2.6
Chapter 2, Verse 6 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः । यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषामस्तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः ॥ ६ ॥
na caitad vidmaḥ kataran no garīyo yad vā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ yān eva hatvā na jijīviṣāmas te 'vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ
Meaning
We do not even know which is better for us — whether we should conquer them or they should conquer us. The sons of Dhritarashtra stand before us; if we kill them, we would not wish to live.
Understanding
Arjuna reveals his complete moral paralysis. He cannot even determine which outcome would be better — winning or losing. Both seem bad: winning means killing those he loves; losing means being killed. And the people who stand before him are those without whom he cannot imagine life. This paralysis — the inability to act when two apparently valid duties conflict — is the precise human condition the Gita addresses.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| न विद्मः | na vidmaḥ | we do not know |
| कतरत् | katarat | which of the two |
| गरीयः | garīyaḥ | better / weightier / more important |
| जयेम | jayema | we should conquer |
| न जिजीविषामः | na jijīviṣāmaḥ | we would not wish to live |
| प्रमुखे | pramukhe | before us / facing us |
| च | ca | and / also (conjunction) |
| एतत् | etat | this (which outcome is better) |
| नः | naḥ | for us / to us |
| यद्वा | yad vā | whether / or that |
| यदि वा | yadi vā | or if / should they |
| नो जयेयुः | no jayeyuḥ | they would conquer us / they would prevail over us |
| यान् एव | yān eva | those very ones / those whom |
| ते | te | they (Dhritarashtra's sons) |
| अवस्थिताः | avasthitāḥ | stand / are arrayed before us |
| धार्तराष्ट्राः | dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ | sons of Dhritarashtra (Kauravas) |