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Chapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized · 72 verses

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Questions & crisisChapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized
2.22.4

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 2.3

Grief, confusion, and Arjuna accepting discipleship

क्ल‍ैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते ।

क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ॥ ३ ॥

klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha

naitat tvayy upapadyate

kṣudraṁ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ

tyaktvottiṣṭha paran-tapa

Translation

O son of Pṛthā, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Give Up Weakness of Heart

  1. 1Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna to give up his unworthy weakness of heart and rise to fight.
  2. 2As a warrior and Kṛṣṇa’s intimate friend, Arjuna would disgrace himself by abandoning the battle.
  3. 3Kṛṣṇa saw Arjuna’s wish to spare Bhīṣma and his relatives as weakness, not true kindness. Arjuna should follow Kṛṣṇa’s direct guidance.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 2, Contents of the Gītā Summarized: grief, confusion, and arjuna accepting discipleship.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Honest questions open the way to wisdom.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 2.3 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?

Practice

Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.

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The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 2 ›
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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 2.1Grief, confusion, and Arjuna accepting discipleshipBG 2.2Grief, confusion, and Arjuna accepting discipleshipBG 1.28Compassion entangled with attachmentBG 1.46The bow falls

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

Ask the study guide

Ask about BG 2.3 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.