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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
2.42.6

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 2.5

Grief, confusion, and Arjuna accepting discipleship

गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान्

श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके ।

हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव

भुज्ज‍ीय भोगान्‍रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् ॥ ५ ॥

gurūn ahatvā hi mahānubhāvān

śreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣyam apīha loke

hatvārtha-kāmāṁs tu gurūn ihaiva

bhuñjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān

Translation

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.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

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

Respect for Teachers

  1. 1Arjuna says begging is better than killing his teachers, because any enjoyment afterward would be tainted with blood.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that scripture allows abandoning a teacher who acts wrongly and loses the ability to judge right from wrong.
  3. 3Bhīṣma and Droṇa lost their standing as teachers by siding with Duryodhana for financial support, but Arjuna still considers them his superiors.

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 2.5 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.

4

The story behind it

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

All stories for chapter 2 ›
5

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 2.5 — 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.