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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
2.52.7

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 2.6

Grief, confusion, and Arjuna accepting discipleship

न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो

यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः ।

यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषाम-

स्तेऽवस्थिताः 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

Translation

Nor do we know which is better – conquering them or being conquered by them. If we killed the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, we should not care to live. Yet they are now standing before us on the battlefield.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

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

Arjuna’s Doubt and Detachment

  1. 1Arjuna does not know whether winning or losing is better. If they kill the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, he would not care to live.
  2. 2Though born in a royal family, Arjuna was willing to live by begging. Prabhupāda explains that this showed his detachment.
  3. 3Arjuna’s knowledge, devotion, control of his mind and senses, and faith in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s instructions made him fit for liberation.

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 2.6 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 2.6 — 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.