What is Adharma (अधर्म)?
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2 Verses 34, 35, 36 Explained
Introduction
Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjun. This dialogue begins just before the war of Mahabharata is about to begin. On seeing his family in opposition, Arjun is gripped with fear and confusion and wants to run away, but Krishna convinces him to fight and tells Arjun why he today raise his weapons to kill his brothers and relatives in this war.
Bhagavad Gits teaches us how to live life!
The core message of the Bhagavad Gita is considered very powerful for it can fundamentally transform the way you live your life. Bhagavad Gita is also called a summary of Vendantic Knowledge or simply ancient Knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita is crystallized form of the Hindu thought.
Bhagavad Gita is 700 verses long, spread across 18 chapters. Here we will understand Verses 34, 35, & 36 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
Verse 2.34
अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम् |
सम्भावितस्य चाकीर्ति र्मरणादतिरिच्यते || 34||
akirtim chapi bhutani kathayishyanti te avyayam
sambhavitasya chakirtir maranad atirichyate
Translation
People will talk about you and make you infamous forever. For a respected person like you defamation, is worse than death.
Verse 2.35
भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथा: |
येषां च त्वं बहुमतो भूत्वा यास्यसि लाघवम् || 35||
bhayad ranad uparatam mansyante tvam maha-rathah
yesham cha tvam bahu-mato bhutva yasyasi laghavam
Translation
All these great warriors who regard you highly will think that you ran away from the battlefield due to fear of war and thus you shall lose their respect as they will consider you lowly.
Verse 2.36
अवाच्यवादांश्च बहून्वदिष्यन्ति तवाहिता: |
निन्दन्तस्तव सामर्थ्यं ततो दु:खतरं नु किम् || 36||
avachya-vadansh cha bahun vadishyanti tavahitah
nindantastava samarthyam tato duhkhataram nu kim
Translation
Your enemy shall speak ill of you, and use harsh words against you. They will criticize your capability itself. What can be more painful for a warrior like you than this?
Commentary
Krishna is warning Arjun that refusing to fight this war will have negative consequences for him and especially for his image and thus his legacy.
Arjun was a warrior who was respected by every great warrior for his skills, excellence, and bravery. Thus he was held in high regard even by this enemy.
Now if the same Arjun chooses to run away from the battlefield due to his dilemma, it would only create a negative perception in the minds of people, for people will only see the act, and not Arjun’s rationale behind his action. This will make him lose the respect of the warrior community and, by extension, of all kings across India.
As the grapevine goes, people will mock Arjun by assuming that he ran away because he was afraid. This would be considered a sign of cowardness and would be a giant burning hole in the towering and spotless reputation of Arjun. People will make stories about Arjun’s retreat and will give him filthy titles which are hard to wash off from the public memory.
Krishna warns Arjun that this act of his will only make him infamous in eyes of people and such infamy will even be etched in history.
For any warrior, a medal of bravery is an honor, but at the same time a perception of him being weak, and being called a coward is more painful than even death.
So Krishna is warning Arjun, and urging him to reconsider his decision by highlighting the harm his brand name will suffer if he chooses not to fight today.
Krishna is indirectly telling Arjun one action of his today can wipe all the respects he commands from people, and that his name will be etched in history as a coward irrespective of the result of the war!
Krishna’s Message to the Modern Man
This is also a message for every man and every woman. No matter how much name you have earned in your life by doing deeds which were appreciated by others. But one poor decision taken by you can tarnish your image in the eyes of others. All the hard work done across the years shall be forgotten and only your wrong decision will be remembered.
Your perception in society is like your personal brand, and one should take care not to tarnish this brand as long as one is planning to be a part of the society.
This doesn’t mean to do things to please people, but it means that each action shall be done with due consideration, and without any haste, for even a small action can lead to reputation damage which is very hard to regain.
Thus no action taken by you is small, especially if you are held in high regard by the society and are in a position of responsibility. If you stand high up on the stage, it is an honour, but at the same time, you are being watched as well by everyone.
With great power, thus comes great responsibility.
Thus be careful of your actions.
