Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2 Verses 4 & 5

Shloka 2.4 and 2.5 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 4 and 5 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.

Translation:

Hey Krishna, How will I shoot arrows at people like Bhishma and Drona, who are indeed worthy of worship?

Rather than enjoying life, by killing such great men who are my teachers and mentors, it is better to beg and live.

If I kill my teachers with the desire for gains, then everything we consume and enjoy post-victory would be tainted with their blood.

Commentary:

Arjun has fallen victim to a moral conflict. In those days, accepting defeat while being alive for a warrior of repute, was considered worse than death. So people preferred to die on the battlefield while fighting rather than accept defeat for the sake of their life.

Thus Arjun knew very well that if he has to win the war, then we will have to kill Bhishma and Drona, for warriors of their calibre will never accept defeat while they were alive.

Bhishma was the most respected and the most influential royal in the Kuru Vansh. He was the great-grandfather to both Kauravas and Pandavas. Though Bhishma had taken the oath never to become a King, the respect he commanded was even more than the King of Hastinapur. He was the man behind the scenes and in this war, Bhishma was also the commander-in-chief of the royal army. Thus if Pandavas had to win, it meant defeating Bhishma, and a man like Bhishma will never accept defeat until he was alive.

Along with Bhishma, there was Drona, who was Arjun’s guru.

He taught Arjun the tricks of warfare and was one who made Arjun the warrior he was today. Drona loved Arjun, and Arjun too had great respect for Drona. For Arjun, Drona was like a father figure. But at the same time, Drona was a ferocious fighter and commanded respect from all Kauravas for he was their Guru as well. Just like Bhishma, Drona was not a man to accept defeat until he was alive.

So Arjun knew that the victory of Pandavas can only come at the cost of Bhishma’s and Drona’s life, and he himself will have to stain his hands with their blood.

He will have to become the reason for the death of his great grandfather who he loved so much, and his Guru Drona, to whom he owed every skill he possessed as a warrior.

Arjun knew that the riches he will gain after this war will have no meaning, for it will always remind him of what he did, and thus he will always feel guilty.

So it is not surprising that Arjun was ready to run away from the battlefield and live life by begging. To him, this was a much more honourable way to live life than being a killer of men he respected and loved.

Being a beggar seemed much better than being the killer of his family!

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