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Bhagavad Gita 2.31

Chapter 2 · Sankhya YogaSpeaker: Shri KrishnaListener: Arjuna
Edited by the SanatanBodh editorial teamLast updated: 2 sourcesDrafted with AI, checked against sourcesReport a mistake

स्वधर्ममपि चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि ।
धर्म्याद्धि युद्धाच्छ्रेयोऽन्यत्क्षत्रियस्य न विद्यते ॥ ३१ ॥

svadharmamapi cāvekṣya na vikampitumarhasi
dharmyāddhi yuddhācchreyo'nyatkṣatriyasya na vidyate

Word by word

स्वधर्मम् अपि चyour svadharma (own duty) too
अवेक्ष्यconsidering
न विकम्पितुम् अर्हसिyou should not waver
धर्म्यात् हि युद्धात्than a righteous war
श्रेयः अन्यत्anything better
क्षत्रियस्यfor a kshatriya
न विद्यतेthere is not

Translation

ENGLISH

Considering your own duty too, you should not waver; for a warrior there is nothing better than a righteous battle.

हिंदी

अपने धर्म को देखकर भी तुझे डगमगाना नहीं चाहिए, क्योंकि क्षत्रिय के लिए धर्मयुक्त युद्ध से बढ़कर कल्याणकारी कुछ नहीं है।

Explanation

Now the argument moves from philosophy to practice. Arjuna is a kshatriya, and his svadharma (his own duty) is to fight a righteous war against injustice. Here "svadharma" means one’s duty in keeping with one’s nature and role.

How this verse connects

SpeakerShri KrishnaListenerArjunaConceptSvadharmaTextMahabharata, Bhishma Parva

Sources

  1. Original text: Bhagavad Gita (Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva)
  2. English and Hindi translation, explanation: SanatanBodh editorial team

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