A declaration · reflective in mood · easy to enter
“A victory that destroys your own people is not worth having.”
O Keshava, I see only inauspicious signs, and I see no good in killing my own people in battle.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallysigns · and · I see · opposite, inauspicious · O Keshava · not · and · good, welfare · I see · having killed · my own people · in battle
Arjuna says he sees bad signs and no real good in killing his own relatives in battle.
Arjuna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Arjuna Vishada Yoga" (The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair).
Verse 31 sits in Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita — Arjuna Vishada Yoga, "The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair". The chapter has 47 verses in total.
Asked by a lawyer to file a case against your own brother, you may feel that nothing about it looks right. Arjuna tells Krishna the same: he sees no good in killing his kin.
Did you like this verse?
Arjuna tells Keshava that every sign looks wrong and that killing his own people can bring no good.
What this verse means
Arjuna says he sees bad signs and no real good in killing his own relatives in battle.
Context & commentary
After feeling his body fail and his mind shake, Arjuna tells Krishna that the signs around him feel wrong and that killing his own kin cannot lead to anything good.
What it looks like today
Asked by a lawyer to file a case against your own brother, you may feel that nothing about it looks right. Arjuna tells Krishna the same: he sees no good in killing his kin.
“When the heart is already broken, even victory can look empty.”
Explore related themes: kurukshetra (95 verses), arjuna vishada (14 verses)