A declaration · reflective in mood · easy to enter
“Violence against kin brings no joy; it only deepens the wound.”
O Janardana, what joy would come to us by killing these sons of Dhritarashtra? Killing these aggressors would only bring us sin.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyby killing · the sons of Dhritarashtra · to us · what · joy · would be · O Janardana · sin · only · would come upon · us · having killed · these · aggressors
Arjuna says that killing his own relatives will bring no happiness and will only stain the killers with wrongdoing.
Arjuna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Arjuna Vishada Yoga" (The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair).
Verse 36 sits in Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita — Arjuna Vishada Yoga, "The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair". The chapter has 47 verses in total.
You are about to expose a lie that will break a family dinner open. The room goes silent, and you realize winning the argument would cost something deeper than being right.
Did you like this verse?
Calling them aggressors, Arjuna still says that killing Dhritarashtra's sons would bring sin and no joy.
What this verse means
Arjuna says that killing his own relatives will bring no happiness and will only stain the killers with wrongdoing.
Context & commentary
Arjuna sees the war’s real cost: teachers, relatives, and family on both sides. Faced with the sons of Dhritarashtra, he says killing them would bring no joy and would burden the killers with wrongdoing.
What it looks like today
You are about to expose a lie that will break a family dinner open. The room goes silent, and you realize winning the argument would cost something deeper than being right.
“Moral clarity can feel painful, but it keeps you from confusing victory with peace.”
Explore related themes: kurukshetra (95 verses)