A declaration · reflective in mood · easy to enter
“Greed can make even victory feel like a crime.”
Alas, we have resolved to commit a grave wrong—driven by greed for kingdom and pleasure, we are ready to kill our own kin.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyalas indeed · to do · resolved · we · that · by greed for kingdom-pleasure · to kill
Arjuna sees the war as a terrible wrong. He feels they are driven by greed for power and pleasure, and ready to kill their own relatives.
Arjuna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Arjuna Vishada Yoga" (The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair).
Verse 45 sits in Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita — Arjuna Vishada Yoga, "The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair". The chapter has 47 verses in total.
A shopkeeper tempted to pad the bill of an old family friend may catch himself mid-sum and feel ashamed. Arjuna catches himself the same way and names the motive plainly: greed for kingdom and pleasure.
Did you like this verse?
With an "alas", Arjuna admits his own side is ready to kill kin out of greed for kingdom.
What this verse means
Arjuna sees the war as a terrible wrong. He feels they are driven by greed for power and pleasure, and ready to kill their own relatives.
Context & commentary
Arjuna looks at the armies and recoils. To him the fight now feels like kin-killing for power and comfort, and victory has stopped mattering. This verse captures the moment his moral horror becomes explicit.
What it looks like today
A shopkeeper tempted to pad the bill of an old family friend may catch himself mid-sum and feel ashamed. Arjuna catches himself the same way and names the motive plainly: greed for kingdom and pleasure.
“A clear conscience can appear even in the middle of confusion.”
Explore related themes: arjuna vishada (14 verses)