Bhagavad Gita · Sankhya YogaChapter 2, Shloka 37 (2.37)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम्
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः
॥ 2.37 ॥
hato vā prāpsyasi svargaṃ jitvā vā bhokṣyase mahīm
tasmāduttiṣṭha kaunteya yuddhāya kṛtaniścayaḥ
Translation
"If you are slain, you will attain heaven; if you win, you will enjoy the kingdom of the earth. Therefore, O son of Kunti, rise, resolved to fight."
Interpretation
Both outcomes are gains. Krishna answers Arjuna's dilemma (2.6 — "I do not know whether we will win or lose"): in either case there is gain. Shankaracharya: ubhayathāpi tava lābha eva — either way, you only gain.
"Kṛta-niścayaḥ" — having resolved. Arjuna's greatest crisis was indecision (2.6, 2.7). Krishna says: resolve — Shankara: having made the resolve, "I will defeat the enemy or die".
Ramanuja's deeper reading. According to Ramanuja, the point here goes beyond "heaven": if you are slain in a righteous war you will attain the supreme good (moksha) — because dharma in the form of war, done without desire for its fruit, is a means to the supreme good; or, having slain the enemies, you will enjoy an unrivalled kingdom. Therefore — regarding the undertaking of war as a means to moksha, rise for it.
"Uttiṣṭha" — once again. In 2.3 too Krishna had said "rise". Now, after the arguments from knowledge of the self and from svadharma, this "rise" has a firmer foundation.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.