Bhagavad Gita · Sankhya YogaChapter 2, Shloka 5 (2.5)
Original Sanskrit · अर्जुनः
गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान्
श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके
हत्वाऽर्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव
भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान्
॥ 2.5 ॥
gurūnahatvā hi mahānubhāvān
śreyo bhoktuṃ bhaikṣyamapīha loke
hatvā'rthakāmāṃstu gurūnihaiva
bhuñjīya bhogān rudhirapradigdhān
Translation
"Better even to live in this world by begging than to kill these great teachers. For by killing my teachers, I would enjoy here only wealth and pleasures stained with blood."
Interpretation
Begging vs a blood-stained kingdom. Arjuna puts two options before himself: (1) not killing his teachers, and living on alms; (2) killing his teachers, and enjoying pleasures stained with their blood. For him the first is better. Note — for a kshatriya, living on alms (the dharma of a sannyasi) is para-dharma, another's dharma. Shankaracharya (introduction to 2.10) says exactly this: overcome by grief and delusion, Arjuna turned away from his svadharma (fighting) towards para-dharma (a life of begging).
"Mahānubhāvān" — great souls. For Arjuna, his teachers are not just instructors — they are "mahanubhava", people of great dignity and influence.
"Iha eva" — right here. Shridhara says that the pain of killing one's teachers would not be only in the next world — right here, in this very life there would be hell-like suffering, because every pleasure would bear a stain of blood.
"Arthakāmān" — a bitter hint. In another reading, Arjuna acknowledges that these teachers are bound by a thirst for wealth (Bhishma and Drona were bound to Hastinapura). That is, Arjuna knows why his teachers are on the side of injustice — yet he still does not want to kill them.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.