1 · Learn3 of 6 · 5 min
Study a Verse
Pick any verse to see what it means and how to use it in your life.
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 1.45
यदि मामप्रतीकारमशस्त्रं शस्त्रपाणयः ।
धार्तराष्ट्रा रणे हन्युस्तन्मे क्षेमतरं भवेत् ॥ ४५ ॥
yadi mām apratīkāram
aśastraṁ śastra-pāṇayaḥ
dhārtarāṣṭrā raṇe hanyus
tan me kṣema-taraṁ bhavet
Better for me if the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, weapons in hand, were to kill me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Arjuna considered it better for Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons to kill him unarmed and unresisting, deciding not to fight even if attacked.
Warrior rules forbid attacking an enemy who is unarmed and unwilling to fight.
Arjuna’s soft-heartedness came from being a great devotee of the Lord, and he did not consider the other side’s determination to fight.
These notes cover verses 1.44–46
Conclusion — Arjuna decides not to fight and casts aside his bow and arrows
28 — 1.46) Arjuna’s saintliness is revealed by the following points:
Softheartedness (1.28)
Does not want to kill even for exchange of three worlds (1.35)
Ready to forgive any aggressors (1.36)
Considers evil consequences even at the risk of refusing obligation to fight (1.37 – 1.38)
Conscious of obligations to protect family traditions and morals (1.39 – 1.44)
He does not think that: “I am transcendental and I have no obligations”
Arjuna being saintly is conscious of moral principles – How he can kill one’s relatives based on selfish motives (1.44)
Ready to be killed unarmed, but not retaliate (1.45)
Custom according to Ksatriya fighting principles – unarmed and unwilling foe should not be attacked
These symptoms are due to softheartedness resulting from being a great devotee
Kept his bow down (even broke his vow of not keeping the bow once lifted) (1.46) Conclusion: Such a kind and softhearted person is fit to receive self-knowledge (1.46 purport)
End of chapter 1
Bhagavad Gita Notes 1 Chapter 1 Appendix CHAPTER 1 Appendix Selected Texts extracted from “Surrender unto Me”
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 1.45 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?
Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.