Shloka 6
कर्मयोग–ज्ञानयज्ञ–अवतारोपदेश
Karma-Yoga, Jñāna-Yajña, and Avatāra Instruction
सम्बन्ध-- इस प्रकार अपना निश्चय प्रकट कर देनेपर भी जब जअर्जुनको संतोष नहीं हुआ और अपने निश्चयमें शंका उत्पन्न हो गयी
arjuna uvāca | na caitad vidmaḥ kataran no garīyo yad vā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ | yān eva hatvā na jijīviṣāmas te 'vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ ||
Arjuna said: “We do not truly know which is better for us—whether to fight or not to fight. Nor do we know whether we shall prevail or whether they will defeat us. Those very sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, our own kinsmen, stand before us in battle; and having slain them, we would not even wish to go on living.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical crisis that precedes the Bhagavad Gītā’s instruction: when duty (kṣatriya-dharma) collides with compassion and family bonds, even victory can seem meaningless. Arjuna’s uncertainty shows that moral choices cannot be reduced to mere success or defeat; the right course must be discerned in terms of dharma, not outcome alone.
On the battlefield, Arjuna looks at the opposing army and recognizes his own relatives—especially the Dhārtarāṣṭras. Overwhelmed, he tells Kṛṣṇa that he cannot judge whether fighting or refraining is better, nor whether they will win or lose, because killing these kinsmen would make life itself undesirable even if victory were achieved.