Shloka 36
Karma-Yoga, Yajña-Cakra, and the Governance of Desire (कर्मयोग–यज्ञचक्र–कामनिग्रह)
निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रानू नः का प्रीति: स्याज्जनार्दन | पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान् हत्वैतानाततायिन:,हे जनार्दन! धुृतराष्ट्रके पुत्रोंकी मारकर हमें कया प्रसन्नता होगी? इन आततायियोंकों* मारकर तो हमें पाप ही लगेगा
arjuna uvāca | nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrān naḥ kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana | pāpam evāśrayed asmān hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ ||
Arjuna dit : «Ô Janārdana, quelle joie pourrait être la nôtre après avoir tué les fils de Dhṛtarāṣṭra ? En abattant ces agresseurs, c’est le péché seul qui s’attachera à nous, non un véritable gain ni la droiture.»
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna frames the act of killing the Kauravas as ethically corrosive: even if they are labeled aggressors (ātatāyinaḥ), he fears the outcome will be inner stain (pāpa) rather than legitimate joy or righteousness, highlighting the tension between duty and conscience.
On the battlefield, Arjuna addresses Kṛṣṇa (Janārdana) and questions the value of victory purchased through the death of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons, expressing that such killing would bring no true satisfaction and would instead burden the victors with sin.