Shloka 33
Karma-Yoga, Yajña-Cakra, and the Governance of Desire (कर्मयोग–यज्ञचक्र–कामनिग्रह)
हे कृष्ण! मैं न तो विजय चाहता हूँ और न राज्य तथा सुखोंको ही। हे गोविन्द! हमें ऐसे राज्यसे क्या प्रयोजन है अथवा ऐसे भोगोंसे और जीवनसे भी क्या लाभ है? ।।
arjuna uvāca | he kṛṣṇa na vijayo me na ca rājyaṁ sukhāni ca | kiṁ no rājyena govinda kiṁ bhogair jīvitena vā || yeṣām arthe kāṅkṣitaṁ no rājyaṁ bhogāḥ sukhāni ca | ta ime 'vasthitā yuddhe prāṇāṁs tyaktvā dhanāni ca ||
Arjuna disse: “Ó Krishna, não desejo nem vitória, nem reino, nem prazeres. Ó Govinda, de que nos serve um reino—ou deleites, ou mesmo a própria vida? Pois aqueles por cuja causa ansiamos por soberania, prazeres e felicidade estão aqui de pé na batalha, tendo já renunciado à vida e às riquezas.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna exposes the ethical collapse of pursuing victory and power when the very people for whom such gains would matter—elders, teachers, kin—stand ready to die. The verse highlights how attachment to outcomes (kingdom, pleasure, even survival) becomes morally hollow when it is purchased through the destruction of one’s own community, prompting a deeper inquiry into dharma beyond mere success.
On the battlefield, just before the war begins, Arjuna turns to Krishna and declares he no longer wants to fight for victory or rule. Seeing his relatives and revered figures arrayed for combat, he reasons that winning a kingdom is meaningless if it requires killing those very people; he notes they have come prepared to give up life and wealth, intensifying his despair and hesitation.