TEXT 6

Devanagari

न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो
यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः ।
यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषाम-
स्तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः ॥ ६ ॥

Text

Tekst

na caitad vidmaḥ kataran no garīyo
yad vā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ
yān eva hatvā na jijīviṣāmas
te ’vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ

Synonyms

na — nor; ca — also; etat — this; vidmaḥ — do we know; katarat — which; naḥ — for us; garīyaḥ — better; yat vā — whether; jayema — we may conquer; yadi — if; vā — or; naḥ — us; jayeyuḥ — they conquer; yān — those who; eva — certainly; hatvā — by killing; na — never; jijīviṣāmaḥ — we would want to live; te — all of them; avasthitāḥ — are situated; pramukhe — in the front; dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ — the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

na — ej heller; ca — også; etat — dette; vidmaḥ — ved vi; katarat — hvad; naḥ — for os; garīyaḥ — bedre; yat vā — hvorvidt; jayema — måske vil vi sejre; yadi — hvis; vā — eller; naḥ — os; jayeyuḥ — måske vil de sejre; yān — de, som; eva — sandelig; hatvā — ved at dræbe; na — aldrig; jijīviṣāmaḥ — vi ville ønske at leve; te — alle disse; avasthitāḥ — befinder sig; pramukhe — forrest; dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ — Dhṛtarāṣṭras sønner.

Translation

Nor do we know which is better – conquering them or being conquered by them. If we killed the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, we should not care to live. Yet they are now standing before us on the battlefield.

Ej heller ved vi, hvad der er bedst – at besejre dem eller blive besejret af dem. Hvis vi dræber Dhṛtarāṣṭras sønner, vil vi ikke bryde os om at leve. Ikke desto mindre står de nu foran os på slagmarken.

Purport

Arjuna did not know whether he should fight and risk unnecessary violence, although fighting is the duty of the kṣatriyas, or whether he should refrain and live by begging. If he did not conquer the enemy, begging would be his only means of subsistence. Nor was there certainty of victory, because either side might emerge victorious. Even if victory awaited them (and their cause was justified), still, if the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra died in battle, it would be very difficult to live in their absence. Under the circumstances, that would be another kind of defeat for them. All these considerations by Arjuna definitely proved that not only was he a great devotee of the Lord but he was also highly enlightened and had complete control over his mind and senses. His desire to live by begging, although he was born in the royal household, is another sign of detachment. He was truly virtuous, as these qualities, combined with his faith in the words of instruction of Śrī Kṛṣṇa (his spiritual master), indicate. It is concluded that Arjuna was quite fit for liberation. Unless the senses are controlled, there is no chance of elevation to the platform of knowledge, and without knowledge and devotion there is no chance of liberation. Arjuna was competent in all these attributes, over and above his enormous attributes in his material relationships.

FORKLARING: Arjuna vidste ikke, om han skulle kæmpe og risikere unødvendig vold på trods af, at det er kṣatriyaernes pligt at kæmpe, eller om han skulle afholde sig fra at kæmpe og leve som tigger. Hvis han ikke besejrede fjenden, var tiggeri hans eneste levevej. Han kunne heller ikke være sikker på at sejre, for begge sider kunne gå sejrrige ud af slaget. Selv hvis sejren ventede dem (og deres sag var retfærdig), ville det alligevel blive svært at leve i Dhṛtarāṣṭras sønners fravær, hvis disse skulle dø i slaget. Under disse omstændigheder ville det være en anden form for nederlag for dem. Alle Arjunas overvejelser viser uden tvivl, at ikke blot var han en stor hengiven, men han var også højt oplyst og havde fuldstændig kontrol over sit sind og sine sanser. Hans ønske om at leve som tigger på trods af, at han var født i en kongelig familie, er et andet tegn på utilknytning. Han var ægte retskaffen, som disse egenskaber sammen med hans tro på Śrī Kṛṣṇa, hans åndelige mesters, instruktioner viser. Konklusionen er, at Arjuna var den rette person til at blive befriet. Medmindre sanserne er under kontrol, kan det ikke lade sig gøre at blive ophøjet til kundskabens platform, og uden kundskab og hengivenhed er det ikke muligt at blive befriet. Arjuna var ud over sine store materielle kvalifikationer også kvalificeret på alle disse områder.