Chapter 1 · Verse 35
Arjuna's Dilemma
एतान्न हन्तुमिच्छामि घ्नतोऽपि मधुसूदन। अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः किं नु महीकृते
etān na hantum ichchhāmi ghnato ’pi madhusūdana api trailokya-rājyasya hetoḥ kiṁ nu mahī-kṛite
Word Meanings
etān — these; na — not; hantum — to slay; ichchhāmi — I wish; ghnataḥ — killed; api — even though; madhusūdana — Shree Krishna, killer of the demon Madhu; api — even though; trai-lokya-rājyasya — dominion over three worlds; hetoḥ — for the sake of; kim nu — what to speak of; mahī-kṛite — for the earth
Translation
O Madhusudana, I do not wish to slay these men, even if they slay me, not for sovereignty over the three worlds—how much less for the sake of this earth alone.
Commentary