Sanskrit
न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च । किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा ॥
na kāṅkṣe vijayaṃ kṛṣṇa na ca rājyaṃ sukhāni ca kiṃ no rājyena govinda kiṃ bhogair jīvitena vā
Translation
For I desire not victory, O Krishna, nor kingdom, nor pleasures; what is kingdom to us, O Govinda, what enjoyment or even life?
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Arjuna disowns every stake he might have in winning — not just this battle, but victory, kingdom, and pleasure as categories. It’s worth noting the contrast this sets up for later: Krishna’s teaching in Chapter 2 won’t ask Arjuna to want these things either, but for a very different reason — not because they’re worthless, but because action shouldn’t be motivated by wanting them at all.
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Word by word
- na kāṅkṣeन काङ्क्षे
- I do not desire
- vijayaṃविजयं
- victory
- kṛṣṇaकृष्ण
- O Krishna
- na ca rājyaṃन च राज्यं
- nor kingdom
- sukhāni caसुखानि च
- nor pleasures
- kiṃ no rājyenaकिं नो राज्येन
- what is a kingdom to us
- govindaगोविन्द
- O Govinda
- kiṃ bhogairकिं भोगैः
- what are enjoyments
- jīvitena vāजीवितेन वा
- or even life
Commentary
Site Commentary
The verse escalates its own form mid-sentence: it opens as a plain statement of non-desire and ends as a rhetorical question — “what is kingdom to us… what enjoyment or even life?” A question that expects no answer is a stronger renunciation than a flat refusal; Arjuna isn’t just declining these things, he’s questioning whether they were ever worth wanting.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you're trying to let go of wanting something, notice whether a flat statement of 'I don't want this' is enough, or whether you need to go further and genuinely question whether it was ever worth wanting — the second move detaches you more completely than the first.
Professional
- When declining a promotion or opportunity that doesn't fit you, it can be more convincing — to yourself and others — to explain why the thing itself has stopped mattering to you, rather than just stating that you don't want it.
Family & Social
- If you're stepping back from a long-held family ambition, it helps to actually question aloud whether it ever mattered to you the way you assumed, rather than just announcing you're done pursuing it — the questioning does more of the letting-go.
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