Sanskrit
तस्मान्नार्हा वयं हन्तुं धार्तराष्ट्रान्स्वबान्धवान् । स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिनः स्याम माधव ॥
tasmān nārhā vayaṃ hantuṃ dhārtarāṣṭrān svabāndhavān svajanaṃ hi kathaṃ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava
Translation
Therefore we should not kill the sons of Dhritarâshtra, our relatives; for how, killing our kinsmen, may we be happy, O Mâdhava?
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A clean “therefore,” closing the argument built across verses 31–36: no victory, kingdom, or self-preservation justifies it, the people in question are kin on both sides, and killing them can’t lead to happiness anyway. Verses 38–39 immediately open a second, related argument on top of this one.
Study deeper
Word by word
- tasmānतस्मान्
- therefore
- nārhā vayaṃनार्हा वयं
- we ought not
- hantuṃहन्तुं
- to kill
- dhārtarāṣṭrānधार्तराष्ट्रान्
- Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons
- sva-bāndhavānस्व-बान्धवान्
- our own relatives
- svajanaṃ hi kathaṃ hatvāस्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा
- for how, having killed our own people
- sukhinaḥ syāmaसुखिनः स्याम
- could we be happy
- mādhavaमाधव
- O Mādhava
Commentary
Site Commentary
“Therefore” is a strange word to find inside a lament — it marks this as the close of a formal argument, not an outburst. Verses 31 through 37 have actually been built like a proof: premises about victory, motive, and consequence, stacked toward this explicit conclusion. What looks like one continuous speech is really argument one closing right before argument two opens in verse 38.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you're working through a hard decision, notice if your reasoning has actually reached a 'therefore' — a real conclusion — or if you're still stacking premises; knowing which one you're in tells you whether it's time to act or time to keep thinking.
Professional
- Before you present a recommendation, check whether your argument actually has a 'therefore' moment — a clear line where the premises resolve into a stated conclusion — rather than trailing off into more context without ever formally closing.
Family & Social
- When you're explaining a hard call to family, it can help to explicitly mark the moment you reach your conclusion — 'so, therefore' — rather than letting your reasons trail on without ever landing somewhere definite.
Ask yourself
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