Sanskrit
अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम् । सम्भावितस्य चाकीर्तिर्मरणादतिरिच्यते ॥
akīrtiṃ cāpi bhūtāni kathayiṣyanti te'vyayām sambhāvitasya cākīrtir maraṇād atiricyate
Translation
Men will recount thy perpetual dishonour, and, to one highly esteemed, dishonour exceedeth death.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The first of the social costs Krishna lists: reputation. For a man already held in high regard, as Arjuna is, disgrace isn’t a lesser evil than death — it’s described here as worse. This is a pragmatic argument aimed squarely at Arjuna’s own standing, not a metaphysical one. The word sambhāvita — “one who has been honoured,” a person with a reputation to lose — is precise: the argument only bites for someone at Arjuna’s level of regard. Krishna is not appealing to shame in general but to Arjuna’s specific exposure to it.
Study deeper
Word by word
- akīrtiṃ cāpiअकीर्तिं चापि
- and dishonour also (akīrtim + ca + api)
- bhūtāniभूतानि
- beings, people
- kathayiṣyantiकथयिष्यन्ति
- will speak
- te'vyayāmतेऽव्ययां
- of you, unending (te + avyayām)
- sambhāvitasyaसंभावितस्य
- for one held in honour
- cākīrtirचाकीर्तिः
- and disgrace (ca + akīrtiḥ)
- maraṇādमरणाद्
- than death
- atiricyateअतिरिच्यते
- is worse
Commentary
Site Commentary
The claim is explicitly conditional — dishonor exceeds death “to one highly esteemed” — which means this particular argument has no force at all for someone without a reputation to lose. Krishna is choosing his ammunition to fit the target: this is not a universal ranking of evils, it’s the argument that happens to work on this specific man in this specific position.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When motivating yourself to follow through on something hard, use the argument that actually fits your specific values and position, not a generic one that would work on anyone — a motivation calibrated to what you personally care about holds when a borrowed one won't.
Professional
- When making the case for a change to a specific stakeholder, tailor the argument to what that person specifically stands to lose or gain rather than reusing a generic pitch — the same proposal needs different framing for different audiences.
Family & Social
- When trying to convince someone close to you to take a hard step, use the reason that actually matters to them, not the one that would matter to you — persuasion calibrated to the other person's values lands; a borrowed argument usually doesn't.
Ask yourself
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