Sanskrit
कथं भीष्ममहं सङ्ख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन । इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन ॥
kathaṃ bhīṣmam ahaṃ saṅkhye droṇaṃ ca madhusūdana iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāv arisūdana
Translation
How, O Madhusûdana, shall I attack Bhîshma and Drona with arrows in battle, they who are worthy of reverence, O slayer of foes?
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Arjuna’s first reply pushes back hard: how can he possibly loose arrows at Bhishma and Drona — his grandfather and his teacher, men he owes reverence — merely because Krishna calls it cowardice? The objection is concrete and personal, not abstract: these are specific people, and the question of what he owes them is exactly what the chapter’s later teaching on duty will have to answer. This is a genuine collision of obligations — the reverence owed to elders against the svadharma of a warrior — and Arjuna is right that it is real. Krishna’s answer, at BG 2.31–BG 2.33, does not deny the cost; it argues the greater cost lies the other way.
Study deeper
Word by word
- kathaṃकथं
- how?
- bhīṣmamभीष्मं
- Bhīṣma — his grand-uncle and elder
- ahaṃअहं
- I
- saṅkhyeसङ्ख्ये
- in battle
- droṇaṃद्रोणं
- Droṇa — his weapons-teacher
- caच
- and
- madhusūdanaमधुसूदन
- O Madhusūdana
- iṣubhiḥइषुभिः
- with arrows
- pratiyotsyāmiप्रतियोत्स्यामि
- shall I fight back against
- pūjārhāvपूजार्हाव्
- the two worthy of worship (pūjā-arhau)
- arisūdanaअरिसूदन
- O slayer of foes
Commentary
Site Commentary
Arjuna’s objection is deliberately specific — not “killing is wrong” in the abstract but “Bhishma and Drona, by name, people I owe reverence to.” Krishna’s coming argument will answer in the opposite register, at the level of the self’s nature in general — and part of what makes the middle of this chapter difficult is that a concrete, personal objection is being met with an impersonal, universal answer.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you raise an objection, notice whether you're arguing from a specific, personal stake or a general principle — and if someone answers you at the wrong altitude (abstract when you meant concrete), say so, rather than letting the mismatch pass unnoticed.
Professional
- When a stakeholder objects to a decision by naming specific people or relationships affected, don't answer purely with general policy — a concrete, personal objection deserves at least partial acknowledgment at the same level before you widen out to principle.
Family & Social
- If someone you love raises a specific, personal worry, resist answering only with a general principle — meet the concrete concern at the level it was raised before you widen the conversation.
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