Bhagavad Gita -Srila Prabhupada 76

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita As It Is -Shri Shrimad A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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Contents of the Gita Summarized
Chapter 2: Verse-31

sva-dharmam api cäveksya
na vikampitum arhasi
dharmyäd dhi yuddhäc chreyo ’nyat
ksatriyasya na vidyate[1]

TRANSLATION

Considering your specific duty as a ksatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need for hesitation.

PURPORT

Out of the four orders of social administration, the second order, for the matter of good administration, is called ksatriya. Ksat means hurt. One who gives protection from harm is called ksatriya (träyate—to give protection). The ksatriyas are trained for killing in the forest. A ksatriya would go into the forest and challenge a tiger face to face and fight with the tiger with his sword. When the tiger was killed, it would be offered the royal order of cremation. This system has been followed even up to the present day by the ksatriya kings of Jaipur state. The ksatriyas are specially trained for challenging and killing because religious violence is sometimes a necessary factor. Therefore, ksatriyas are never meant for accepting directly the order of sannyäsa, or renunciation.

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References

  1. sva-dharmam=one’s own religious principles; api=also; ca=indeed; aveksya=considering; na=never; vikampitum=to hesitate; arhasi=you deserve; dharmyät=for religious principles; hi=indeed; yuddhät=than fighting; sreyah=better engagement; anyat=any other; ksatriyasya=of the ksatriya; na=does not; vidyate=exist.

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