Bhagavad Gita -Srila Prabhupada 83

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

Prev.png
Contents of the Gita Summarized
Chapter 2: Verse-38

sukha-duhkhe same krtvä
läbhäläbhau jayäjayau
tato yuddhäya yujyasva
naivam päpam aväpsyasi[1]

TRANSLATION

Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat—and by so doing you shall never incur sin.

PURPORT

Lord krsna now directly says that Arjuna should fight for the sake of fighting because He desires the battle. There is no consideration of happiness or distress, profit or gain, victory or defeat in the activities of krsna consciousness. That everything should be performed for the sake of krsna is transcendental consciousness; so there is no reaction to material activities. He who acts for his own sense gratification, either in goodness or in passion, is subject to the reaction, good or bad. But he who has completely surrendered himself in the activities of krsna consciousness is no longer obliged to anyone, nor is he a debtor to anyone, as one is in the ordinary course of activities.[2] It is said:

devarsi-bhütäpta-narnam pitrnam
na kinkaro näyam rni ca räjan
sarvätmanä yah saranam saraëyam
gato mukundam parihrtya kartam.

“Anyone who has completely surrendered unto Krsna, Mukunda, giving up all other duties, is no longer a debtor, nor is he obliged to anyone—not the demigods, nor the sages, nor the people in general, nor kinsmen, nor humanity, nor fore fathers. That is the indirect hint given by krsna to Arjuna in this verse, and the matter will be more clearly explained in the following verses.


Next.png

References

  1. sukha=happiness; duhkhe=and distress; same=in equanimity; krtvä=doing so; läbha-aläbhau=both profit and loss; jaya-ajayau=both victory and defeat; tatah=thereafter; yuddhäya=for the sake of fighting; yujyasva=engage (fight); na=never; evam=in this way; päpam=sinful reaction; aväpsyasi=you will gain.
  2. 11.5.41

Related Articles