Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya 43

Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya

Chapter-2 Sankhya Yogaḥ

atha-cet tvam imaṁ dharmyaṁ saṅgrāmaṁ na kariṣyasi | tataḥ sva-dharmaṁ kīrtiṁ ca hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi || 33 || 33. But if you do not fight this righteous war, you will be turning away from your duty and honour, and will be incurring blame. akīrtiṁ cāpi bhūtāni kathayiṣyanti te’vyayām | saṁbhāvitasya cākīrtir maraṇād-atiricyate || 34 || 34. Furthermore, people will for ever recall your everlasting disgrace, and for an honourable man, dishonour is worse than death. Commentary You will then incur not merely the loss of all happiness and honour, but will be the object of contempt by all people. The qualified [critics] and even the unqualified, for the rest of time will ridicule you, saying, 'When the battle began Arjuna ran away.' If it be asked — ‘So what?’, the reply is:— ‘To one who is honoured by all, for courage, prowess, valour, etc., the disgrace arising from being accused of the opposite of these attributes, is worse than death’. In other words it would be better for you to die than to endure such disgrace.