2.35 They will say you were afraid Krishna speaks
भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथाः
येषां च त्वं बहुमतो भूत्वा यास्यसि लाघवम्
bhayād raṇād uparataṁ mansyante tvāṁ mahā-rathāḥ
yeṣhāṁ cha tvaṁ bahu-mato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam
The great warriors will say you left the field out of fear — those who held you in high regard. Nothing lighter could be said of you.
Explanation
They will say you were afraid.
The great warriors — those who held you in high regard.
The cruelty is precise: not that enemies will mock him, but that the people whose opinion he values will conclude the one thing that is not true. Chapter 1 was clear that this is not cowardice.
Word by word
- bhayāt
- out of fear
- raṇāt
- from the battlefield
- uparatam
- have fled
- maṁsyante
- will think
- tvām
- you
- mahā-rathāḥ
- warriors who could single handedly match the strength of ten thousand ordinary warriors
- yeṣhām
- for whom
- cha
- and
- tvam
- you
- bahu-mataḥ
- high esteemed
- bhūtvā
- having been
- yāsyasi
- you will loose
- lāghavam
- decreased in value
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