2.37 Killed or victorious Krishna speaks
हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम्
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः
hato vā prāpsyasi swargaṁ jitvā vā bhokṣhyase mahīm
tasmād uttiṣhṭha kaunteya yuddhāya kṛita-niśhchayaḥ
Killed, you gain the higher world; victorious, you enjoy the earth. So stand up, son of Kunti, and resolve to fight.
Explanation
Killed or victorious, you win either way.
Killed, the higher world; victorious, the earth. So stand up and resolve to fight.
This is exactly the offer Arjuna pre-emptively refused at 2.8 — that no prize would touch the grief. The chapter makes it anyway, and then, in the next verse, abandons the whole approach.
Word by word
- hataḥ
- slain
- vā
- or
- prāpsyasi
- you will attain
- swargam
- celestial abodes
- jitvā
- by achieving victory
- vā
- or
- bhokṣhyase
- you shall enjoy
- mahīm
- the kingdom on earth
- tasmāt
- therefore
- uttiṣhṭha
- arise
- kaunteya
- Arjun, the son of Kunti
- yuddhāya
- for fight
- kṛita-niśhchayaḥ
- with determination
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