A core teaching · reflective in mood · easy to enter
“Kinship makes violence feel unbearable.”
Therefore, we are not fit to kill our own kinsmen, the sons of Dhritarashtra. How could we be happy after killing our relatives, O Madhava?
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallytherefore · not fit · we · to kill · the sons of Dhritarashtra · our own relatives · our own people · indeed · how · having killed · happy · we would be · O Madhava
Arjuna says the Kaurava side are his own relatives, so killing them would not bring happiness.
Arjuna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Arjuna Vishada Yoga" (The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair).
Verse 37 sits in Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita — Arjuna Vishada Yoga, "The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair". The chapter has 47 verses in total.
You are about to send the message that will end a friendship. Before you hit send, you feel the weight of what cannot be undone.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts the mind from winning to seeing the human cost of action.
What this verse means
Arjuna says the Kaurava side are his own relatives, so killing them would not bring happiness.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna looks at the men he is meant to fight and sees family, not enemies. Krishna is pressing him toward action, but Arjuna's heart is breaking under the thought of killing his own kin.
Why this verse still matters
You are about to send the message that will end a friendship. Before you hit send, you feel the weight of what cannot be undone.
“You can feel the cost of violence before you act, and that honesty matters.”
Explore related themes: kurukshetra (95 verses), arjuna vishada (14 verses)