A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Retreat from duty, and respect turns to shrinkage.”
The great warriors will think you withdrew from battle out of fear. Those who once held you in high regard will see you as small.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyfrom fear · from battle · withdrawn · they will think · you · great warriors · of whom · and · you · highly regarded · having become · you will go
If Arjuna stops fighting, the great warriors will assume he fled from fear. People who respected him will now look down on him.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Verse 35 sits in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, "The Yoga of Knowledge". The chapter has 72 verses in total.
You back out of the difficult conversation at the last minute, and everyone notices. The silence protects you for a moment, then quietly rewrites how people see you.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts the mind from protecting comfort to protecting integrity under pressure.
What this verse means
If Arjuna stops fighting, the great warriors will assume he fled from fear. People who respected him will now look down on him.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna stands frozen while Krishna presses him to act. Krishna warns that if Arjuna steps back now, the strongest warriors will read it as fear, and the honour he once held will shrink before their eyes.
Why this verse still matters
You back out of the difficult conversation at the last minute, and everyone notices. The silence protects you for a moment, then quietly rewrites how people see you.
“Avoiding the hard act can cost you the respect you already earned.”
Explore related themes: kurukshetra (95 verses), arjuna (52 verses)