偈颂 1.461.11.21.31.41.51.61.71.81.91.101.111.121.131.141.151.161.171.181.191.201.211.221.231.241.251.261.271.281.291.301.311.321.331.341.351.361.371.381.391.401.411.421.431.441.451.461.47

If the sons of Dhritarashtra with weapons in hand should slay me in battle, unresisting and unarmed, that would be better for me.

If the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, were to kill me in battle, unresisting and unarmed, that would be better for me.

Arjuna reaches the end of his reasoning. He would rather be killed, unarmed and offering no resistance, than fight. This is the strongest possible statement of his refusal: not only will he not kill, he would accept death himself. For a warrior, such words are startling. They show that his crisis is not cowardice in the ordinary sense, since he is ready to die. It is a collapse of purpose, a conviction that any action in this war is wrong, and it sets the problem that Krishna's teaching must address.