Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 4

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

अर्जुन उवाच ।
कथं भीष्ममहं सङ्ख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन ।
इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन ॥

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca .
kathaṃ bhīṣmamahaṃ saṅkhye droṇaṃ ca madhusūdana .
iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāvarisūdana ॥

Meaning

Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, O destroyer of foes, how can I fight Bhishma and Drona in battle with arrows? They are worthy of my worship.

Word meanings

कथम् – how
भीष्मम् – Bhishma, the grandsire
अहम् – I
सङ्ख्ये – in battle
द्रोणम् – Drona, the teacher
च – and
मधुसूदन – O Madhusudana
इषुभिः – with arrows
प्रतियोत्स्यामि – shall I fight against, counter-attack
पूजार्हौ – both worthy of worship
अरिसूदन – O slayer of enemies

Anvaya (word order)

अर्जुनः उवाच — मधुसूदन, अरिसूदन, अहं सङ्ख्ये पूजार्हौ भीष्मं द्रोणं च इषुभिः कथं प्रतियोत्स्यामि ?

Explanation

Stung by Krishna's rebuke, Arjuna explains himself. His hesitation, he insists, is not cowardice but a moral crisis. Before him stand Bhishma, the grandsire on whose lap he played as a child, and Drona, the teacher who made him the finest archer in the land. Both are ‘pujarhau’, worthy of worship. How can he shoot arrows at those at whose feet he should be offering flowers?

There is a quiet irony in the way he addresses Krishna: ‘Madhusudana’ and ‘Arisudana’, slayer of Madhu, slayer of enemies. It is as if he is saying, ‘You killed demons and enemies; but these are not my enemies, they are my elders.’ Commentators such as Madhusudana Sarasvati see in these names Arjuna's attempt to draw a sharp line between foes and venerable elders.

By the standards of ordinary morality, Arjuna's argument sounds right. Reverence for elders is a cherished value. Yet he overlooks something vital: Bhishma and Drona have taken up arms on the side of injustice. When even the venerable become protectors of wrong, dharma must take precedence over personal ties.

The verse lays bare a conflict that every thoughtful person meets: two good values — reverence and duty — pulling in opposite directions. In such moments feeling alone cannot guide us; only deep discernment can. It is precisely this discernment that the Gita now sets out to give.

Context

In 2.3 Krishna told Arjuna to give up his faint-heartedness. Arjuna replies here by stating his moral dilemma. In the next verse (2.5) he says it would be better to live on alms than to enjoy a kingdom stained with his teachers' blood.

Life lesson

Respect and duty both matter, but when even a respected person stands with injustice, righteousness must come first. Do not allow personal sentiment to override principle.

Key terms

Pujarha: worthy of worship and reverence
Arisudana: slayer of enemies — Krishna
Sankhya (sankhye): here simply ‘in battle’