Slain, you will gain heaven; or, victorious over Karṇa and the other heroes, you will enjoy the earth. So in either case there is only gain for you. Since it is so, rise up, O son of Kuntī, resolved upon the battle, having made the resolve 'I shall conquer the foes, or I shall die'. Now hear this teaching, for one who fights holding that war is his own duty.

If you are slain by your foes in righteous war, by that very fact you will attain the highest good; or, having slain your foes, you will enjoy a kingdom free of thorns. Since righteous action in the form of war, done with no eye to its fruit, is a means to the highest good, you will attain that highest good. Therefore, having determined that the effort toward war is the means to liberation, the highest of human goals, rise up for its sake. This alone befits you, the son of Kunti. The Lord states the manner in which a seeker of liberation should wage war.

This is a brief sub-gloss. For a fuller reading of this verse, see Madhusūdana, Śaṅkara, or Rāmānuja above.

Madhvacharya does not comment on this verse.