Chapter 2 · Verse 5·Spoken by Arjuna
गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान् श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके। हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान्
gurūnahatvā hi mahānubhāvān śhreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣhyamapīha loke hatvārtha-kāmāṁstu gurūnihaiva bhuñjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān
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Sanskrit recitation by Swami Brahmānanda
Audio from the Gītā Supersite, IIT Kanpur
Word by Word
Reading set · 5 translations · 3 commentaries
Translation · 5 voices
Rather than killing the noble-minded elders, it is better in this world to live even on alms. But by killing them, we shall only be enjoying here the pleasures of wealth and desirable things drenched in blood.
Swami Gambiranandaafter Śaṅkara's bhāṣya· paired with Śaṅkara
It is better even to live on a beggar's fare in this world than to slay these most venerable teachers. If I were to slay my teachers, though they may be degraded by desire for wealth, I would only be enjoying blood-stained pleasures here.
Swami Adidevanandaafter Rāmānuja's bhāṣya· paired with Rāmānuja
It is indeed good to go about begging in this world without killing the elders of great dignity; however, I would not enjoy, with greed for wealth, the blood-stained objects of pleasure by killing my elders.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayanafter Madhva's bhāṣya· paired with Madhva
Better it is, indeed, in this world to accept alms than to slay the most noble teachers. But if I were to kill them, even in this world, all my enjoyments of wealth and fulfilled desires would be stained with their blood.
Swami SivanandaThe Bhagavad Gita
Rather, I would be content with a beggar's crust than to kill these teachers of mine, these precious noble souls! To slay these masters who are my benefactors would be to stain the sweetness of life's pleasures with their blood.
Shri Purohit SwamiThe Geeta
This is a brief sub-gloss. For a fuller reading of this verse, see Madhusūdana, Śaṅkara, or Rāmānuja above.
Śaṅkara does not comment on this verse; his commentary on the second chapter begins at verse 2.10.
Contemporary English rendering of the Sanskrit bhāṣya, pending scholar review.
This is a brief sub-gloss. For a fuller reading of this verse, see Madhusūdana, Śaṅkara, or Rāmānuja above.
Ramanuja's commentary treats verses 2.4 through 2.5 as a single passage; it is given in full at verse 2.4.
Contemporary English rendering of the Sanskrit bhāṣya, pending scholar review.
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; his Gita-bhashya begins at verse 2.11.
Contemporary English rendering of the Sanskrit bhāṣya, pending scholar review.