Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 1, Verse 31
निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव।
न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे।।
न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे।।
nimittāni ca paśyāmi viparītāni keśava
na ca śreyo ’nupaśyāmi hatvā sva-janam āhave
also searched as "nimittani cha pashyami viparitani keshava"
Translation
I see, Kṛṣṇa, inauspicious omens. I foresee no good in slaying my kinsmen in battle.
Vāṇi's rendering
The omens are all against us, Krishna. I see no good in killing my own people.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| निमित्तानिnimittāni | omens, signs, portents |
| चca | and |
| पश्यामिpaśyāmi | I see |
| विपरीतानिviparītāni | contrary, turned against us, inauspicious |
| केशवkeśava | O Keśava — Krishna, addressed by name |
| नna | not |
| चca | and |
| श्रेयःśreyaḥ | good, benefit, what is finally better (becomes śreyo before the next word) |
| अनुपश्यामिanupaśyāmi | I foresee, I see following from this (the initial a is elided after śreyo) |
| हत्वाhatvā | having killed |
| स्वजनम्sva-janam | one's own people, kinsmen |
| आहवेāhave | in battle |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 31 mean?
Arjuna tells Krishna that every sign is against them, and that he can foresee nothing good coming from killing his own people in battle. It is the first time he argues rather than trembles — grief has found language, and the language sounds like reasoning. He is building a case for turning back.
What does 'nimittani cha pashyami viparitani keshava' mean?
Nimittāni are omens, viparītāni means turned the wrong way. Arjuna says: I see the signs, Keśava, and they are all against us. He is not superstitious so much as devastated. A mind already sick with dread will read the sky and find its own face there.
Are the omens Arjuna sees real, or is his grief speaking?
The Gītā does not settle it, and that silence matters. Krishna never disputes the omens; he later dismantles the man who is reading them. What is certain is that Arjuna says paśyāmi and anupaśyāmi — I see, I foresee — twice in one breath. The seeing is what needs correcting first.
What does this verse teach me when I am dreading a decision?
That dread is a skilled lawyer. It gathers evidence, forecasts outcomes, and calls the whole performance clear sight. Before you weigh the signs, weigh the one reading them. Ask honestly whether you are seeking guidance or assembling permission. The answer usually arrives faster than you would like.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Twice he says he sees. Omens against us; no good ahead. Arjuna is not describing the world here — he is reading it, and grief reads badly. A man who has already decided will find signs everywhere that agree with him. The birds, the light, the sound of the conches: all of it confirms what his chest already knew. Notice he asks Krishna nothing. He is presenting evidence, not seeking counsel. You have done this — gathered reasons for the thing you had already resolved not to do, and called the gathering discernment. The omens are rarely the problem. The eye is.