Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 34
द्रोणं च भीष्मं च जयद्रथं च
कर्णं तथाऽन्यानपि योधवीरान्।
मया हतांस्त्वं जहि मा व्यथिष्ठा
युध्यस्व जेतासि रणे सपत्नान्।।
कर्णं तथाऽन्यानपि योधवीरान्।
मया हतांस्त्वं जहि मा व्यथिष्ठा
युध्यस्व जेतासि रणे सपत्नान्।।
droṇaṁ ca bhīṣmaṁ ca jayadrathaṁ ca
karṇaṁ tathānyān api yodha-vīrān
mayā hatāṁs tvaṁ jahi mā vyathiṣṭhā
yudhyasva jetāsi raṇe sapatnān
also searched as "dronam cha bhishmam cha jayadratham cha"
Translation
Slay Drona, Bhisma, Jayadratha, Karna, as well as other mighty warriors who have been doomed by Me. Do not feel distressed. Fight; you shall conquer your rivals in the battle.
Vāṇi's rendering
Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna — I have already slain them. Strike without trembling. Fight; you will win.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| द्रोणम्droṇaṁ | Drona — Arjuna's own teacher in archery |
| चca | and |
| भीष्मम्bhīṣmaṁ | Bhishma — the grandsire of both houses |
| चca | and |
| जयद्रथम्jayadrathaṁ | Jayadratha — the king who blocked the way when Abhimanyu died |
| चca | and |
| कर्णम्karṇaṁ | Karna — the great rival |
| तथाtathā | likewise, in the same way |
| अन्यान्anyān | the others (sandhi: tathā + anyān) |
| अपिapi | also, even |
| योध-वीरान्yodha-vīrān | the warrior-heroes, the brave fighters |
| मयाmayā | by me |
| हतान्hatān | already slain, already struck down (sandhi: hatān + tvaṁ) |
| त्वम्tvaṁ | you |
| जहिjahi | strike, kill |
| माmā | do not |
| व्यथिष्ठाःvyathiṣṭhā | tremble, waver, be shaken |
| युध्यस्वyudhyasva | fight |
| जेतासिjetāsi | you will conquer |
| रणेraṇe | in the battle |
| सपत्नान्sapatnān | rivals, those set against you |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 34 mean?
Krishna names the men Arjuna cannot bear to fight — Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna — and says they are already slain by him. Arjuna's arrow does not decide their end; it arrives where the end already stands. So strike without trembling, and fight. The outcome is not Arjuna's to arrange.
What does the line 'dronam cha bhishmam cha jayadratham cha' teach?
It teaches naming. Krishna does not say "your foes" — he says Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna, each face that makes Arjuna's hands shake. What terrifies us is rarely vague. Say its name plainly, and it becomes something you can stand in front of rather than something you circle.
Is Krishna telling Arjuna that killing does not matter?
No. He is telling Arjuna that authorship does not sit where Arjuna thinks. The deaths on that field are already decided; Arjuna is the hand, not the cause. The act still matters, and it still must be done rightly. What is lifted is the crushing belief that he alone is deciding who lives.
How do I use this verse when I am afraid to act?
Notice what your fear is actually claiming. Usually it says: if I move, I will cause the disaster. Krishna cuts under that. The result was never being written by you. Look at the thing squarely, name it, and take the step you know is yours — trembling optional, action not.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna names them one by one. Not "the enemy" — Drona, who taught Arjuna to hold a bow; Bhishma, who held him as a child. These are the faces that made his hands shake. Krishna does not soften them. He says they are already dead, and Arjuna's arrow will only arrive where the death already is. The trembling is a claim of authorship: I am the one killing them. Set that down and what remains is the act itself, done cleanly. Whatever you have been unable to face — look at it by name. You are not its author. Do the thing anyway.