Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 5
गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान्
श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके।
हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव
भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान्।।
श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके।
हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव
भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान्।।
gurūnahatvā hi mahānubhāvān
śreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣyamapīha loke
hatvārtha-kāmāṁstu gurūnihaiva
bhuñjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān
also searched as "gurunahatva hi mahanubhavan"
Translation
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.
Vāṇi's rendering
Better to live on begged bread than kill my teachers. Every pleasure after would be smeared with their blood.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| गुरून्gurūn | the teachers, the elders |
| अहत्वाahatvā | not having killed, by not slaying |
| हिhi | surely, indeed |
| महानुभावान्mahā-anubhāvān | great-souled, men of high dignity |
| श्रेयःśreyaḥ | better, more good (śreyo before the next word) |
| भोक्तुम्bhoktum | to eat, to enjoy |
| भैक्ष्यम्bhaikṣyam | food got by begging |
| अपिapi | even |
| इहiha | here (api + iha joins as apīha) |
| लोकेloke | in this world |
| हत्वाhatvā | having killed |
| अर्थकामान्artha-kāmān | those who desire wealth and gain |
| तुtu | but (kāmān + tu joins as kāmāṁstu) |
| गुरून्gurūn | the teachers |
| इहiha | here, in this very world |
| एवeva | itself, indeed (iha + eva joins as ihaiva) |
| भुञ्जीयbhuñjīya | I would enjoy, I would taste |
| भोगान्bhogān | pleasures, enjoyments |
| रुधिरप्रदिग्धान्rudhira-pradigdhān | smeared with blood |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 5 mean?
Arjuna says he would sooner eat begged food than kill the elders who taught him. Even victory would be spoiled — every pleasure won that way would carry their blood on it. He is not weighing the war's outcome now. He is weighing what he will become the day after it ends.
What does gurunahatva hi mahanubhavan mean?
It means: surely, not killing these great-souled teachers. Arjuna calls them mahā-anubhāvān — men of weight and dignity — and in the same breath admits they are artha-kāmān, driven by wealth. He sees their flaw clearly and still cannot raise his bow. Reverence, in him, has outlasted his respect.
Why does Arjuna say his pleasures would be smeared with blood?
Because he understands that an act does not end when it ends. What is won by killing his teachers would sit in every meal, every comfort, every quiet evening afterward. He is describing conscience accurately. What he has not yet understood is who inside him would be doing the tasting.
Is Arjuna right to prefer begging over fighting?
His instinct is noble and his reasoning is not. Krishna never says the horror is imaginary. He says Arjuna is grieving for the wrong thing — measuring a duty by the residue it leaves on his own comfort. Withdrawal here is not renunciation. It is the fear of living with himself, dressed as virtue.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Arjuna has stopped arguing strategy. He is arguing morality, and notice what he concedes in passing — that his teachers are driven by desire for wealth, artha-kāmān. He knows they are compromised. He would rather beg than lift a bow against them, because what he cannot face is not their guilt but his own, afterward. The blood will not stay on the field; it will seep into every meal he eats for the rest of his life. You know that fear — not that the act is wrong, but that you will have to sit with yourself once it is done. It is honest. It is not yet wisdom.