BG 2.3
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Devanagari
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते ।
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ॥ ३ ॥
Verse text
klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha
naitat tvayy upapadyate
kṣudraṁ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ
tyaktvottiṣṭha paran-tapa
Synonyms
klaibyam
—
impotence
;
mā sma
—
do not
;
gamaḥ
—
take to
;
pārtha
—
O son of Pṛthā
;
na
—
never
;
etat
—
this
;
tvayi
—
unto you
;
upapadyate
—
is befitting
;
kṣudram
—
petty
;
hṛdaya
—
of the heart
;
daurbalyam
—
weakness
;
tyaktvā
—
giving up
;
uttiṣṭha
—
get up
;
param-tapa
—
O chastiser of the enemies.
Translation
O son of Pṛthā, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
3. Do not become a coward. This is not suitable to you. Give up this low weakness of mind and rise, O afflicter of enemies!
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
3. Do not become a coward. This is not suitable to you, O son of Pṛthā. Give up this temporary weakness of mind and prepare for war, O afflicter of enemies!
Purport
Arjuna was addressed as the son of Pṛthā, who happened to be the sister of Kṛṣṇa’s father Vasudeva. Therefore Arjuna had a blood relationship with Kṛṣṇa. If the son of a kṣatriya declines to fight, he is a kṣatriya in name only, and if the son of a brāhmaṇa acts impiously, he is a brāhmaṇa in name only. Such kṣatriyas and brāhmaṇas are unworthy sons of their fathers; therefore, Kṛṣṇa did not want Arjuna to become an unworthy son of a kṣatriya. Arjuna was the most intimate friend of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa was directly guiding him on the chariot; but in spite of all these credits, if Arjuna abandoned the battle he would be committing an infamous act. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said that such an attitude in Arjuna did not fit his personality. Arjuna might argue that he would give up the battle on the grounds of his magnanimous attitude for the most respectable Bhīṣma and his relatives, but Kṛṣṇa considered that sort of magnanimity mere weakness of heart. Such false magnanimity was not approved by any authority. Therefore, such magnanimity or so-called nonviolence should be given up by persons like Arjuna under the direct guidance of Kṛṣṇa.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
“Do not become cowardly (klaibyam); do not become impotent. O Pārtha, though you are the son of Pṛthā, you have acted like this! Do not yield to this. This may occur among other inferior kṣatriyas, but in you, My friend, it is not proper at all!”
“Do not worry about my lack of bravery. Do not think I am a coward. One must consider the precepts of dharma in regards to Bhīṣma, Droṇa and other elders, and also consider the aspect of compassion in regard to the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who, being weaker than I, being afflicted by my weapons, are about to die.”
“This is not discretion from principles of dharma nor is it mercy. It is bewilderment and lamentation, which are indications of a weak mind (kṣudraṁ hṛdaya-daurbalyam). Therefore give up this weakness of mind and rise up. O conqueror of enemies (parantapa), you, who afflict enemies, fight!”
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
“I am trembling because of the sin of contemplating the destruction of relatives. How am I to act?”
“By the mercy of Indra, you have been born as the son of Pṛthā (pārtha). [Note: Indra impregnated Kuntī and Arjuna was born.] Do not succumb to cowardice (klaibyam). Such cowardice of a kṣatriya in name only, is not suitable for you, Arjuna, the conqueror of the universe [Note: The phrase seems to indicate that Arjuna had the capacity to conquer any place, rather than to indicate a particular incident where he conquered the universe.] and My friend.”
“This is not cowardice in the form of lack of courage, but rather a judgment arising through consideration of proper action towards those worthy of worship such as Bhīṣma, and an act of compassion towards cousins such as Duryodhana who will die by the blow of my weapons.”
“No, this is not correct judgment nor compassion, but a transitory (kṣudram) weakness of heart. Therefore give up that weakness and prepare for the fight (uttiṣṭha). O afflicter of the enemy (parantapa), do not become the laughing stock of the enemy!”
Surrender Unto Me
For Krsna to call Arjuna "impontent" is like a big slapping on his face. A ksatriya is supposed to be potent, they have pride, they have strength of character.
"Uttistha parantapa"‑ "get up o chastiser of the enemy!" Krsna is firing‑up Arjuna. He doesn't accept his logic.
"Ksudram"‑ "petty"," low class". Krsna is insulting Arjuna to get rid of his weakness and make him fight.