Bg. 2.5 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान् श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके । हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव भुज्ज‍ीय भोगान्‍रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् ॥ ५ ॥

Verse text

gurūn ahatvā hi mahānubhāvān śreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣyam apīha loke hatvārtha-kāmāṁs tu gurūn ihaiva bhuṣjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān

Synonyms

gurūn — the superiors ; ahatvā — not killing ; hi — certainly ; mahā-anubhāvān — great souls ; śreyaḥ — it is better ; bhoktum — to enjoy life ; bhaikṣyam — by begging ; api — even ; iha — in this life ; loke — in this world ; hatvā — killing ; artha — gain ; kāmān — desiring ; tu — but ; gurūn — superiors ; iha — in this world ; eva — certainly ; bhuṣjīya — one has to enjoy ; bhogān — enjoyable things ; rudhira — blood ; pradigdhān — tainted with.

Translation

It would be better to live in this world by begging than to live at the cost of the lives of great souls who are my teachers. Even though desiring worldly gain, they are superiors. If they are killed, everything we enjoy will be tainted with blood.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

5. It is better to eat by begging in this life, not killing such great elders. Having killed elders who were desiring wealth, I will enjoy objects contaminated with their blood.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

5. It is better to eat by begging in this life, not killing such great elders. Having killed elders who were even desiring wealth, I will enjoy objects contaminated with their blood.

Purport

According to scriptural codes, a teacher who engages in an abominable action and has lost his sense of discrimination is fit to be abandoned. Bhīṣma and Droṇa were obliged to take the side of Duryodhana because of his financial assistance, although they should not have accepted such a position simply on financial considerations. Under the circumstances, they have lost the respectability of teachers. But Arjuna thinks that nevertheless they remain his superiors, and therefore to enjoy material profits after killing them would mean to enjoy spoils tainted with blood.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

“If you don’t want the kingdom, then how will you live?” “Not killing my elders, I will live by begging, though it is condemned for the kṣatriya to do so. It is better to eat the food got from begging. Though it will bring infamy in this life, it will not be inauspicious for future lives. One should not say that these gurus, being obedient to Duryodhana, should be rejected because they have become proud, and do not know right from wrong, by citing the scriptures: guror apy avaliptasya kāryākāryam ajānataḥ utpathapratipannasya parityāgo vidhīyate One should reject the guru who is proud, does not know proper behavior, who becomes engaged in sinful life. Mahābhārata 5.178.24 They, on the contrary, are great souls (mahānubhāvān). What fault is there in Bhīṣma and others who have control over time [Note: Bhīṣma could die when he chose, and made a vow to remain unmarried for life.] and lust?” “But Bhīṣma said to Yudhiṣṭhira, artha sya puruṣo dāso dāsas tv artho na kasyacit iti satyaṁ mahārāja baddho ’smy arthena kauravaiḥ Man is a servant of wealth. Wealth is not a servant of anyone. O king, I have been bound by wealth to the Kauravas. Mahābhārata 6.41.36 Therefore, has not their great character been destroyed by such desire for wealth?” “That is true, but if I kill them, I will be unhappy. Even in killing those Kurus who are greedy for wealth (artha-kāmān), if I should enjoy the wealth, it will be contaminated with their blood. The meaning is this: though they have desire for wealth, they are still my gurus. Therefore in killing them, because I commit the sin of killing guru, my enjoyment will be mixed with that sin.”

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

“How will you maintain your life, if you do not have a desire for your own kingdom?” “It is better to subsist by begging for food without having to kill the elders, even though that is condemned for the kṣatriya, because, though it is a cause of infamy in this life, it will not create impediments in the next life.” “You should also reject Bhīṣma and others, though they are teachers, since they are also contaminated with the arrogance for war, and have thus lost the discrimination of right and wrong, by association with Duryodhana and others, who are using this war to commit violence to you and take away your kingdom by deceit. It is said in the smṛti: guror apy avaliptasya kāryākāryam ajānataḥ utpathapratipannasya parityāgo vidhīyate One should reject the guru who is proud, does not know proper behavior of right and wrong, and who becomes addicted to sinful life.” Mahabharata 5.178.24 “But they have the most outstanding powers among all persons (mahānubhāvān) caused by their study of the Vedas and their brahmacārī life. [Note: Bhīṣma took a vow never to marry, so that he would not have heirs to the throne.] Having brought time, lust, and other factors under control, [Note: Bhīsma had the boon of being able to die when he chose.] they are free from the faults arising from these factors.” “But Bhīṣma himself has said: arthasya puruṣo dāso dāsas tv artho na kasyacit iti satyaṁ mahārāja baddho’smy arthena kauravaiḥ Man is the servant of wealth, but wealth is not the servant of anyone. This is the truth. O king, I have been bound up by wealth by the Kauravas. Mahabharata 6.41.36 Therefore, what is the great authority of those who have sold their souls out of greed for wealth? They should be killed in battle.” “Even if I kill these gurus who are unqualified because of their desire for wealth (artha kāmān), and I enjoy in this world, I cannot enjoy in the next life, for those enjoyments will be mixed with their blood (rudhira pradigdhān). It is not pure enjoyment because it has been obtained through killing them. Though contaminated with pride in fighting, they are still worthy of respect.” This statement manifests because of his continued acceptance of them as gurus.