Bhagavad Gita 1.32
Spoken by Arjuna · Verse 32 of 47 · Arjuna's Journey
किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा। येषामर्थे काङ्क्षितं नो राज्यं भोगाः सुखानि च॥
kiṃ no rājyena govinda kiṃ bhogair jīvitena vā / yeṣām arthe kāṅkṣitaṃ no rājyaṃ bhogāḥ sukhāni ca
What is a kingdom for, if all those you wanted to share it with are dead?
Word by word (6)
- kim naḥ rājyena
- — what good is the kingdom to us?
- govinda
- — O Govinda — Krishna (finder of cows / lord of the senses / lord of Goloka) · Multiple meanings: 'finder of cows' (relating to Krishna's childhood); 'go' can mean senses, making Govinda the 'master of senses.' Also: lord of the earth (go = earth). A name rich in layers.
- kim bhogaiḥ jīvitena vā
- — what good are pleasures, even life?
- yeṣām arthe
- — for whose sake
- kāṅkṣitam naḥ
- — we desire / we have longed
- rājyam bhogāḥ sukhāni ca
- — kingdom, pleasures and comforts
'What good is the kingdom to me, Govinda? What good are pleasures, even life itself? The very people FOR WHOM I wanted this kingdom, FOR WHOM I desired these pleasures and comforts — they are standing here, ready to give up their lives.'
A modern analogy
You work for decades to build a home, a wealth, a business — for your family. Then you look around at the cost: the marriages damaged, the children grown distant, the friends lost along the way. And you ask: what is this for? Who is it for now? Arjuna's question is this scaled to the maximum.
Take with you
- The deepest human tragedy is achieving a goal after the people who gave it meaning are gone.
- Arjuna identifies that the means (the battle) will destroy the ends (the people the kingdom was for) — this is a legitimate and profound observation.
- This verse is the beginning of Arjuna's strongest argument — it deserves a serious answer, not dismissal.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Of what avail is the kingdom to us, O Govinda? Of what avail pleasures or even life? Those for whose sake we desire kingdom, enjoyments and pleasures, stand here in battle, having given up life and wealth. [4]
What need have I of victory, dominion, pleasures? What need of life itself, Govinda, if those for whom I craved these things stand here about to die? [7]
Of what use to us is dominion, O Govinda? of what use are pleasures and even life? Those for whose sake dominion, enjoyments and pleasures are coveted by us, they stand arrayed for battle, surrendering life and wealth. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The people who shaped him — teachers, father-figures, sons — are on the field, ready to die.
The wise act like the unwise — same actions, same engagement — but without attachment, for the world's welfare.
Krishna says: 'Look.' Two words that will change everything.
He looked — and saw everyone he has ever loved, lined up to kill or be killed.
Even the fathers-in-law and dearest friends — on both sides. No one is safely 'other.'
I would rather be killed than kill them — a statement of love that goes beyond self-preservation.
Verse 32 of 47 · back to Chapter 1