Bhagavad Gita 1.35
Spoken by Arjuna · Verse 35 of 47 · Arjuna's Journey
अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः किं नु महीकृते। निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याज्जनार्दन॥
api trailokyarājyasya hetoḥ kiṃ nu mahīkṛte / nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrān naḥ kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana
Even the entire universe as a prize — it is not worth this price.
Word by word (5)
- api trailokya-rājyasya hetoḥ
- — even for the kingdom of the three worlds · The three worlds: earth (bhuloka), the intermediate realm (bhuvar), and the heavens (svarloka). The entire cosmos — not just a kingdom.
- kim nu mahī-kṛte
- — how much less for the sake of this earth alone
- nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrān
- — having slain the sons of Dhritarashtra
- naḥ kā prītiḥ syāt
- — what joy could there be for us?
- janārdana
- — O Janardana — Krishna (one who agitates the wicked / who is sought by humans)
'Even if I were offered the kingdom of all three worlds — heaven, earth, and everything in between — O Janardana, how much less for this one earth alone — what joy could there possibly be in killing the sons of Dhritarashtra?'
A modern analogy
A person offered everything they've ever wanted, but the price is betraying everyone they love. Most people, confronted with this choice concretely and not abstractly, would refuse. Arjuna is making explicit what most people feel implicitly: some things cannot be traded for any prize.
Take with you
- The 'three worlds' framing is Arjuna's most sweeping statement — he's saying no material gain justifies this.
- The rhetorical question 'what joy could there be?' reveals that Arjuna measures outcomes by joy, not by power or status.
- This verse is the peak of Arjuna's moral argument — it cannot be answered with material incentives.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Even for the kingship of the three worlds, not to speak of this earth, O Janardana, I do not desire to kill these sons of Dhritarashtra. [4]
Even for the kingdom of the three worlds, O Janardana — how much less for this earth alone — what pleasure can come to us from slaying the sons of Dhritarashtra? [6]
Even for the sovereignty of the three worlds, much less for the sake of this earth, O Janardana, what joy is there for us in slaying the sons of Dhritarashtra? [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
How much more the holy brāhmaṇas and devoted royal sages! This world is transient and joyless — worship Me.
Mind-in-Me, devotee, worshiper, bow to Me — you will come to Me; truly I promise, you are dear to Me.
Yajña, dāna, and tapas must NOT be abandoned — they must be performed; they are purifiers of the wise.
Learn these five causes of all action from Me, O Mighty-armed — as declared in the Sāṃkhya final teaching.
In the new birth, one recovers the former body's intelligence — and strives even more than before toward perfection.
Past practice carries the yogi forward involuntarily — even the yoga-inquirer surpasses the Vedic ritualist.
Verse 35 of 47 · back to Chapter 1