Bhagavad Gita 1.9
Spoken by Sanjaya · Verse 9 of 47
अन्ये च बहवः शूरा मदर्थे त्यक्तजीविताः। नानाशस्त्रप्रहरणाः सर्वे युद्धविशारदाः॥
anye ca bahavaḥ śūrā madarthe tyaktajīvitāḥ / nānāśastrapraharaṇāḥ sarve yuddhaviśāradāḥ
Men are ready to die 'for my sake' — and Duryodhana names this fact without apparent weight.
Word by word (7)
- anye ca bahavaḥ
- — and many others
- śūrāḥ
- — heroes / warriors
- mat-arthe
- — for my sake / for my cause
- tyakta-jīvitāḥ
- — ready to give up their lives / who have abandoned attachment to life · A sobering phrase. These warriors are prepared to die — for Duryodhana's cause. He does not seem moved by this.
- nānā-śastra-praharaṇāḥ
- — armed with various weapons
- sarve
- — all
- yuddha-viśāradāḥ
- — skilled in warfare / battle-experienced
Duryodhana finishes listing named warriors and adds: 'And there are many others — all heroes, all ready to give their lives for my cause, armed with every kind of weapon, all skilled in battle.'
A modern analogy
A CEO notes at a board meeting: 'We have a team of 500 people fully committed, many of whom have staked their careers on this venture.' The weight of that responsibility — lives, livelihoods, futures — is real. Duryodhana registers it as a strategic asset. Arjuna will register it as a moral burden.
What it does NOT mean
This is not heroism being celebrated — it is the cost of Duryodhana's choices being stated plainly. 'For my sake' (mad-arthe) — all this blood will be shed for one man's unwillingness to share a kingdom. The Gita does not comment on this directly, but the contrast is stark with Arjuna's grief, which unfolds from the opening of this scene all the way to the moment his bow slips and he collapses.
Take with you
- When others commit their lives or careers 'for your sake,' that is not just a resource — it is a responsibility.
- The phrase 'for my sake' (mad-arthe) rather than 'for our cause' or 'for dharma' reveals the ego at the center.
- Those who fight for a cause they believe in deserve leaders who have examined whether that cause is worthy.
Public-domain translations (2) compare all →
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Janaka attained perfection through action — not despite it. Act for the welfare of the world (lokasaṃgraha).
The wise act like the unwise — same actions, same engagement — but without attachment, for the world's welfare.
Better to die with clean hands than to win with blood on them.
Whoever studies this sacred dialogue — by him I shall have been worshipped by jñāna-yajña; such is My conviction.
The ego-apex: 'I am rich, well-born — who equals me? I'll sacrifice, give, rejoice.' — all deluded by ajñāna.
Self-complacent, stubborn, wealth-proud — they perform name-only sacrifices, ostentatiously ignoring śāstric ordinance.
Verse 9 of 47 · back to Chapter 1