Chapter II · Śloka 33
अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि |
ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि ||
ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि ||
atha cet tvam imaṃ dharmyaṃ saṃgrāmaṃ na kariṣyasi |
tataḥ sva-dharmaṃ kīrtiṃ ca hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi ||
tataḥ sva-dharmaṃ kīrtiṃ ca hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi ||
If, however, you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a warrior.
Inaction is not neutral. The refusal to perform one's duty carries its own moral weight — a sin of omission as real as any commission. Arjuna cannot escape karma by laying down his bow; he only trades one form of it for another.