Chapter II · Śloka 34
अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम् |
सम्भावितस्य चाकीर्तिर्मरणादतिरिच्यते ||
सम्भावितस्य चाकीर्तिर्मरणादतिरिच्यते ||
akīrtiṃ cāpi bhūtāni kathayiṣyanti te 'vyayām |
sambhāvitasya cākīrtir maraṇād atiricyate ||
sambhāvitasya cākīrtir maraṇād atiricyate ||
People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death.
For one who has lived by a code of honor, permanent infamy is a deeper wound than death. Krishna appeals here not only to abstract duty but to the living reality of how Arjuna has understood his own life — and what legacy he would leave behind.