Chapter III · Śloka 1
Arjuna uvāca
अर्जुन उवाच |
ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन |
तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव ||
ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन |
तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव ||
arjuna uvāca |
jyāyasī cet karmaṇas te matā buddhir janārdana |
tat kiṃ karmaṇi ghore māṃ niyojayasi keśava ||
jyāyasī cet karmaṇas te matā buddhir janārdana |
tat kiṃ karmaṇi ghore māṃ niyojayasi keśava ||
Arjuna said: If you consider that knowledge is superior to action, O Janārdana, then why do you urge me toward this terrible action, O Keśava?
Arjuna seizes on a contradiction — Krishna praised wisdom in the previous chapter, so why send him into battle? His confusion is genuine: he has heard the ideal but cannot see how it connects to the blood-soaked imperative before him.