न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च ।किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा ॥
na kāṅkṣe vijayaṃ kṛṣṇa na ca rājyaṃ sukhāni ca |kiṃ no rājyena govinda kiṃ bhogair jīvitena vā ||
- न · na
- not
- काङ्क्षे · kāṅkṣe
- I desire, crave
- विजयम् · vijayam
- victory
- कृष्ण · kṛṣṇa
- O Krishna
- न · na
- not
- च · ca
- and
- राज्यम् · rājyam
- kingdom
- सुखानि · sukhāni
- pleasures, happiness
- च · ca
- and
- किम् · kim
- what (use), of what avail
- नः · naḥ
- to us, for us
- राज्येन · rājyena
- with kingdom
- गोविन्द · govinda
- O Govinda (Krishna)
- भोगैः · bhogaiḥ
- with enjoyments
- जीवितेन · jīvitena
- with life
- वा · vā
- or
“I desire neither victory, O Krishna, nor kingdom nor pleasures. Of what use is a kingdom to us, O Govinda — what use enjoyments, or even life?”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT When winning costs what you love most, it is wise to question what winning means.
The warrior's entire value-system collapses in four words: no victory, no kingdom, no pleasure, no point. Arjuna's despair is total because it is logical — if happiness needs its sharers, and the sharers must die for it, the prize is self-refuting. Like winning a cricket final only to find the whole team has walked off the field.
— Reader's notes (original)