तस्मान्नार्हा वयं हन्तुं धार्तराष्ट्रान्स्वबान्धवान् ।स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिनः स्याम माधव ॥
tasmān nārhā vayaṃ hantuṃ dhārtarāṣṭrān svabāndhavān |svajanaṃ hi kathaṃ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava ||
- तस्मात् · tasmāt
- therefore
- न · na
- not
- अर्हाः · arhāḥ
- fit, proper, right (for us)
- वयम् · vayam
- we
- हन्तुम् · hantum
- to kill
- धार्तराष्ट्रान् · dhārtarāṣṭrān
- the sons of Dhritarashtra
- स्वबान्धवान् · svabāndhavān
- our own kinsmen
- स्वजनम् · svajanam
- our own people
- हि · hi
- indeed, for
- कथम् · katham
- how
- हत्वा · hatvā
- having slain
- सुखिनः · sukhinaḥ
- happy
- स्याम · syāma
- could we be
- माधव · mādhava
- O Madhava (Krishna)
“Therefore we must not kill our kinsmen, Dhritarashtra's sons. How could we be happy, O Madhava, after slaying our own people?”
— Original plain-language translation
The verdict, stated as duty ('we must not') and sealed with a question no one can answer happily. Arjuna has moved from shaking hands to settled judgment — the rest of the chapter gives that judgment its sociology and theology.
— Reader's notes (original)