यदि मामप्रतीकारमशस्त्रं शस्त्रपाणयः धार्तराष्ट्रा रणे हन्युस्तन्मे क्षेमतरं भवेत्
yadi mām apratīkāram aśastraṁ śastra-pāṇayaḥ dhārtarāṣṭrā raṇe hanyus tan me kṣemataraṁ bhavet
Synonyms
yadi—even if; mām—unto me; apratīkāram—without being resistant; aśastram—without being fully equipped; śastra-pāṇayaḥ—those with weapons in hand; dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ—the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra; raṇe—in the battlefield; hanyuḥ—may kill; tat—that; me—mine; kṣemataram—better; bhavet—become..
Translation
I would consider it better for the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra to kill me unarmed and unresisting, rather than fight with them.
Purport
It is the custom—according to kṣatriya fighting principles—that an unarmed and unwilling foe should not be attacked. Arjuna, however, in such an enigmatic position, decided he would not fight if he were attacked by the enemy. He did not consider how much the other party was bent upon fighting. All these symptoms are due to softheartedness resulting from his being a great devotee of the Lord.