FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 1.44

అహో బత మహత్పాపం కర్తుం వ్యవసితా వయమ్ । యద్రాజ్యసుఖలోభేన హన్తుం స్వజనముద్యతాః ॥ ౪౪ ॥
aho bata mahat pāpaṁ
[aho bata mahat paapam]
kartuṁ vyavasitā vayam
[kartum vyavasitaa vayam]
yad rājya-sukha-lobhena
[yad raajya-sukha-lobhena]
hantuṁ sva-janam udyatāḥ
[hantum sva-janam udyataah]
Word-for-word
aho — alas bata — how strange it is mahat — great pāpam — sins kartum — to perform vyavasitāḥ — have decided vayam — we yat — because rājya - sukha - lobhena — driven by greed for royal happiness hantum — to kill sva - janam — kinsmen udyatāḥ — trying .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
aho bata mahat pāpaṁ
aho
alas
bata
how strange it is
mahat
great
pāpam
sins
kartuṁ vyavasitā vayam
kartum
to perform
vyavasitāḥ
have decided
vayam
we
yad rājya-sukha-lobhena
yat
because
rājya - sukha - lobhena
driven by greed for royal happiness
hantum
to kill
hantuṁ sva-janam udyatāḥ
sva - janam
kinsmen
udyatāḥ
trying .
Important Words
  • aho — alas
    Emphatic particle of dismay, formally paired with the *bata* that follows. A standard Sanskrit exclamation used at moments of moral self-recognition. Arjuna is performing the *aho-bata* gesture of a man catching himself in time, surprised by his own conclusions.
  • bata — how strange it is
    The companion of *aho* — "alas, alas!" Together they form one of the strongest expressions of self-rebuke in classical Sanskrit. Yudhiṣṭhira will use this very pair when he sees his brothers fallen in the *yakṣa-praśna* episode. Arjuna's reflexive surprise at his own posture is the verse's hinge.
  • mahat — great
    *Mahat* — great, of grand scale. Same word the Gītā will use for *mahat-tattva* (the cosmic intelligence-principle, BG 14.3). Here it modifies *pāpa*: *great sin*. Arjuna is sizing the offence correctly. The Gītā will not minimize the sin; it will show how the offence is to be discharged in dharma rather than evaded.
  • vyavasitāḥ — have decided
    Past passive participle of *vi-ava-sā* — to determine, to resolve. Same root as *vyavasāya* (resolution), which the Gītā praises in 2.41: *vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekā* — "the resolute intellect is one." Arjuna says "we have *vyavasita* — we have resolved — to do a great sin." The same verb of resolution that the Gītā will commend can also resolve toward catastrophe; the verb is neutral, the *direction* matters.
  • rājya - sukha - lobhena — driven by greed for royal happiness
    Triple compound: *rājya* (kingdom) + *sukha* (happiness) + *lobha* (greed). Instrumental case. Arjuna correctly names the three: kingdom-greed, happiness-greed, and *lobha* itself as the underlying force. The same *lobha* he attributed to the Kauravas in v.37. Now he attributes it to himself. Self-honesty rising.
  • udyatāḥ — trying
    Past participle of *ud-yam* — to lift up, to be in readiness. Same root as Arjuna's earlier *udyamya* (v.20) — "taking up the bow." In v.20 he *lifted the bow*; here he is *lifted toward the sin*. The verb of exertion is morally neutral until the object is named.
Alas, how strange it is that we are preparing to commit greatly sinful acts. Driven by the desire to enjoy royal happiness, we are intent on killing our own kinsmen.
Purport

Driven by selfish motives, one may be inclined to such sinful acts as the killing of one’s own brother, father or mother. There are many such instances in the history of the world. But Arjuna, being a saintly devotee of the Lord, is always conscious of moral principles and therefore takes care to avoid such activities.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
44. We are intent on committing great sin, since we are ready to kill our own people for gain of happiness of a kingdom.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
44. We are certain to commit great sin, since we are ready to kill our own people for gain of happiness of a kingdom.
Commentary

In this verse he speaks about the sin in even thinking of yet uncommitted killing of relatives . Bata here indicates the great danger.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study Key verse
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

COMMON THEME: Conclusion – Arjuna decides not to fight and casts aside his bow and arrows

PLEASE NOTE: Purports for these verses are covered in the

‘Summarised Theme 1A: Arjuna’s Saintliness revealed’ section below.

END OF CHAPTER 1 

SUMMARISED THEME 1A
ARJUNA’S SAINTLINESS REVEALED (1.28 — 1.46)

Arjuna’s saintliness is revealed by the following points:

(a) Softheartedness (1.28)

(b) Does not want to kill even for exchange of three worlds (1.35)

(c) Ready to forgive any aggressors (1.36)

(d) Considers evil consequences even at the risk of refusing obligation to fight (1.37 – 1.38)

(e) Conscious of obligations to protect family traditions and morals (1.39 – 1.44)

He does not think that: “I am transcendental and I have no obligations”
Arjuna being saintly is conscious of moral principles – How he can kill one’s relatives based on selfish motives (1.44)

(f) Ready to be killed unarmed, but not retaliate (1.45)

Custom according to Ksatriya fighting principles – unarmed and unwilling foe should not be attacked
These symptoms are due to softheartedness resulting from being a great devotee

(g) Kept his bow down (even broke his vow of not keeping the bow once lifted) (1.46)

Conclusion: Such a kind and softhearted person is fit to receive self-knowledge (1.46 purport)

Bhagavad Gita Notes

CHAPTER 1 Appendix

Selected Texts extracted from “Surrender unto Me”

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
1.44 Sri Sankaracharya did not comment on this sloka. The commentary starts from 2.10.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
1.26 - 1.47 Arjuna said - Sanjaya said Sanjaya continued: The high-minded Arjuna, extremely kind, deeply friendly, and supremely righteous, having brothers like himself, though repeatedly deceived by the treacherous attempts of your people like burning in the lac-house etc., and therefore fit to be killed by him with the help of the Supreme Person, nevertheless said, 'I will not fight.' He felt weak, overcome as he was by his love and extreme compassion for his relatives. He was also filled with fear, not knowing what was righteous and what unrighteous. His mind was tortured by grief, because of the thought of future separation from his relations. So he threw away his bow and arrow and sat on the chariot as if to fast to death.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
1.35 1.44 Nihatya etc. upto anususruma. Sin alone is the agent in the act of slaying these desperadoes. Therefore here the idea is this : These ememies of ours have been slain, i.e., have been take possession of, by sin. Sin would come to us also after slaying them. Sin in this context is the disregard, on account of greed etc., to the injurious conseences like the ruination of the family and the like. That is why Arjuna makes a specific mention of the [ruin of the] family etc., and of its duties in the passage 'How by slaying my own kinsmen etc'. The act of slaying, undertaken with an individualizing idea about its result, and with a particularizing idea about the person to be slain, is a great sin. To say this very thing precisely and to indicate the intensity of his own agony, Arjuna says only to himself [see next sloka]:
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
1.44. We have heard, O Janardana, that inevitable is the dwelling for an unknown period in hell for those men in whose families the religious practices have been destroyed.
Commentary

1.44 उत्सन्नकुलधर्माणाम् whose family religious practices are destroyed? मनुष्याणाम् of the men? जनार्दन O Janardana? नरके in hell? अनियतं for unknown period? वासः dwelling? भवति is? इति thus? अनुशुश्रुम we have heard.No Commentary.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
1.44 O Janardana, we have heard that living in hell becomes inevitable for those persons whose family duties get destroyed.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
1.44 The wise say, my Lord, that they are forever lost, whose ancient traditions are lost.
Related values & verses
Related verses
BG 1.43 BG 2.2 BG 3.37 SB 7.15.22 SB 5.5.4 SB 10.14.58 CC Madhya 22.30 CC Madhya 20.117 CC Madhya 22.87 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.2Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.5
Concepts
Papa
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Tradition warns of long-term consequences — those who destroy dharmic structures suffer not in one life but across lifetimes.
Practical Applications
  • Take seriously the long arc of karma; one moment of dharmic violation can echo for many lifetimes.
  • Consult senior Vaiṣṇavas before making decisions that affect family or community structures.
  • When you must make a decision with broad consequence, sit with it longer than feels comfortable.
Reflection Questions
  • What decision am I about to make whose consequences I have not weighed seriously?
  • Whose elder voice should I be consulting before I act?
Analogy

*Aho bata* — "alas, how strange!" — is the speech of a man who has surprised himself with his own conclusions. Arjuna stands outside his own actions and sees them as a stranger would: "look at me, preparing a great sin." The capacity for such self-witness is already half the cure; the other half is the diagnosis the Gītā will provide.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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