BG 02.36 avacya-vadams ca bahun... cited

Expressions researched:
"avacya-vadams ca bahun" |"nindantas tava samarthyam" |"tato duhkhataram nu kim" |"vadisyanti tavahitah"

BG Chapters 1 - 6

BG 2.36, Translation and Purport:

Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you?

Lord Kṛṣṇa was astonished in the beginning at Arjuna's uncalled—for plea for compassion, and He described his compassion as befitting the non-Āryans. Now in so many words, He has proved His statements against Arjuna's so-called compassion.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.27-38 -- Los Angeles, December 11, 1968:

Devotee: "Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you (BG 2.36)?" 37: "O son of Kuntī, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom. Therefore get up and fight with determination (BG 2.37)." 38: "Do thou fight for the sake of fighting without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain (BG 2.38)."

Prabhupāda: This is duty. One has to execute duty without any consideration of loss and gain. That is duty, observing duty. Just see. "You are kṣatriya. There is necessity of this fighting. So you should not consider whether you are gaining or losing. It is your duty to fight." Go on.

Devotee: "And by so doing you shall never incur sin."

Prabhupāda: Yes. If you execute your duty nicely, there is no question of sin. To execute duty is piety. Yes.

Lecture on BG 2.36-37 -- London, September 4, 1973:

Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.)

avācya-vādāṁś ca bahūn

vadiṣyanti tavāhitāḥ

nindantas tava sāmarthyaṁ

tato duḥkhataraṁ nu kim

(BG 2.36)

hato vā prāpsyasi svargaṁ

jitvā vā bhokṣyase mahīm

tasmād uttiṣṭha kaunteya

yuddhāya kṛta niścayaḥ

(BG 2.37)

Pradyumna: Translation: "Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you?"

Prabhupāda: Niścayaḥ, "uncertainly"?

Pradyumna: Should be "certainly." Translation: "O son of Kuntī, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the heavenly kingdom."

Prabhupāda: You are noting down the mistakes and...? Noting down the mistakes, yes.

Pradyumna: Note down, yes. "Therefore get up and fight with determination."

Prabhupāda: So Arjuna's position is very precarious. There is a Bengali proverb naste bose bhunkata.(?) A girl, he, she is very famous dancing girl. So it is the system... As we have introduced, the girls and ladies, they have their veil, guṇṭhana. It is called guṇṭhana in Indian language. So a dancing girl, when she was on the stage, she saw that so many of her relatives are there as visitors. So she began to draw the veil. So this is not required. You are a dancing girl. Now you have to dance. You cannot be shy. You must freely dance. That is your duty. So Arjuna, some rascal has killed some man giving the reason that killing is not sinful because in the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated there. Yes. Apparently, to the rascals it appears like that, that Kṛṣṇa is encouraging Arjuna to fight. And he says there is no sin. But the rascal does not see under what condition he is advising. Sva-dharmam api cāvekṣya. The sva-dharma, the principle is a kṣatriya's duty to fight, is to kill in fight. If you are in fight, you become sympathetic, then the same example: the dancing girl, when on the stage, if she is shy, it is like that. Why she should be shy? She must dance freely. That will be credit. So in the warfield, you cannot be compassionate. That is not required. In so many ways. Ahiṁsā ārjava, these are good qualities. In the thirteen chapter, Kṛṣṇa has described ahiṁsā, nonviolence. Nonviolence is generally accepted. And actually Arjuna was nonviolent. He was not a coward, not that because he was coward, therefore he was refusing to fight. No. As a Vaiṣṇava, naturally he is nonviolent. He does not like to kill anyone, and especially his own family men. He was taking a little compassion. Not that he was a coward.