Chapter 2Verse 4 of 72

Bhagavad Gita 2.4

अर्जुन उवाच । कथं भीष्ममहं संख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन । इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन ॥

arjuna uvāca | kathaṃ bhīṣmam ahaṃ saṅkhye droṇaṃ ca madhusūdana | iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāv ari-sūdana ||

Translation

Arjuna said: How, O destroyer of Madhu, shall I fight with arrows in battle against Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of reverence, O destroyer of foes?

Arjuna answers Krishna's refusal with a counter-argument. Pūjārhau. Worthy of worship. Bhishma raised him. Drona taught him to draw the bow. The same bow now in his hand. He turns the moral language back on Krishna: how can I do the thing you are asking me to do. It is the oldest deflection. When the teacher says rise, the student replies with a reason to remain sitting. Notice the two names. The grandfather and the teacher. Of all the men on the field, he picks the two whose names will close any case.

Reflection

Whose name do you reach for when you need a reason to stay inert?

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