Teachers, fathers, sons, and likewise grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and all other relatives—even if they attack me, I do not wish to kill them, O Madhusudana! Even if I were to gain sovereignty over the three worlds, I still would not wish to kill them; what then for the sake of this earth?
Commentary: In the future, in the twenty-first verse of the sixteenth chapter, the Lord will say that desire, anger, and greed—these three are the gates to hell. In truth, these are three forms of a single desire. These three arise from giving importance to worldly objects, persons, etc. Desire, meaning craving, has two kinds of activities: attainment of the desirable and removal of the undesirable. Of these, the attainment of the desirable is also of two kinds: accumulation and enjoyment. The wish to accumulate is called 'greed,' and the wish to enjoy pleasure is called 'desire.' When there is an obstacle in the removal of the undesirable, 'anger' arises—that is, anger arises towards those who obstruct the attainment of enjoyments or accumulation, or towards those who cause us harm, those who seek to destroy our body, which leads to the action of destroying those who cause harm. Thus, it is established that in war, a person is motivated in only two ways: for the removal of the undesirable, i.e., to fulfill one's 'anger,' and for the attainment of the desirable, i.e., to satisfy 'greed.' But here, Arjuna is refuting both these reasons.
'Teachers, fathers... what then for the sake of this earth?'—Even if these kinsmen, in anger for the removal of their own undesirable, were to attack and even seek to kill me, still, I do not wish, in anger for the removal of my own undesirable, to kill them. Even if they, in greed for the attainment of their own desirable, desiring the kingdom, were to seek to kill me, still, I do not wish, in greed for the attainment of my own desirable, to kill them. The meaning is that by succumbing to anger and greed, I do not wish to purchase the gates to hell.
By using the word 'even' (api) twice here, Arjuna's intent is: I do not even obstruct their self-interest, so why would they kill me? But suppose, with the thought that 'he first obstructed our self-interest,' they become intent on destroying my body, even then (even if attacked) I do not wish to kill them. Secondly, by killing them, if I were to gain sovereignty over the three worlds—this is not even a possibility—but suppose that by killing them I were to gain sovereignty over the three worlds, even then (even for the sake of sovereignty over the three worlds) I do not wish to kill them.
'Madhusudana'—The meaning of this address is: You are the slayer of demons, but are these teachers like Drona and grandfathers like Bhishma demons, that I should desire to kill them? They are our very close and dear relatives.
'Teachers'—Among these kinsmen, those like Dronacharya, with whom we have a relationship of learning and welfare—such venerable teachers—should I serve them or fight with them? One should offer oneself, even one's very life, at the feet of the teacher. That alone is proper for us.
'Fathers'—Considering the bodily relationship, these fathers are the very form that is this body of ours. Having become their very form through this body, how can we, succumbing to anger or greed, kill those fathers of ours?
'Sons'—The sons of ours and our brothers are entirely worthy of nurture. Even if they act contrary to us, still, to nurture them is our very dharma.
'Grandfathers'—Similarly, those who are grandfathers, since they are venerable even to our fathers, are certainly supremely venerable for us. They can chastise us, they can even strike us. But our endeavor should be such that they do not suffer any kind of sorrow or distress; on the contrary, they should have happiness, comfort, and receive service.
'Maternal uncles'—Those who are our maternal uncles are the brothers of the mothers who nurtured and raised us. Therefore, they should be revered like mothers.
'Fathers-in-law'—These, our fathers-in-law, are the venerable fathers of my and my brothers' wives. Therefore, they are equal to fathers for us as well. How could I wish to kill them?
'Grandsons'—The sons of our sons are even more worthy of nurture and care than sons.
'Brothers-in-law'—Those who are our brothers-in-law are also the dear brothers of our wives. How could they be killed!
'Relatives'—All these relatives who are seen here, and all other relatives besides them—should they be nurtured, cared for, and served, or should they be killed? Even if by killing them we were to gain sovereignty over the three worlds, would it be proper to kill them? To kill them is entirely improper.
Connection: In the previous verse, Arjuna stated two reasons for not killing kinsmen. Now, from the perspective of consequence as well, he establishes that kinsmen should not be killed.
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