BG 2.32

yadricchaya copapannam

svarga–dvaram apavritam

sukhinah kshatriyah partha

labhante yuddham idrisam

SYNONYMS

yadricchaya — by its own accord; ca — also; upapannam — arrived at; svarga — of the heavenly planets; dvaram — door; apavritam — wide open; sukhinah — very happy; kshatriyah — the members of the royal order; partha — O son of Pritha; labhante — do achieve; yuddham — war; idrisam — like this.

Translation:

O Pārtha, happy are the kṣatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets.

Yadricchaya copapannam, upapannam — arrived at, yadricchaya, by its own arrangement, by the course of nature. So, if war has appeared by the arrangement of nature, then it opens the door of Swarga, svarga-dvaram apavritam. Sukhinah kshatriyah partha, O Arjuna, those Kshatriyas are very happy, labhante yuddham idrisam. So, all of them wanted to attain heaven. When they wanted to attain heaven, how will they attain it?

They can attain it only when they lead a life of Dharma and Punya. After that, there is a process of gradual detachment, and eventually, they will attain heaven. But if they get the opportunity to fight in a war of dharma, and even if they die in it, they will go to heaven. A Dharmic war is an opportunity for heaven. It is an opportunity where the door for heaven is open. So, Krishna is saying Kshatriyas should be happy; they get a glorious destination, so they should be happy. Krishna is saying, Arjuna, do not lament. Why are you hesitating to fight?

We may wonder why Krishna is glorifying heaven here because we say that devotees should not go to Swarga. For devotees, Kavalya Mukti is also insignificant. Prabodhanand Saraswati says that with respect to devotional service, everything else is insignificant. Heavenly pleasures are like Akash Pushpa, and the happiness of liberation is like hell. Kavalyam Narakayate. We know from our philosophy that spiritual happiness is the topmost. Vaikunta or Goloka is the aspiration. Then why is Krishna glorifying Swarga over here? This is because Krishna is giving knowledge step by step. Right now, He has not talked about the knowledge of liberation. He is saying that even if someone wants material enjoyment, heaven is there where they can enjoy. As Arjuna has asked how he will enjoy without his relatives, Krishna is saying that if you want enjoyment, even if it’s material, you can still get it. The Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad-gita is a part, largely focuses on Karma Kanda, which means performing Dharma to attain Artha and Kama. Of course, Bhakti, Moksha, and Prema are also talked about, but that can be seen when we view it through the vision of the Acharya.

Srila Prabhupada quoted that Kshatriya is one who protects Dharma. In the Parashara-smriti, or religious codes made by Parashara, the great sage and father of Vyasa, it is stated:

‘kṣatriyo hi prajā rakṣan

śastra-pāṇiḥ pradaṇḍayan

nirjitya para-sainyādi

kṣitiṁ dharmeṇa pālayet’

‘The duty of the Kshatriya is to protect the citizens from all kinds of difficulties, and for that reason, he has to apply violence in suitable cases for law and order. Therefore, he has to conquer the soldiers of inimical kings, and thus, with religious principles, he should rule over the world.’

So, the duty of a Kshatriya is to protect the Praja, as Srila Prabhupada always says. Praja doesn’t mean only human beings; it includes all the beings in the kingdom. In the stories of Lord Rama, Maharaja Sibi, and Rantideva, any living entity in their kingdom was considered Praja. For Praja Raksan, what they do is they have to lift up weapons, śastra-pāṇiḥ, and give punishment, pradaṇḍayan. They have to conquer enemy soldiers, nirjitya para-sainyādi. In this way, they protect the earth, kṣitiṁ, the land they have received, according to Dharma, dharmeṇa pālayet.