When Krishna rebukes Arjuna for giving in to weakness (02.02-03), Arjuna’s response is not at all weak. He lets it be known that he is by no means overcome by the fear that might overwhelm a soldier facing a war. What has perturbed him is not war per se, but this particular war. Why? Because this war is so different from other wars. That’s what Arjuna highlights in his rejoinder. 

Normally, Arjuna would be offering flowers to venerable elders such as Bhishma and Drona; yet he now has to shoot lethal arrows at them. To underscore the agony involved, Arjuna uses specific names for Krishna that indicate the normal ways of war. By referring to Krishna with two names ‘Madhusudana’ (killer of the demon Madhu) and ‘Ari-sudana’ (killer of enemies), Arjuna indicates that Krishna is habituated to, even celebrated for, killing enemies such as demons like Madhu. But suppose Krishna had to fight against his guru Sandipani Muni or his grandsire Ugrasena. Wouldn’t he at least hesitate? Even the most battle-hardened warrior would. Similar was Arjuna’s reluctance. 

We often feel hurt when others misunderstand us. What hurts us even more is if others misunderstand us and ascribe a lower motive to us when we are concerned about something higher. What hurts the most is if someone close to us, someone we thought would understand us, ascribes such a lower motive to us. Similar was the hurt that Arjuna was experiencing — he was worried about the ethics of attacking his venerable elders, and his dear friend was presuming he was being cowardly. Hence, Arjuna’s strong riposte to Krishna. 

Had Krishna actually misunderstood Arjuna? No, he just wanted to remind Arjuna how his actions would be seen by others — a point that he states explicitly later (01.34-36). 

One-sentence summary:

Arjuna counters Krishna’s accusation of weakness by highlighting how his hesitation is due to an acute ethical predicament. 

Think it over:

  • How does Arjuna counter Krishna’s accusation of weakness?
  • Why does Arjuna counter Krishna so strongly?
  • Has Krishna actually misunderstood Arjuna? 

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02.04: Arjuna said: O killer of enemies, O killer of Madhu, how can I counterattack with arrows in battle men like Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?

Arjuna’s strong comeback to Krishna’s rebuke

To know more about this verse, please click on the image