Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan 

So now he is speaking,

27 – 46 Arjuna’s lamentation (28 – 46) (some Acharya used the word Arjun Vishad Yoga)

– Arjuna gives following four reasons why he will not fight.

31 – 35 enjoyment

Bg 1.31

na ca śreyo ’nupaśyāmi

hatvā sva-janam āhave

na kāṅkṣe vijayaṁ kṛṣṇa

na ca rājyaṁ sukhāni ca

Word for word: 

na — nor; ca — also; śreyaḥ — good; anupaśyāmi — do I foresee; hatvā — by killing; sva–janam — own kinsmen; āhave — in the fight; na — nor; kāṅkṣe — do I desire; vijayam — victory; kṛṣṇa — O Kṛṣṇa; na — nor;ca — also; rājyam — kingdom; sukhāni — happiness thereof; ca — also.

Translation: 

I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle, nor can I, my dear Kṛṣṇa, desire any subsequent victory, kingdom or happiness.

So he is talking about Shreya, Shreya is long term good

Preyas-> short term goal, Shreyas -> long term goal / target / benefit.

A student in college thinks that there is a party let me go to the party, there is cricket match let me go to cricket match and that is preyas, immediate pleasure is there, but someone thinks in terms of career, there is study and I have go to college to study and if I will study more and more then there is a long term career ahead of me. na ca śreyo ’nupaśyāmi, so Arjuna is saying I am thinking about Sreya I am not thinking about Preyas, I am thinking from long term point of view, what will I gain, I am not thinking just about the war and winning the kingdom, I am thinking about after war, after getting the kingdom after that, na ca śreyo ’nupaśyāmi, I don’t see any good, hatvā sva-janam āhave, if in battle field I will kill Svajana. So Arjuna has again used savjana, O these are my relatives and 

na kāṅkṣe vijayaṁ kṛṣṇa, what will be the pleasure if my teacher, my grandfather they are all dead, what will be the pleasure left for me? How can I kill them?So hatvā sva-janam āhave, I cannot kill them. In Mahabharata, for first 9 days Bhisma dominated and then Yudhistihir Maharaj remembers that Bhisma told him to approach him when the time will come and then he will tell them how he will be killed, so Pandavas approached him and he said if Sikandi is in front he will not shot arrows. So when they were returning Arjuna becomes sentimental and told Krishna how he can kill him because he has very loving and affectionate relation with Bhishma, he said when he was child he would be coming running from the playground and go to Bhishma’s lap and soil his clothes, he would play with his beard and said father-father, that time Bhisma says I am not your father I am your father’s father, so Arjuna is remembering these moments with tender heart. Then Krishna told Arjuna that sentiments are good but it should not sway you from the paths of duty, remember that your obligation is for the whole world, you have to ensure that the rule of righteousness prevails, dharma prevails. So here he is thinking if all of my relatives are killed what will I gain and therefore he says I don’t desire the kingdom, na kāṅkṣe vijayaṁ kṛṣṇa, it was like in match of cricket world cup you were told that you will gain the world cup and the whole world will be destroyed, so then you think what is the use of world cup when there is not body to celebrate with, there is no friends no relatives, it will be the country of corpuses, then they say I don’t want the world cup like this, what is the use of that, this kingdom is like empty trophy, who wants like that, na kāṅkṣe vijayaṁ kṛṣṇa, I don’t desire victory and I don’t desire what will come by victory, that is the kingdom.

na ca rājyaṁ sukhāni ca, I don’t want all this.

End of transcription.