Mūla — the verse
Gita Press numberingन चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो
यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः।
यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषाम
स्तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः
na chaitadvidmaḥ kataranno garīyo
yadvā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ
yāneva hatvā na jijīviṣhāmas
te ’vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣhṭrāḥ
Triṣṭubh (? ? I ?)
Translation
Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣyaWe do not know which is better for us, whether we shall win or they shall conquer us. Those very sons of Dhrtarastra, whom we do not wish to kill, stand in confrontation.
हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda
हम नहीं जानते कि हमें क्या करना उचित है। हम यह भी नहीं जानते कि हम जीतेंगे, या वे हमको जीतेंगे, जिनको मारकर हम जीवित नहीं रहना चाहते वे ही धृतराष्ट्र के पुत्र हमारे सामने युद्ध के लिए खड़े हैं।।
Pronunciation — Vaamshii
from Vaamshiiन चैतद् विद् म% कतरन् नो गरीयः
यद् वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः
यानेव हत्वा न जिजी विषामः
तेऽवस् थिता# प्रमुखे धार्त राष्ट्राः
॥ ६ ॥
Pāda meters: ?, ?, Indravajrā, ? — I = Indravajrā, u = Upendravajrā, s = Śālinī pāda
Read each split group as one breath-unit; hyphens join pādas kept whole for the meter or a compound word. Symbols: # upadhmānīya (visarga before p/ph), % jihvāmūlīya (visarga before k/kh), ऽ avagraha (an elided a). Full method →
Word by word
padārthananot
chaand
etatthis
vidmaḥwe know
kataratwhich
naḥfor us
garīyaḥis preferable
yat vāwhether
jayemawe may conquer
yadiif
vāor
naḥus
jayeyuḥthey may conquer
yānwhom
evacertainly
hatvāafter killing
nanot
jijīviṣhāmaḥwe desire to live
tethey
avasthitāḥare standing
pramukhebefore us
dhārtarāṣhṭrāḥthe sons of Dhritarashtra
Themes
from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad GītāMeaning — Questions & Solutions
from Q&A with KnA2.6Does Arjuna even know which outcome — victory or defeat — would be better?
We do not know which is better for us, whether we shall win or they shall conquer us. Those very sons of Dhrtarastra, whom we do not wish to kill, stand in confrontation.
The verse itself, in Swami Gambhīrānanda's rendering, is the answer. For reasoned solutions to knotty verses, browse the Q&A index.