📿 Shloka Collection

Avachyavadamsh Cha Bahun

Gita 2.36 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2 — Sankhya Yoga
अवाच्यवादांश्च बहून्वदिष्यन्ति तवाहिताः ।
निन्दन्तस्तव सामर्थ्यं ततो दुःखतरं नु किम् ॥
Avachyavadamsh cha bahun vadishyanti tavahitah
Nindantas tava samarthyam tato duhkhataram nu kim
अवाच्यवादान्
words that should not be spoken, unspeakable insults
बहून्
many
वदिष्यन्ति
will speak
तव अहिताः
your enemies
निन्दन्तः
ridiculing
तव सामर्थ्यम्
your strength, your ability
ततः दुःखतरम्
more painful than that
नु किम्
what could there be

Your enemies will hurl every insult they can think of, Krishna warns. They will mock your strength, your courage, your very name. What could be more painful than that? The question hangs in the air, unanswered — because Krishna already knows the answer. For Arjuna, there is nothing worse.

Notice that Krishna does not describe the insults in detail. He does not need to. The phrase 'avachyavadan' — words that should not be spoken — lets Arjuna's own imagination fill the gap. Every warrior knows the kind of taunts that cut deepest. Krishna simply points to that knowledge and lets it do its work.

This is the sharpest of the social arguments. First came loss of dharma (2.33), then loss of honor (2.34), then the contempt of fellow warriors (2.35), and now — the open mockery of enemies. Krishna has built the case layer by layer, each one closer to Arjuna's nerve.

Shlokas 2.33 through 2.36 form a complete unit: the worldly consequences of inaction. Krishna has addressed every social angle — duty forfeited, honor lost, peers' respect gone, enemies' ridicule assured.

This layered approach shows Krishna's skill as a teacher. The philosophical argument (2.11-2.30) may take time to sink in. The social argument hits immediately. Krishna uses both.

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