Choosing a life of begging over hedonistic pleasures stained with blood.

Arjuna says that it is better to live by begging than to gain a kingdom by killing noble elders. For warriors of royal lineage, living by begging is considered a dishonorable life. Nevertheless, he considers it more desirable than acquiring wealth and pleasures by taking the lives of teachers or relatives.

The fact that he calls the pleasures of victory "bloodstained" carries weight. He cannot separate the wealth gained from the memory of killing the elders. Even if he achieves victory, he will not be able to rejoice sincerely, and in comparison to the lives lost as a price, both the kingdom and sensory pleasures lose their value.

Japanese Translation from the Gita Press Edition - Chapter 2, Section 5: "Prefer a life of begging to pleasures stained with blood."

Sanskrit original text

गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान्
श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके ।
हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव
भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् ॥ ५ ॥

Romanization

gurūn ahatvā hi mahānubhāvān
śreyo bhoktuṃ bhaikṣyam apīha loke |
hatvārthakāmāṃs tu gurūn ihaiva
bhuñjīya bhogān rudhirapradigdhān || 5 ||

In this world, it is better to refrain from killing these noble elders and live by begging. Because even if we kill them, ultimately what we enjoy in this world is nothing more than blood-stained pleasures that take the form of wealth and sensory indulgence. (5)

The word Gurūn, which means "elders," is modified by the adjective Mahānubhāvān, meaning "noble."

This refers to teachers such as Dronacharya and Kripacharya, as well as noble senior relatives who belonged to Duryodhana's army, including Bhishma, Soma Datta, Buriśrava, and Shalya.

Bhaikṣyam, which means "begging," is followed by Api, an invariable particle meaning "even if."

This indicates that even though begging might have been considered dishonorable for a Kshatriya, it was certainly preferable to slaughtering respected and revered elders in order to gain enjoyment of royal power.

Furthermore, Arjuna is implicitly comparing through the adjective Rudhirapradigdhān, meaning "stained with blood," the word Arthakāmān, meaning "wealth and sensual pleasures," and the invariable particle Eva, meaning "just," which follows the word Bhogān, meaning "enjoyment."

This comparison involves the value of the lives of noble elders and what is actually gained by killing them, which is considered the most reprehensible act.

By that action, he gains neither liberation nor merit. What he obtains is only wealth and sensory pleasures, which are of little value compared to the lives of the elders. Moreover, these things are obtained as a consequence of killing the elders, so they are like pleasures tainted with their blood.

Therefore, in Arjuna's opinion, it was never appropriate or justifiable to kill the elders in order to obtain such pleasures and enjoyments.

Some commentators interpret the word Arthakāmān as a modifier of Gurūn, meaning "elders." However, here, this interpretation is considered inappropriate. This is because Arjuna refers to these elders as "noble" in the same passage. And it seems unlikely that he would describe them with such contrasting attributes – nobility and greed for wealth – in the same breath. These two characteristics are inherently contradictory.

Therefore, here, we interpret "Arthakāman" as something obtained in the form of wealth and sensory pleasures.