Sanskrit
यदृच्छया चोपपन्नं स्वर्गद्वारमपावृतम् । सुखिनः क्षत्रियाः पार्थ लभन्ते युद्धमीदृशम् ॥
yadṛcchayā copapannaṃ svargadvāram apāvṛtam sukhinaḥ kṣatriyāḥ pārtha labhante yuddham īdṛśam
Translation
Happy the Kshattriyas, O Pârtha, who obtain such a fight, offered unsought as an open door to heaven.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna reframes the battle itself: for a kshatriya, a just war that arrives unsought — not provoked or manufactured — is a rare opportunity, not a burden. This sets up the next several verses’ argument by contrast: refusing an opportunity this good has costs of its own, which is what verses 33–36 spell out one by one.
Concepts