Sanskrit
अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं सङ्ग्रामं न करिष्यसि । ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥
atha cet tvam imaṃ dharmyaṃ saṃgrāmaṃ na kariṣyasi tataḥ svadharmaṃ kīrtiṃ ca hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi
Translation
But if thou wilt not carry on this righteous warfare, then casting away thine own duty and thine honour, thou wilt incur sin.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The other side of verse 31’s claim, stated as a direct conditional: refusing this fight isn’t a neutral withdrawal, it’s an abandonment of svadharma with a real cost — sin, not just missed opportunity. Krishna is narrowing Arjuna’s options rather than presenting inaction as a safe default.
Concepts