Sanskrit
भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथाः । येषां च त्वं बहुमतो भूत्वा यास्यसि लाघवम् ॥
bhayād raṇād uparataṃ maṃsyante tvāṃ mahārathāḥ yeṣāṃ ca tvaṃ bahumato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam
Translation
The great car-warriors will think thee fled from the battle from fear, and thou, that wast highly thought of by them, wilt be lightly held.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna sharpens verse 34’s general point into a specific, painful image: the very generals who currently respect Arjuna will read his withdrawal not as principle but as cowardice, and their esteem will curdle into contempt. It’s a reminder that Arjuna’s crisis of conscience, from the outside, will not read as a crisis of conscience at all.
Concepts