Complete learning edition. The Sanskrit source remains separate from attributed word meanings, translation, explanation and commentary witnesses. Diagrams and memory aids are study tools, not replacements for the source text.
अहो बत महत्पापं कर्तुं व्यवसिता वयम्। यद्राज्यसुखलोभेन हन्तुं स्वजनमुद्यताः।।1.45।।
aho bata mahat pāpaṁ kartuṁ vyavasitā vayam yad rājya-sukha-lobhena hantuṁ sva-janam udyatāḥ
Alas, it is strange that we should be willing to kill our own countrymen and commit a great sin, in order to enjoy the pleasures of kingdom.
English rendering by Shri Purohit Swami. Each source voice remains named.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| aho | alas |
| bata | how |
| mahat | great |
| pāpam | sins |
| kartum | to perform |
| vyavasitāḥ | have decided |
| vayam | we |
| yat | because |
| rājya-sukha-lobhena | driven by the desire for kingly pleasure |
| hantum | to kill |
| sva-janam | kinsmen |
| udyatāḥ | intending |
Alas! We are involved in a great sin, for we are prepared to kill our kinsmen, out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom.
Attributed explanatory witness: Swami Sivananda. Chapter lens: Map the battlefield, speakers, relationships and Arjuna’s reasons before reading later answers backward into the crisis.
Three named reading witnesses
Śaṅkara edition witness
Swami GambiranandaWhat a pity that we have resolved to commit a great sin, eager to kill our own kith and kin out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom!
Rāmānuja edition witness
Swami AdidevanandaAlas! We have resolved to commit a great sin, for we are ready to slay our kin out of desire for sovereignty and enjoyment.
Sivananda commentary witness
Swami SivanandaAlas! We are involved in a great sin, for we are prepared to kill our kinsmen, out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom.
These are concise, attributed reading witnesses from identified editions. They are presented for comparison and are not merged into one anonymous interpretation.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
Alas, it is strange that we should be willing to kill our own countrymen and commit a great sin, in order to enjoy the pleasures of kingdom
- 2
aho: alas
- 3
vayam: we
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Look
Picture the battlefield.
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Use the line starts: aho bata / yad rājya-sukha-lobhena.
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Circle repeated sounds, names, or grammatical endings before consulting a meaning.
Read one line aloud, cover it, and reconstruct as much as you can from memory.
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Build meaning without hiding the work
Map the battlefield, speakers, relationships and Arjuna’s reasons before reading later answers backward into the crisis.
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These are visual tokens, not a reviewed sandhi split. Select repeated forms, endings, compounds, particles or speaker markers; verify segmentation with the Sanskrit tools or a checked edition.
Three questions for this verse
- 1
Who speaks in this verse?
- 2
What changes in the situation or argument?
- 3
Which emotion, observation or reason is expressed?
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