स्वधर्ममपि चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि ।
धर्म्याद्धि युद्धाच्छ्रेयोऽन्यत्क्षत्रियस्य न विद्यते ॥ ३१ ॥
धर्म्याद्धि युद्धाच्छ्रेयोऽन्यत्क्षत्रियस्य न विद्यते ॥ ३१ ॥
svadharmamapi cāvekṣya na vikampitumarhasi .
dharmyāddhi yuddhācchreyo’nyatkṣatriyasya na vidyate .. 31 ..
Having regard to thine own duty also, thou oughtst not to waver. For, to a Kṣatriya, there is nothing more wholesome than a lawful battle.
Read the commentary
Having regard also to the fact that fighting is a Kṣatriya’s duty, you ought not to swerve from that duty, which is natural to a Kṣatriya,—from that which is natural to you (i e, becoming the caste and the order to which you belong). This fighting is a supreme duty, not opposed to Law, since it is conducive, through conquest of dominion, to the interests of Law and popular well-being; and to a Kṣatriya nothing else is more wholesome than such a lawful battle.
And why also should the battle be fought? The Lord says: