Bhagavad Gita 1.31: meaning and translation
Chapter 1: Arjuna Vishada Yoga. Arjuna says
Arjuna: He tells Krishna (Keshava) that he sees adverse omens, and that he can see no good in killing his own people in battle.
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Bhagavad Gita 1.31
निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव ।न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे ॥
Nimittani cha pashyami viparitani keshavaNa cha shreyonupashyami hatva svajanamahave
nimittāni ca paśyāmi viparītāni keśava |na ca śreyo’nupaśyāmi hatvā svajanamāhave ||
Our explanation He tells Krishna (Keshava) that he sees adverse omens, and that he can see no good in killing his own people in battle.
हिंदी अर्थ वे केशव (कृष्ण) से कहते हैं कि उन्हें विपरीत लक्षण दिखाई दे रहे हैं, और युद्ध में अपने ही लोगों को मारने में उन्हें कोई भलाई नहीं दिखती।
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- निमित्तानि nimittāni · signs, omens (noun (neuter), accusative plural) Dictionary: nimitta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 551, col. 1 “sign, omen”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “ind. and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- पश्यामि paśyāmi · "I see" (present, 1st person singular) Dictionary: 1. paś, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 611, col. 2 “behold, look at, observe, perceive, notice”
- विपरीतानि viparītāni · adverse (adjective (neuter), accusative plural) Dictionary: vi-parīta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 974, col. 1 “adverse, inauspicious, unfavourable”
- केशव keśava · O Keshava (Krishna) (noun (masculine), vocative singular) Dictionary: keśava, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 310, col. 3 “N. of Vishṇu or Kṛishṇa”
- न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “ind. not, no, nor, neither”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “ind. and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- श्रेयः śreyaḥ · good (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: śreyas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1102, col. 2 “superior, preferable, better”
- अनुपश्यामि anupaśyāmi · "I see (ahead)" (present, 1st person singular) Dictionary: anu-paś, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 35, col. 1 “to look at, perceive, notice, discover”
- हत्वा hatvā · having killed (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: 1. han, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1287, col. 2 “to smite, slay, hit, kill, mar, destroy”
- स्वजनम् svajanam · own people (compound (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. sva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1275, col. 1 “own, one's own, my own, thy own, his own, her own, our own, their own &c.”; jana, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 410, col. 1 “creature, living being, man, person, race”
- आहवे āhave · in battle (noun (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: 2. ā-hava, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 163, col. 2 “challenge, provoking; war, battle”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 40.
O Kesava! I see adverse omens1; and I do not perceive any good (to accrue) after killing (my) kinsmen in the battle.
This sentence begins in 1.26.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Such as the appearance of vultures, cars moving without horses, &c., mentioned in the Bhîshma Parvan II, 17. Cf. Sutta Nipâta, p. 100. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 40.
O Kesava! I see adverse omens1; and I do not perceive any good (to accrue) after killing (my) kinsmen in the battle.
This sentence begins in 1.26.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Such as the appearance of vultures, cars moving without horses, &c., mentioned in the Bhîshma Parvan II, 17. Cf. Sutta Nipâta, p. 100. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 20.
And I see adverse omens, O Keshava.1 Nor do I foresee advantage by slaying kinsmen in battle.
This sentence begins in 1.26.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - An epithet, referring to hair—hairy. ↩
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 58; 16.
And I see adverse omens. Neither, Oh Krishna, do I see any good in killing these my own people in battle.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 40. Bhagavad Gita 1.31.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 20. Bhagavad Gita 1.31.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 58; 16. Bhagavad Gita 1.31.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 1.31: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/31/
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Bhagavad Gita 1.31
निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव ।
न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे ॥
“O Kesava! I see adverse omens; and I do not perceive any good (to accrue) after killing (my) kinsmen in the battle.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 40, public domain)
This sentence begins in 1.26.
“And I see adverse omens, O Keshava. Nor do I foresee advantage by slaying kinsmen in battle.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 20, public domain)
This sentence begins in 1.26.
“And I see adverse omens. Neither, Oh Krishna, do I see any good in killing these my own people in battle.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 58; 16, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/31/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 1.31?
Arjuna speaks this verse, in chapter 1 (Arjuna Vishada Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026