Bhagavad Gita 1.32: meaning and translation
Chapter 1: Arjuna Vishada Yoga. Arjuna says
Arjuna says he does not want victory, or a kingdom, or pleasures.
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Bhagavad Gita 1.32
न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च ।किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा ॥
Na kankshe vijayam krishna na cha rajyam sukhani chaKim no rajyena govinda kim bhogairjivitena va
na kāṅkṣe vijayaṃ kṛṣṇa na ca rājyaṃ sukhāni ca |kiṃ no rājyena govinda kiṃ bhogairjīvitena vā ||
Our explanation Arjuna says he does not want victory, or a kingdom, or pleasures. He asks Krishna (Govinda) what use a kingdom, enjoyment or even life would be to them.
हिंदी अर्थ अर्जुन कहते हैं कि उन्हें न विजय चाहिए, न राज्य, न सुख। वे गोविन्द (कृष्ण) से पूछते हैं कि ऐसे राज्य, भोग या जीवन से भी उन्हें क्या मिलेगा।
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Word by word
- न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “ind. not, no, nor, neither”
- काङ्क्षे kāṅkṣe · "I desire" (present, 1st person singular) Dictionary: kāṅkṣ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 268, col. 1 “to wish, desire, long for, hope for”
- विजयम् vijayam · victory (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: vi-jaya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 960, col. 1 “contest for victory, victory, conquest, triumph, superiority”
- कृष्ण kṛṣṇa · O Krishna (noun (masculine), vocative singular) Dictionary: kṛṣṇa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 306, col. 2 “N. of a celebrated Avatār of the god Vishṇu, or sometimes identified with Vishṇu himself”
- 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”
- राज्यम् rājyam · kingdom (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: rājya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 875, col. 1 “kingdom, country, realm”
- सुखानि sukhāni · pleasures (noun (neuter), accusative plural) Dictionary: sukha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1221, col. 1 “ease, easiness, comfort, prosperity, pleasure, happiness”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “ind. and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- किम् kim · what (use) (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: kim, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 282, col. 2 “what? how? whence? wherefore? why?”
- नः naḥ · to us (pronoun, dative plural) Dictionary: 1. nas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 532, col. 2 “us, of us, to us”
- राज्येन rājyena · with a kingdom (noun (neuter), instrumental singular) Dictionary: rājya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 875, col. 1 “kingdom, country, realm”
- गोविन्द govinda · O Govinda (Krishna) (noun (masculine), vocative singular) Dictionary: go-vinda, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 366, col. 3 “Kṛishṇa (or Vishṇu)”
- किम् kim · what (use) (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: kim, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 282, col. 2 “what? how? whence? wherefore? why?”
- भोगैः bhogaiḥ · with enjoyments (noun (masculine), instrumental plural) Dictionary: 2. bhoga, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 767, col. 2 “enjoyment, eating, feeding on”
- जीवितेन jīvitena · with life (noun (neuter), instrumental singular) Dictionary: jīvita, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 423, col. 2 “life”
- वा vā · or (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. vā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 934, col. 2 “ind. or”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 40.
I do not wish for victory, O Krishna! nor sovereignty, nor pleasures: what is sovereignty to us, O Govinda! what enjoyments, and even life?
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 40.
I do not wish for victory, O Krishna! nor sovereignty, nor pleasures: what is sovereignty to us, O Govinda! what enjoyments, and even life?
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 20.
For I desire not victory, O Krishna, nor kingship, nor pleasures; what is kingship to us, O Govinda, what enjoyment, or even life?
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 16; 58.
I desire neither victory nor empire, nor yet pleasure. Of what avail is dominion to us, of what avail are pleasures and even life, if these, O Govinda! for whose sake it is desired that empire, enjoyment and pleasure should be ours, themselves stand here in battle, having renounced life and wealth—
Teachers, uncles, sons and also grandfathers, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law besides other kinsmen.
This sentence covers verses 1.32 to 1.34.
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 1.32.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 20. Bhagavad Gita 1.32.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 16; 58. Bhagavad Gita 1.32–34.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 1.32: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/32/
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Bhagavad Gita 1.32
न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च ।
किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा ॥
“I do not wish for victory, O Krishna! nor sovereignty, nor pleasures: what is sovereignty to us, O Govinda! what enjoyments, and even life?”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 40, public domain)
“For I desire not victory, O Krishna, nor kingship, nor pleasures; what is kingship to us, O Govinda, what enjoyment, or even life?”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 20, public domain)
“I desire neither victory nor empire, nor yet pleasure. Of what avail is dominion to us, of what avail are pleasures and even life, if these, O Govinda! for whose sake it is desired that empire, enjoyment and pleasure should be ours, themselves stand here in battle, having renounced life and wealth— Teachers, uncles, sons and also grandfathers, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law besides other kinsmen.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 16; 58, public domain)
This sentence covers verses 1.32 to 1.34.
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/32/ 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 1.32?
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