Arjuna’s lament deepens from a general feeling of dread to a specific and radical rejection of everything he has ever fought for. In the thirty-second, thirty-third, and thirty-fourth verses, which form a single, continuous thought, he begins by utterly renouncing the fruits of victory. The opening line, found in the Na Kankshe Vijayam Krishna verse, is a heartfelt cry that questions the very definition of success.
Sanskrit Verse
न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च ।
किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा ॥ ३२ ॥Transliteration
na kāṅkṣe vijayaṁ kṛṣṇa na ca rājyaṁ sukhāni ca |
kiṁ no rājyena govinda kiṁ bhogairjīvitena vā || 32 ||Word for Word Translation
na kāṅkṣe – I do not desire; vijayam – victory; kṛṣṇa – O Krishna; na – nor; ca – also; rājyam – kingdom; sukhāni – happiness; ca – also; kim – what; naḥ – to us; rājyena – is the kingdom; govinda – O Govinda; kim – what; bhogaiḥ – is enjoyment; jīvitena – by living; vā – either.
English Translation
O Krishna, I desire no victory, nor a kingdom, nor any happiness. O Govinda, of what use to us is a kingdom, or enjoyment, or even life itself?
Explanation
Each Bhagavad Gita verse whispers ancient truths, let’s listen closely with Vedic Stories…
The Na Kankshe Vijayam Krishna verse is the philosophical core of Arjuna’s grief. He is no longer just reacting emotionally; he is now questioning the fundamental purpose of his actions. This is a form of spontaneous renunciation, born not of wisdom, but of deep sorrow. He explicitly rejects the three goals for which every `kshatriya` (warrior) fights:
- Victory (Vijayam): The immediate goal of any battle.
- Kingdom (Rājyam): The political prize of winning the war.
- Happiness (Sukhāni): The personal enjoyment that comes from success.
He asks Krishna, whom he calls Govinda (“the giver of pleasure to the senses”), what is the point of a kingdom, enjoyment, or even life itself, if the people for whom these things are desirable are the very ones he must kill to obtain them? This is the heart of his dilemma. Worldly success is only meaningful when shared with loved ones. If the loved ones are gone, the success becomes a hollow, meaningless trophy. The Na Kankshe Vijayam Krishna verse is the moment Arjuna realizes that his victory will be his ultimate defeat.
Conclusion
The Na Kankshe Vijayam Krishna verse teaches a powerful lesson about the nature of worldly ambition. It forces us to ask the most important question: “For whom am I doing this?” Arjuna’s crisis reveals that wealth, power, and success are empty if they come at the cost of the relationships that give our lives meaning. His lament is a profound critique of any victory that is pyrrhic, where the price of winning is so high that it feels like a loss.
This verse is a timeless reminder to check our motivations. Are we chasing goals that will ultimately isolate us? Are we sacrificing our most important relationships for a prize that will bring us no joy? The Na Kankshe Vijayam Krishna verse shows that Arjuna, in his moment of greatest despair, has stumbled upon a profound spiritual truth: the value of life is not in what we gain, but in who we share it with.
Read Next: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 – Verse 33 – Yesham Arthe Kankshitam Nah
