न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः | यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषामस्- तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः
na caitadvidmaḥ kataranno garīyo yadvā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ . yāneva hatvā na jijīviṣāmaḥ te.avasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ
Nous ne savons pas non plus ce qui est le mieux pour nous, si nous devons vaincre ou s'ils doivent nous vaincre. Ceux-là mêmes, les fils de Dhritarashtra, que nous ne souhaitons pas tuer pour vivre, se tiennent face à nous.
We do not know this as well as to which is the better for us, (and) whether we shall win, or whether they shall coner us. Those very sons of Dhrtarastra, by killing whom we do not wish to live, stand in confrontation.
Arjuna exprime son incertitude quant à l'issue de la bataille et, plus profondément, quant à la valeur morale de la victoire. Il souligne l'absurdité de combattre des personnes dont la mort rendrait la vie insupportable pour lui et les siens.
. Whether we should coner [in the battle], or they should coner us-we do not know this viz., 'which [of those two] is better for us'. [For], having killed whom, we would not wish to live at all, the same persons stand before us as Dhrtarastra's men.