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TEXT 27 jatasya hi dhruvo mrtyur
SYNONYMS  jatasya--one
who has taken his birth; hi--certainly; dhruvah--a fact;
mrtyuh--death;
dhruvam--it is also a fact; janma--birth;
mrtasya--of
the dead; ca--also; tasmat--therefore;
apariharye--for
that which is unavoidable; arthe--in the matter of; na--do
not; tvam--you; socitum--to lament;
arhasi--deserve.
TRANSLATION For one who
has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is
certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should
not lament.
PURPORT One has to take
birth according to one's activities of life. And, after finishing one term
of activities, one has to die to take birth for the next. In this way the
cycle of birth and death is revolving, one after the other without liberation.
This cycle of birth and death does not, however, support unnecessary murder,
slaughter and war. But at the same time, violence and war are inevitable
factors in human society for keeping law and order.
The Battle
of Kuruksetra, being the will of the Supreme, was an inevitable event,
and to fight for the right cause is the duty of a ksatriya. Why
should he be afraid of or aggrieved at the death of his relatives since
he was discharging his proper duty? He did not deserve to break the law,
thereby becoming subjected to the reactions of sinful acts, of which he
was so afraid. By avoiding the discharge of his proper duty, he would not
be able to stop the death of his relatives, and he would be degraded due
to his selection of the wrong path of action.
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