Verse 2.6

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.6:

न चैतद् विद्मः कतरन् नो गरीयो यद् वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः ।
यान् एव हत्वा न जिजीविषामस् तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः ॥ ६ ॥

na caitad vidmaḥ kataran no garīyo yad vā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ |
yān eva hatvā na jijīviṣāmas te'vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ || 6 ||

na–not; ca–and; etat–this; vidmaḥ–I know; katarat–which; naḥ–for us; garīyaḥ–is better; yad vā–whether; jayema–we may conquer; yadi–whether; vā–or; naḥ–us; jayeyuḥ–they may conquer; yān–whom; eva–certainly; hatvā–by killing; na jijīviṣāmaḥ–we do not desire to live; te–they; avasthitāḥ–are standing (ready for battle); pramukhe–before us; dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ–those who are on the side of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

I do not know what is better for us–to conquer them or to be conquered by them. Even after killing them, we will not desire to live. Yet they have taken the side of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and now stand before us on the battlefield.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

Arjuna is speaking the verse beginning with na caitad while considering, “In fighting against our gurus, I do not know whether we will be victorious or defeated. Moreover, I do not even know whether it is better for us to win or lose.” Here, Arjuna is considering two perspectives and so speaks about the possibility of both his victory and his defeat. He is saying, “For us, the result of victory is equal to defeat.” Thus he is using the words yān eva, etc.