Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1, Verse 36

निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याज्जनार्दन | पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिनः ||

nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrān naḥ kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana pāpam evāśrayed asmān hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ

What joy would we have, O Janardana, in killing the sons of Dhritarashtra? Sin alone would overtake us, even though they are aggressors, should we slay them.

Arjuna asks the devastating question: 'Kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana'—what joy would there be, O Krishna? 'Nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrān'—from killing Dhritarashtra's sons. Even if we win, what will we feel? 'Pāpam evāśrayed asmān'—sin would overtake us. Not external punishment but internal burden—the weight of who you've become. 'Hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ'—even though they're aggressors. The verse acknowledges full justification: they wronged us, we're right. But then the question that changes everything: where's the joy? You can be legally right and emotionally destroyed. Victory means nothing if you can't live with who you became to achieve it. The teaching separates justification from outcome: imagine you've won your justified battle. Now what? If the answer is burden not joy, maybe being right isn't enough reason to proceed.