अर्जुन उवाच | ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन | तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव ||१||
arjuna uvācha jyāyasī chet karmaṇas te matā buddhir janārdana tat kiṁ karmaṇi ghore māṁ niyojayasi keśhava
Translation
Arjuna said: O Janardana, O Keshava, if you think that intelligence is better than fruitive work, why do you want to engage me in this ghastly warfare?
Interpretation
Arjuna raises a sincere question born of genuine confusion: if the path of knowledge (jnana) is superior to action (karma), why is Krishna asking him to fight? This apparent contradiction — the Gita teaching detachment yet commanding action — is exactly what Chapter 3 resolves. The answer is that action and knowledge are not opposed; the question is the quality with which one acts.