If you are killed, you will reach heaven; if you win, you will enjoy the earth. So stand up, O son of Kunti, resolved to fight.
Explanation
Krishna is speaking to Arjuna, who is hesitating on the battlefield. Appealing to the warrior's duty (kṣatriya-dharma), he says that either outcome is good: heaven (svarga) in death, or rule of the earth in victory. He therefore urges Arjuna to rise and fight with firm resolve (niścaya). Here the argument is made on worldly and duty-based grounds; the deeper teaching on acting without attachment follows in the next verse.