Better, surely, even to live on alms in this world than to kill these noble teachers. But if I kill my elders, who desire wealth and gain, I would enjoy here only pleasures smeared with blood.
Explanation
Arjuna, overwhelmed with grief on the battlefield, tells Krishna he would rather beg for his food than kill teachers such as Bhishma and Drona. He argues that any wealth or pleasure (artha, kāma) won by their deaths would be stained with blood. Commentators differ on the phrase "arthakāmān": some take it as the elders being greedy for gain, others as Arjuna's own pursuit of gain, but the verse does not settle this.