During the conversation, Krishna repeatedly calls Arjuna to fight in The Bhagavad Gita. The story begins with the discussion about Arjuna’s grief over the fact that he will have to kill his relatives, and he is inclined to abandon the battle. Krishna calls Arjuna to murder, but how can a God ask a man to kill people? There are justifications for this decision of Krishna, and I believe that there is no alternative other than for Krishna to encourage his friend so that Arjuna will have the heart for battle.
The first fact is that Arjuna must do his duty as a Kshatriya, and doing his duty is the way to God. Second, the troops that are going to fight are already condemned to death by Krishna; therefore, fighting with them will be the fulfillment of God’s will for Arjuna (Easwaran, 2007). The third fact states that if Arjuna refuses to fight, he will forever put his name in dishonor.
One might say that there is an alternative for Arjuna not to fight, and Krishna could instruct Kshatriya to leave the battlefield, and Arjuna had to comply with the decision. Nevertheless, Arjuna surrendered to Krishna, and Krishna led him to fight. Thus, at the point when Arjuna tells Krishna: “Please instruct me…” he accepts Krishna as his spiritual mentor and does whatever Krishna tells him to do. It can be stated that, in exceptional cases, such as a just war, killing is necessary, and this was the case of Arjuna. The Kshatriyas were called upon to keep order in the Vedic society, and from time to time, they needed to use violence against violators of the order established by God. Therefore, there could not be an alternative to fighting for what is right.
Reference
Easwaran, E. (2007). The Bhagavad Gita (2nd ed.). Nilgiri Press.