Shloka

अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम् |
सम्भावितस्य चाकीर्तिर्मरणादतिरिच्यते ||२-३४||

Transliteration

akīrtiṃ cāpi bhūtāni kathayiṣyanti te.avyayām .
sambhāvitasya cākīrtirmaraṇādatiricyate ||2-34||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

2.34. The creatures will speak of your endless ill-fame; and for the one who has been highly esteemed the illfame is worse than death.

Shri Purohit Swami

2.34 Men will talk forever of thy disgrace; and to the noble, dishonour is worse than death.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

2.34 See Comment under 2.37

Sri Ramanuja

2.34 You will then incur not merely the loss of all happiness and honour but will be the object of disrespect by all people, the alifies and even the unalified, for all time. They will ridicule you saying, ‘When the battle began, Arjuna ran away.’ It it be asked, ‘What if it be so?", the reply is: ‘To one who is honoured by all for courage, prowess, valour, etc., this kind of dishonour arising from the reverse of these attributes, is worse than death? The meaning is that itself would be better for you than this kind of dishonour.

If it is said, ‘How could dishonour accrue to me, who am a hero, but have withdrawn from the battle only out of love and compassion for my relatives?’ the reply is as follows:

Sri Shankaracharya

2.34 Not only will there be the giving up of your duty and fame, but bhutani, people; ca api, also; kathayisyanti, will speak; te, of your; avyayam, unending, perpetual; akrtim, infamy. Ca, and; sambhavitasya, to an honoured person, to a person honoured with such epithets as ‘virtuous’, ‘heroic’, etc.; akirtih, infamy; atiricyate, is worse than; maranat, death. The meaning is that, to an honoured person death is perferable to infamy.

Swami Adidevananda

2.34 Further, people will speak ill of you for all time, and for one accustomed to be honoured, dishonour is worse than death.

Swami Gambirananda

2.34 People also will speak of your unending infamy. And to an honoured person infamy is worse than death.

Swami Sivananda

2.34 People, too, will recount thy everlasting dishonour; and to one who has been honoured, dishonour is worse than death.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

2.34 अकीर्तिम् dishonour? च and? अपि also? भूतानि beings? कथयिष्यन्ति will tell? ते thy? अव्ययाम् everlasting? संभावितस्य of the honoured? च and? अकीर्तिः dishonour? मरणात् than death? अतिरिच्यते exceeds.Commentary The world also will ever recount thy infamy which will survive thee for a long time. Death is really preferable to disgrace to one who has been honoured as a great hero and mighty warrior with noble alities.