Arjuna's Dilemma and How the Gita Resolves It
RAS Mains, Paper II, Unit I, point 4: "Ethics of Bhagavad Geeta and its role in administration"; also touches point 7 (ethical dilemmas)
- Updated for the Jan 2026 syllabus
- Read time: about 11 minutes
Exam weight (our count from the real 2018-2024 papers)
One direct question: 2018 Part C Q11 (10 marks), in two parts: the Gita's resolution of Arjuna's dilemma and its application in administration. General dilemma questions came in 2021 Part A Q3 (2 marks) and 2023 Part C Q13 (10 marks). This is our count, not RPSC information.
30-second summary
Remember
- The dilemma: two valid duties collide: duty and compassion toward family and elders against the duty to stop injustice. Added to this are fear, grief and confusion, even bodily effects (around 1.28-30).
- The Gita's resolution can be read in seven steps (our frame, based on the text): admit it, seek counsel (2.7), step back from emotion (2.11-30), weigh role-duty and consequence (2.31-33), decide with equanimity and a clean motive (2.38, 2.47-48), reflect fully and make the decision your own (18.63), then act free of doubt (18.73).
- Gandhi: every seeker must pass through "a conflict of duties, a heart-churning"; the Gita is not a list of Do's and Dont's, and desire for fruit is the only universal prohibition.
- A caution: Krishna's resolution comes out in favour of war. Gandhi read the poem as an allegory of the inner struggle and said that perfect renunciation is impossible without perfect ahimsa. In an answer, present it as a method of deciding, not as support for violence.
- In administration the steps line up with the five steps of the RAS case method (table below).
Part A box (each line 15 words or fewer)
Remember
- Question (our practice question, not a PYQ): What was Arjuna's dilemma?
- Answer: Arjuna faced two duties: compassion for kin and the duty to defend justice. (13 words)
- Ready line 2: The Gita's route: counsel, role-clarity, equanimity, then ownership of the decision. (11 words)
- Ready line 3: Verse 18.63 says: reflect fully, then act as you choose. (10 words)
1. The nature of the dilemma
A clash of duties: on one side duty and compassion toward kin, grandsire and teacher; on the other, as a warrior, the duty to defend justice and resist wrong (2.31-33). This is not a choice between right and wrong but between two sides, each with a moral argument behind it.
Arjuna's state: his mouth dries, he trembles, the bow slips from his hand, his mind reels (around 1.28-30; editions shift the verse number by a half-verse or so). Source line (numbered 1.30 in the common Gita Press text, 1.29 in some editions): "गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात्त्वक्चैव परिदह्यते।"
He says he sees no good in killing his own people (1.31: "न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे"). In 1.47 he drops the bow and sits down.
The confession (2.7): "कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेताः। यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्॥" Sense: my nature is overcome by weakness, I am confused about my duty; tell me what is surely best; I am your pupil.
2. The Gita's resolution: seven steps (our frame)
| Step | Verse | What happens | Administrative lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Admit it | 1.28-47 | Arjuna states his distress openly | Do not hide strain and conflict; name them |
| 2. Seek counsel | 2.7 | "I am your pupil, teach me" | Consult superiors, experts, the rule book, legal advice |
| 3. Step back from emotion | 2.2-3, 2.11 | Krishna lifts the talk above grief and faint-heartedness to reasoned judgment | Separate the emotional reaction from the facts |
| 4. Weigh role-duty and consequence | 2.31, 2.33 | See your own duty; not acting also has a consequence | Inaction is also a decision; count its cost |
| 5. Equanimity and a clean motive | 2.38, 2.47-48 | Act holding joy and sorrow, gain and loss, victory and defeat alike | A clean motive; no fear or greed over the result |
| 6. Make the decision your own | 18.63 | "विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु" | Decide after full reflection; the responsibility is the decider's |
| 7. Act free of doubt | 18.73 | "नष्टो मोहः... स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देहः करिष्ये वचनं तव" | After the decision, act with full commitment |
Source line for 2.38: "सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ।"
Source line for 18.63: "विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु।" Sense: reflect on this fully, then do as you wish. It underlines both the autonomy of the decision and the responsibility that comes with it.
Source line for 18.73: "नष्टो मोहः स्मृतिर्लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान्मयाच्युत। स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देहः करिष्ये वचनं तव॥"
3. An analytical note from the Desai-Gandhi edition
On 3.24 the note says the verse appears to answer Arjuna's fear voiced in 1.41-43: if confusion is feared from doing one's duty, worse confusion would follow from abstaining. So inaction is not morally neutral either.
4. Gandhi's reading
Para 8: the Gita does not seem a historical work; "under the guise of physical warfare, it described the duel that perpetually went on in the hearts of mankind." In his note at the head of the first chapter he writes that every seeker has, at one time or another, to pass through "a conflict of duties, a heart-churning".
Para 29: "Nor is the Gita a collection of Do's and Dont's... Desire for fruit is the only universal prohibition. Desirelessness is obligatory." So one gets a test, not a ready rule for every dilemma.
Para 27: "after forty years' unremitting endeavour fully to enforce the teaching of the Gita in my own life, I have... felt that perfect renunciation is impossible without perfect observance of ahimsa." Gandhi grants that the letter of the Gita can be read to allow war, but he did not himself accept that.
5. Criticism and cautions
The case for war: Krishna's arguments include a warrior's duty and honour against disgrace (2.31-36). Today's administration is guided by constitutional values, proportionality and human rights; so take the method of deciding, not the justification of war.
Not every dilemma ends in "pick one side": many allow a third path that protects both sides (as in the case below). The Gita's frame does not block that search.
Passages resting on faith: near the end (for instance 18.62, 18.66) the language is of surrender. That belongs to faith; in a secular administration answer leave it and use the decision-reflection passages such as 18.63 and 18.73 (our writing advice).
Readings differ: Shankara, Tilak and Gandhi read the text differently, and not everyone accepts Gandhi's allegorical reading.
6. Bridge to the RAS case method (ours)
| RAS case method step | Arjuna-frame step |
|---|---|
| 1. Stakeholders | Step 3: stepping back from emotion to see the whole scene |
| 2. Issue and clashing values | Steps 1-2: naming the dilemma, seeking counsel |
| 3. Three options | Step 4: weighing role-duty and consequence (of acting and of not acting) |
| 4. Best option and value | Steps 5-6: deciding with equanimity and a clean motive, after full reflection |
| 5. Action | Step 7: acting without doubt |
7. How to split a 10-mark answer (two parts)
Part one (how the Gita resolves it): the nature of the dilemma, then 3-4 steps (2.7, 2.31-38, 18.63, 18.73).
Part two (how an administrator applies it): three or four principles (counsel, role-clarity, motive, responsibility) and a short example.
End with one line of limit (a method, not support for war).
Worked examples (documented, with year)
Gandhi's use (1929)
In the introduction to the Anasaktiyoga, Gandhi writes that he and his companions had been trying to put the Gita's teaching into practice; for them it had become "a spiritual reference book", a text to which to return in hard decisions. The introduction was completed at Kosani on 24 June 1929; the English form appeared in Young India on 6 August 1931.
Source: Desai's English edition "The Gospel of Selfless Action".
The example inside the text.
Arjuna's crisis and its resolution are themselves a documented model of a dilemma; in an answer give the thread "1.28-47 to 18.73".
How to use in an answer
in part one give the sequence of steps with verse numbers; in part two put the same sequence in administrative words (counsel, role-awareness, motive, owning the decision).
Thinkers and quotes box
| Name | Idea | Usable line |
|---|---|---|
| Gita 2.7 | The confused Arjuna asks for counsel | "धर्मसम्मूढचेताः... शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्।" |
| Gita 18.63 | The decision is your own | "विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु।" |
| Gita 18.73 | Freedom from doubt | "स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देहः करिष्ये वचनं तव।" |
| Mahatma Gandhi | Dilemma is every seeker's experience | "Every seeker has, at one time or another, to pass through a conflict of duties, a heart-churning." (Anasaktiyoga, note at the head of the first chapter, Desai's edition) |
| Mahatma Gandhi | The Gita is not a rulebook | "Nor is the Gita a collection of Do's and Dont's." (Anasaktiyoga, para 29) |
Diagram: flow: seven steps
1 Admit it
Seven boxes, left to right
2 Seek counsel (2.7)
3 Step back from emotion
4 Weigh role-duty and consequence (2.31-33)
5 Equanimity and clean motive (2.38, 2.47)
6 Own the decision (18.63)
7 Act free of doubt (18.73)
Stakeholders
Parallel strip below (RAS case method): · · · ·
Issue and values
Options
Best option
Action
How the concept was asked before: a Gita-based dilemma question appeared only in 2018. General dilemma questions came in 2021 (2 marks) and 2023 (10 marks).
Common mistakes
Remember
- Retelling the Mahabharata story and leaving out the sequence of the Gita's resolution.
- Leaving the second part of the question (application in administration) thin.
- Presenting the Gita's resolution as support for war. Write both the method and the limit.
Self-check (5 questions)
Remember
- What was the nature of Arjuna's dilemma?
- What does Arjuna do in 2.7 and what does it mean for administration?
- State the sense and the message of the line in 18.63.
- Write any four of the seven steps with verse numbers.
- How did Gandhi read the Gita's description of war?
Mini case study
Illustrative exampleHypothetical case (काल्पनिक केस)
Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Neha must conduct a safety inspection of a private school building where about 300 children study. A report says part of the building is dilapidated and may collapse mid-session. The school belongs to the trust of her old mentor, "Guruji", who helped with her studies and is now a respected social worker in the area. Guruji says: "Just give me one year, I will have it repaired."
- Stakeholders
- Neha, Guruji and his trust, about 300 children and their parents, teachers, the education department, the civic administration.
- Issue and clashing values
- children's safety and her legal duty against gratitude, compassion and worry about education stopping mid-session. A collision of two valid duties (the Arjuna frame).
- Three options
- (a) Bury the report and grant a year's grace. Pro: gratitude honoured, classes continue. Con: risk to children's lives, breach of duty and law, heavy accountability if an accident occurs. (b) Shut the building at once with no alternative arrangement. Pro: safety assured. Con: 300 children's schooling stalls, chaos among parents, the human side ignored. (c) Issue a safety notice together with a time-bound plan: immediate ban on entry to the dilapidated part, classes shifted to the safe wing or a nearby government building, repair under technical supervision within a fixed period, and a face-to-face talk with Guruji explaining the reasons and seeking his help. Pro: protects both safety and schooling, and the dignity of the relationship. Con: extra coordination, risk of Guruji's displeasure.
- Best option and supporting value
- option (c). Values: public safety, devotion to duty, compassion, transparency. Arjuna-frame steps: counsel (engineers, superiors, a law officer), weighing role-duty and consequence (the cost of not acting is children's lives), deciding with equanimity, then acting without doubt (18.73). If the engineers say the danger is immediate, safety comes first: vacate the building at once and arrange alternative classrooms the same day.
Lesson
Action: Short term: a safety notice, a ban on entry to the dilapidated part, immediate shifting of classes, information to parents, a personal meeting with Guruji (respectful but clear), a written report to her superior. Long term: time-bound safety inspection of all private school buildings, renewal of safety certificates, a facilitation framework for repairs with deadlines, and a system of declaring interests in cases of personal ties.
Practice Questions
Practice questionabout 50 words
Explain the nature of Arjuna's dilemma.
Model answer
Arjuna's dilemma was a clash of two valid duties: compassion and obligation toward kin and teachers, against the duty to resist injustice. In fear, grief and confusion he dropped his bow (1.47) and asked for guidance (2.7). An administrator's dilemmas, too, are usually not right against wrong but between two sides.
Practice questionabout 100 words
"How does Bhagwad Gita resolve dilemma of Arjun in the face of crisis? As an administrator how will you apply the tenets of Geeta when confronted with administrative dilemma?"
Model answer
Arjuna's conflict was between compassion for kin and the duty to defend justice. The Gita resolves it in stages: Arjuna admitted the crisis (1.28-47), sought counsel (2.7), weighed role-duty and consequence (2.31-33), decided with equanimity (2.38, 2.47), made the choice his own after full reflection (18.63) and became free of doubt (18.73). An administrator should likewise admit the dilemma, consult rules and superiors, weigh stakeholders and consequences, keep the motive clean, own the decision and act on it wholeheartedly. Take the method, not a justification of war. Gandhi: the Gita gives a test, not a ready rule.
Real PYQs
2018Paper II, Part C10 marks
How does Bhagwad Gita resolve dilemma of Arjun in the face of crisis? As an administrator how will you apply the tenets of Geeta when confronted with administrative dilemma? (printed Hindi: "भगवत गीता किस तरह अर्जुन के समक्ष द्वंद्व का निराकरण करती है? प्रशासनिक अधिकारी के रूप में आप प्रशासनिक दुविधा के निराकरण में किस तरह गीता के सिद्धान्तों का प्रयोग कर सकते हैं?") Note: the question has two parts; give both equal space.
2021Closely relatedPaper II, Part A2 marks
What do you understand by ethical dilemma?
2023Closely relatedPaper II, Part C10 marks
What do you mean by moral dilemma? Should personal ethics take precedence over professional ethics in a situation of moral conflict?
How to Write This Answer
Introduction
nature of the dilemma
Body
- part one: seven steps with verse numbers; part two: administrative use and a short example
Conclusion
a method, not support for war
Value addition
- Gandhi: "conflict of duties", the allegorical reading, not a rulebook
One-page Revision
- Dilemma = a clash of two valid duties
- 1.28-47 (symptoms; 1.47 drops the bow)
- 2.7 dharmasammudhacetah, pupil
- 2.11-30 discernment
- 2.31-33 role-duty, consequence of not acting
- 2.38 and 2.47-48 equanimity, clean motive
- 18.63 reflect, then choose
- 18.73 free of doubt
- Seven steps ↔ five steps of the RAS method
- Gandhi: "conflict of duties" (note at the head of chapter 1), allegorical reading (para 8), not a rulebook (para 29), perfect renunciation needs perfect ahimsa (para 27)
- Real PYQ: 2018 C Q11
- Case: SDM Neha, school-building safety, notice with a time-bound plan.