Chapter2- Sloka 32
yadṛcchayā copapannaṃ svarga dvāram apāvṛtam |
sukhinaḥ kṣatriyāḥ pārtha labhante yuddham īdṛśam || 32 ||
(2.32)
pārtha- O son of Pṛtha! sukhinaḥ kṣatriyāḥ- fortunate are those warriors; īdṛśam yuddham- to whom opportunity for such a war; upapannaṃ- comes; yadṛcchayā- of its own accord; labhante- they receive; apāvṛtam swarga dvāram- unobstructed pathway to mokṣa;
Purport
In this śloka too, Kṛṣṇa glorifies the opportunity received by Arjuna to fight this war thus clearing any doubt still lingering in Arjuna's mind about his act of fighting this war being adharma.
Kṛṣṇa says, "O Arjuna, Fortunate are those warriors to whom opportunity for such a war comes of its own accord. An unobstructed pathway to mokṣa opens up for them."
yadṛcchayā upapannaṃ yuddham (This war which has come of its own accord without any efforts made towards it) With these words Kṛṣṇa is telling Arjuna that it is the accumulated merits of his previous lifetimes alone that have given him this war opportunity. No efforts made in the present lifetime could result in such a great war opportunity for a kṣatriya.
svarga dvāram apāvṛtam (This dharma-yuddha (righteous war) which is an unobstructed means to mokṣa) In reality, since dharmas (performing righteous acts) are a form of worshipping the Paramapuruṣa, they serve as natural means to mokṣa. If the performer of dharmas desires for anything other than the highest mokṣa as their result, their nature of being the means to mokṣa gets obstructed. Alternatively, since Arjuna does not desire any other result from this righteous war, it is his unobstructed means to mokṣa.
svarga dvāram Here the term swarga does not refer to heaven which is the abode of Indra and
other devatas. It refers to the eternal pleasure of mokṣa. Below are the statements from the śāstras which
state that the term swarga primarily refers to mokṣa. Starting from yasminnōṣnam na śītam (that which is
devoid of the pleasures and sufferings of material nature caused by heat-cold, etc.) to duḥkhena yanna
saṃbhinnaṃ na ca grastamanantaram abhilāṣopanītaṃ yat tatsukhaṃ svaḥpadāspadam Śābara
Bhāṣya 6.1.1 (that which is unadulterated by sorrow till now and will remain untouched by sorrow in the
future too, which is desired by all, such a bliss is denoted by the term 'svaḥ'), these statements support our
interpretation of swarga as the eternal pleasure of mokṣa.
sukhinaḥ kṣatriyāḥ īdṛśam yuddham labhante Only those fortunate warriors who have accumulated merits (puṇyas) of past lifetimes receive such an opportunity of dharma-yuddha.
sukhinaḥ Sukha translated to 'pleasures' alone cannot become the cause for this opportunity of dharma-
yuddha. Therefore sukha here refers to the merits (puṇyas) which result in pleasure when they fructify.
Alternatively, when the direct meaning of the words is considered, the same meaning in essence is derived
which is, 'Only the warriors eligible for pleasures receive such a war opportunity'.
pārtha By Addressing Arjuna as Pārtha, Kṛṣṇa is reminding him that he belongs to such a meritorious kṣatriya lineage.