Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 11: The Vision of the Cosmic Form

Bhagavad Gita 11.34

droṇaṃ ca bhīṣmaṃ ca jayadrathaṃ ca karṇaṃ tathānyānapi yodhavīrān | mayā hatāṃstvaṃ jahi mā vyathiṣṭhā yudhyasva jetāsi raṇe sapatnān ||

Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna, and the other heroic warriors as well have already been killed by me. Strike them down and do not waver. Fight, and you will conquer your rivals in battle.

Modern context

Krishna names the very men Arjuna most dreads to fight: Drona his teacher, Bhishma his grandfather, Karna his rival. They have already been killed by time. 'Do not waver.' The instruction is not to stop caring. It is to stop being paralysed by a decision that has, in a deeper sense, already been made. Arjuna's part is to act clearly in a story whose ending is already written.