BG 2.34

People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death.

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.

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

2.34 See Comment under 2.37

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 If it is said, 'How could dishonour accrue to me, who am a hero, but have withdrawn from the battle only out of love and compassion for my relatives?'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

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.

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

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