This verse shows Arjuna making a sophisticated legal-ethical argument. He acknowledges that the Kauravas are atatayins — aggressors who have committed serious injustices — yet still questions whether killing them is justified. The Advaita tradition will ultimately show that the concept of 'sin' applies only to one who acts from ego-identification; the liberated actor transcends it. Ramanuja holds that sin does not attach to dharmic action performed in surrender to the Lord. Madhvacharya invokes the dharma-shastra directly: killing an aggressor is not only permitted but obligatory for a kshatriya. The philosophical tension Arjuna introduces — can righteous killing still be sinful? — is one that every culture dealing with just war theory must face. The Gita's answer is nuanced: it is not the killing itself but the motivation and identification that determines whether sin accrues.