Bodies end. Duty remains.

antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥanāśino’aprameyasya tasmādyudhyasva bhārata

These bodies come to an end, but the one who dwells in them is eternal, beyond destruction and measure. So fight, Bharata.

What it means

Krishna brings his teaching back to the moment. Bodies end. The Self within them doesn't. So, he says, fight. He's not telling Arjuna that harm doesn't matter. He's saying grief for the eternal Self shouldn't stop Arjuna from doing what his role in this war demands.

The story

This is a war of last resort. Every path to peace was tried. Arjuna is the protector his side depends on. Krishna asks him not to abandon them out of a grief based on a misunderstanding. The call is to duty, not to violence for its own sake.

In your life

Think of a firefighter whose mother is in hospital the night a big fire breaks out. Grief is real, and so is the job. That isn't coldness. It's courage.