Who is really the killer

vedāvināśinaṃ nityaṃ ya enamajamavyayamkathaṃ sa puruṣaḥ pārtha kaṃ ghātayati hanti kam

Partha, if someone knows this Self as indestructible, eternal, unborn and unchanging, how could that person kill, or cause anyone to be killed?

What it means

Krishna asks Arjuna a pointed question. If you truly know the Self can't be destroyed, how can you see yourself as its destroyer? He's loosening Arjuna's guilt, not his conscience. The point is identity. Arjuna is not a murderer of souls. He is a man with a hard duty.

The story

Arjuna has been calling himself a future killer of family. Krishna gently takes that word apart. In the chapters ahead he'll speak at length about acting rightly. This verse simply removes a burden that Arjuna was never meant to carry.

In your life

Think of a judge who must hand down a fair sentence and goes home feeling like a monster. They carry the role, not the guilt of the crime. Know the difference between your responsibility and someone else's choices.