Chapter
1 - Arjun's Dilemma
Dhritrashtr
said:
O
Sanjay, assembled in the holy field of
Kurukshetra and eager to fight, what did
my sons and the sons Of Pandu do? (1.01)
Sanjay
said:
At
that time, seeing the Pandav's army drawn
up for battle, Prince Duryodhan
approaching his guru, Dronacharya, spoke
these words: (1.02)
Behold
O Master, this mighty army of the sons of
Pandu, arrayed for battle by your talented
disciple Dhrstadyumna, the son of Drupada.
(1.03)
"There
in the army of Pandavas are mighty
archers, peers in warfare to the heroic
Arjun and Bhima, such as Satyaki and
Virata and the great chariot warrior
Drupada. (1.04)
Dhrishtaketu,
Chekitana the valient King of Kasi,
Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Saibya, the best
of men; (1.05)
And
mighty Yudhamanyu, and the valiant
Uttamauja, Abhimanyu the son of Subhadra,
and the five sons of Draupadi are also
there - all of them are great
Chariot-warriors.(1.06)
O
best among the twice born, also know the
principal warriors the generals of my army
also. I name them for your information.
(1.07)
Yourself,
Bhism, Karn, Krpa who is ever victorious
in battle; and even so Ashvathama, Vikarn,
Bhurisrava the son of Somadatta. (1.08)
There
are many other heroes well trained in
warfare who equipped with various weapons
and missiles, have staked their lives for
my sake. (1.09)
Our
army is meagre and easy to conquer because
it is guarded by Bhism (a well wisher of
both the armies). But their army
marshalled by Bhim is unconquerable
(because Bhim is partial only to his own
army). (1.10)
Therefore,
stationed in your respective position on
all fronts, do you all guard Bhism in
particular on all sides. (1.11)
The
grand oldman of the Kaurav race, their
glorious grand uncle Bhism, cheering up
Duryodhan roared terribly like a lion and
blew his conch. (1.12)
Then
conches, kettledrums, cymbals, tabors,
drums and trumpets suddenly blared forth
and the noise was tumultuous. (1.13)
Then
seated in a glorious chariot drawn by
white horses Sri Krsn as well as Arjun
blew their divine conchs. (1.14)
Sri
Krsn blew His conch called Panchajanya;
Arjun blew his conch called Devadutta
while Bhima of terrible deeds blew his
mighty conch Paundra. (1.15)
King
Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti blew his
conch Anantavijaya; while Nakula and
Sahadeva blew their conchs, the Sughosha
and Manipushpak respectively. (1.16)
And
the King of Kasi, the excellent archer;
Shikhandi, the great Chariot warrior;
Dhristadyumn, Virat, and the invincible
Satyaki did likewise. (1.17)
King
Drupada as well as the five sons of
Draupadi, and the mighty-armed Abhimanyu,
son of Subhadra, all of them blew their
respective conches. (1.18)
And
the terrible sound, echoing through heaven
and the earth, rent the hearts of
Dhrtarastra's sons. (1.19)
Now,
O Lord of the earth, seeing Dhrtarastra's
sons arrayed against him and the fighting
about to commence with missiles, Pandav
(Arjun) whose ensign badge is Hanuman,
lifting his bow, spoke the following words
to Sri Krsn. (1.20)
Arjun
said:
O
Acyuta (Acyuta means one who does not
deviate from his divine glory) place my
chariot between the two armies and keep it
there till I have carefully observed these
war-minded warriors, with whom I must wage
this war. (1.21-22)
I
shall scan the well wishers in this war of
evil-minded Duryodhan, Who have assembled
here and are ready for the fight. (1.23)
Sanjay
said:
O
Bharat (born in the Bharat-family), thus
addessed by Gudakesa (one who has control
over sleep viz Arjun), Hrikesa (the Lord
of the senses) placed the magnificent and
all the kings and said, "O Parth (the
son of Parth, Kunti) behold all these
Kurus assembled here." (1.24-25)
Now
Arjun saw stationed there in both the
armies his uncles and granduncles,
teachers, maternal uncles, brothers and
cousins, sons and grandsons, friends,
father-in-law and well-wishers as well.
Seeing all those relations present there,
he was possessed by extreme compassion,
and uttered these words in sadness.
Arjun
said:
"Krsn,
at the sight of these kinsmen thus arrayed
and longing for battle my limbs give way,
and my mouth is parched; nay my frame
shakes and hair stands on ends. (1.26-29)
The
bow, Gandiv, slips from my hand and my
skin intensely burns. My head is reeling,
I am unable to stand steady and, O Kesav,
I find the omens also inauspicious nor do
I see any good in killing my kith and kin
in battle. (1.30-31)
O
Krsn, I covet not victory, nor kingdom, O
Govind, of what use to us is kingdom or
luxuries or even life? (1.32)
Those
for whose sake we covet the throne,
luxuries and pleasures, are arrayed here
on the battle field staking their lives
and property. (1.33)
Teachers,
uncles, sons and even so granduncles,
maternal uncles fathers-in-law, grandsons,
brothers-in-law and other relatives,
though they may kill me, (1.34)
I
would not seek to slay them, even for the
sovereignty of the three worlds; how then
for this earth? (1.35)
O
Janardana (Janardana, the name of Sri
Krsn, means 'a person who is worshipped by
people for prosperity and emancipation'),
what joy can we derive through slaying the
sons of Dhrtarastra? Sin alone will accrue
to us as the result of killing these
desperadoes. (1.36)
O
Madhav, we should not therefore slay the
sons of Dhrtarastra, our kinsmen; for how
can we, by killing our own kinsmen, be
happy? (1.37)
Although
these people, with minds blinded by greed,
do not perceive the evil of destruction of
one's own race and the sin accruing from
enmity towards friends; why should not we,
O Krsn, who see clearly the sin involved
in the destruction of one's family, think
of turning away from this crime? (1.38-39)
With
the destruction of a family its age-long
family tradition disappear and with the
disappearance of family traditions,
impiety takes hold of the entire family.
(1.40)
With
the preponderance of vice, Krsn, the women
of the family become corrupt; and with the
corruption of women, O Varsney (descendant
of Vrsni), there ensues an intermixture of
castes. (1.41)
Intermixture
of castes leads the race and also the
destroyers of the race to hell. Deprived
of the offerings of rice ball and water,
the names of their race also have a
downfall. (1.42)
Through
these evils bringing about an intermixture
of castes, the age-long caste-traditions
and family-customs of the destroyers of
the race get extinct. (1.43)
We
have heard, O Janardana, that men, who
have lost their family traditions Dwell in
hell for an indefinite period of time.
(1.44)
Alas!
Though possessed of intelligence we have
set out mind on the commission o a great
sin in that due to lust for throne and
enjoyment we are intent on killing our own
kinsmen. (1.45)
It
would indeed be better for me if the sons
of Dhrtarastra armed with weapons, killed
me in battle while I was unarmed and
unresisting. (1.46)
Sanjay
said:
Arjun,
with his mind agitated by grief on the
battlefield, having spoke thus and having
laid down his bow and arrows, sank into
the hinder part of the chariot. (1.47)
Thus
by uttering Om Tat Sat the names of the
Lord in the Upanisad sung by the Lord, the
science of Brahma, the scripture on Yoga,
the dialogue between Sri Krsn and Arjun
ends the first chapter entitled "The
Yoga of Dejection of Arjun."
Swami Veet Chintan T'Zorba-Krsna
Jyotish
Shastracharya
& Vedic Astrologer of India
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