The Song Divine (The Bhagavadgītā) Chapter I The Yoga of Dejection of Arjuna

Dhrtarastra said: Sanjaya, gathered on the holy land of Kuruksetra, eager to fight, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do? (1)

Sanjaya said: At that time, seeing the army of the Pandavas drawn up for battle and approaching Dronacarya, King Duryodhana spoke the following words: (2)

Behold, O Revered Master, the mighty army of the sons of Pandu arrayed for battle by your talented pupil, Dhrstadyumna, son of Drupada. (3)

There are in this army, heroes wielding mighty bows and equal in military prowess to Bhima and Arjuna - Satyaki and Virata and the Maharathi Drupada; Dhrstaketu, Cekitana and the valiant King of Kasi, and Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Saibya, the best of men, and mighty Yudhamanyu, and valiant Uttamauja, Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra, and the five sons of Draupadi - all of them Maharathis. (4 - 6)

O best of Brahmanas, know them also who are the principal warriors on our side - the generals of my army. For your information I mention them. (7)

"Yourself and Bhisma and Karna and Krpa, who is ever victorious in battle; and even so Asvatthama, Vikarna and Bhurisrava; (8)

And there are many other heroes, all skilled in warfare equipped with various weapons and missiles, who have staked their lives for me. (9)

This army of ours, fully protected by Bhisma, is unconquerable; while that army of theirs, guarded in every way by Bhima, is easy to conquer. (10)

Therefore, stationed in your respective positions on all fronts, do you all guard Bhisma in particular on all sides. (11)

The grand old man of the Kaurava race, their glorious grand - patriarch Bhisma, cheering up Duryodhana, roared terribly like a lion and blew his conch. (12)

The conches, kettledrums, tabors, drums and trumpets blared forth all at once and the noise was tumultuous. (13)

Then, seated in a glorious chariot drawn by white horses, Sri Krsna as well as Arjuna blew their celestial conches. (14)

Sri Krsna blew His conch named Pancajanya; Arjuna, Devadatta; while Bhima of ferocious deeds blew his mighty conch Paundra. (15)

King Yudhisthira, son of Kunti, blew his conch Anantavijaya, while Nakula and Sahadeva blew theirs, known as Sughosa and Manipuspaka respectively. (16)

And the excellent archer, the King of Kasi, and Sikhandi the Maharathi, Dhrstadyumna and Virata, and invincible Satyaki, Drupada as well as the five sons of Draupadi, and the mighty-armed Abhimanyu, son of Subhadra, all of them, O lord of the earth, severally blew their respective conches from all sides. (17 - 18)

And the terrible sound, echoing through heaven and earth, rent the hearts of Dhrtarastra's army. (19)

Now, O lord of the earth, seeing your sons arrayed against him and when missiles were ready to be hurled, Arjuna, who had the figure of Hanuman on the flag of his chariot, took up his bow and then addressed the following words to Sri Krsna; "Krsna, place my chariot between the two armies. (20 - 21)

"And keep it there till I have carefully observed these warriors drawn up for battle, and have seen with whom I have to engage in this fight. (22)

"I shall have a look at the well-wishers of evil-minded Duryodhana, in this war whoever have assembled on his side and are ready for the fight." (23)

Sañjaya said: O king, thus addressed by Arjuna, Śrī Kṛṣṇa placed the magnificent chariot between the two armies in front of Bhīṣma, Droṇa and all the kings and said, "Arjuna, behold these Kauravas assembled here." (24 - 25)

Now Arjuna saw stationed there in both the armies his uncles, grand-uncles and teachers, even great grand-uncles, maternal uncles, brother and cousins, son and nephews, and grand-nephews, even so friends, fathers-in-law and well-wishers as well. (26 & first half of 27)

Seeing all the relations present there, Arjuna was overcome with deep compassion and spoke thus in sorrow. (Second half of 27 & first half of 28)

Arjuna said: Kṛṣṇa, as I see these kinsmen arrayed for battle, my limbs give way, and my mouth is getting parched; nay, a shiver runs through my body and hair stands on end. (Second half of 28 & 29)

The bow, Gāṇḍīva, slips from my hand and my skin too burns all over; my mind is whirling, as it were, and I can no longer hold myself steady. (30)

And, Kesava, I see omens of evil, nor do I see any good in killing my kinsmen in battle. (31)

Kṛṣṇa, I do not covet victory, nor kingdom, nor pleasure. Govinda, of what use will kingdom or luxuries or even life be to us ! (32)

Those very persons for whose sake we cover the kingdom, luxuries and pleasures - teachers, uncles, sons and nephews and even so, grand-uncles and great grand-uncles, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grand-nephews, brothers-in-law and other relations - are here arrayed on the battlefield staking their lives and wealth. (33 - 34)

O Slayer of Madhu, I do not want to kill them, though they may slay me, even for the sovereignty over the three worlds; how much the less for the kingdom here on earth! (35)

Kṛṣṇa, how can we hope to be happy slaying the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra; by killing even these desperadoes, sin will surely accrue to us. (36)

Kṛṣṇa, it does not behove us to kill our relations, the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. For, how can we be happy after killing our own kinsmen? (37)

Even though these people, with their mind blinded by greed, perceive no evil in destroying their own race and no sin in treason to friends, why should not we, O Krsna, who see clearly the sin accruing from the destruction of one's family, think of desisting from committing this sin. (38 - 39)

Age-long family traditions disappear with the destruction of a family; and virtue having been lost, vice takes hold of the entire race. (40)

With the preponderance of vice, Kṛṣṇa, the women of the family become corrupt; and with the corruption of women, O descendant of Vṛṣṇi, there ensues an inter-mixture of castes. (41)

Progeny owing to promiscuity damns the destroyers of the race as well as the race itself. Deprived of the offerings of rice and water the manes of their race also fall. (42)

Through these evils bringing about an inter-mixture of castes, the age-long caste traditions and family customs of the killers of kinsmen get extinct. (43)

Kṛṣṇa, we hear that men who have lost their family traditions, dwell in hell for an indefinite period of time. (44)

Oh what a pity! Though possessed of intelligence we have set our mind on the commission of a great sin; that due to lust for throne and enjoyment we are intent on killing our own kinsmen. (45)

It would be better for me if the sons of Dhṛtrāṣṭra, armed with weapons, kill me in battle, while I am unarmed and unresisting. (46)

Sañjaya said: Arjuna, whose mind was agitated by grief on the battlefield, having spoken thus, and having cast aside his bow and arrows, sank into the hinder part of his chariot. (47)