Published By THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY P.O. Shivanandanagar—249 192 Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttar Pradesh,
The great Mahabharata war between the
Pandavas and the Kauravas took place on the holy plain of Kurukshetra. After the failure
of Lord Krishna’s peace mission, when He Himself went to Hastinapura as the emissary
of the Pandavas, there was no other alternative for the Pandavas but to engage in war for
their rightful share of the kingdom.
All the famous warriors from both sides had
assembled on the battlefield. Tents and wagons, weapons and machines, chariots and animals
covered the vast plain.
Lord Krishna arrived on the scene in a
magnificent chariot yoked by white horses. He was to act as the charioteer of Arjuna, one
of the Pandava princes.
The din of hundreds of conches, blaring forth
suddenly, announced the commencement of the battle. Arjuna blew his conch
“Devadatta”, while Bhima, his brother, sounded the “Paundra”. All the
other great warriors blew their respective conches.
As the two armies were arrayed, ready for
battle, Arjuna requested
Confusion reigned in Arjuna’s mind.
Should he participate in this terrible carnage? Was it proper to destroy one’s
relatives for the sake of a kingdom and some pleasures? Would it not be much better for
him to surrender everything in favour of his enemies and retire in peace? As these
thoughts rushed into his mind, a feeling of despondency overtook Arjuna. He had no
enthusiasm to engage in this battle. Letting his bow slip from his hands, Arjuna could do
nothing but turn to Lord Krishna for guidance and enlightenment.
Dhritaraashtra Uvaacha:
Dhritarashtra said:
1. What did the sons of Pandu and also my
people do when they had assembled together, eager for battle on the holy plain of
Kurukshetra, O Sanjaya?
Sanjaya Uvaacha:
Sanjaya said:
2. Having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn
up in battle array, King Duryodhana then approached his teacher (Drona) and spoke these
words:
3. “Behold, O Teacher, this mighty army
of the sons of Pandu, arrayed by the son of Drupada, thy wise disciple!
4. “Here are heroes, mighty archers,
equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna, Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada, of the great car
(mighty warriors),
5. “Drishtaketu, Chekitana and the
valiant king of Kasi, Purujit, and Kuntibhoja and Saibya, the best of men,
6. “The strong Yudhamanyu and the brave
Uttamaujas, the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna), and the sons of Draupadi,
all of great chariots (great heroes).
7. “Know also, O best among the
twice-born, the names of those who are the most distinguished amongst ourselves, the
leaders of my army! These I name to thee for thy information.
8. “Thyself and Bhishma, and Karna and
Kripa, the victorious in war; Asvatthama, Vikarna, and Jayadratha, the son of Somadatta.
9. “And also many other heroes who have
given up their lives for my sake, armed with various weapons and missiles, all well
skilled in battle.
10. “This army of ours marshalled by
Bhishma is insufficient, whereas their army, marshalled by Bhima, is sufficient.
11. “Therefore, do ye all, stationed in
your respective positions in the several divisions of the army, protect Bhishma
alone”.
12. His glorious grandsire (Bhishma), the
eldest of the Kauravas, in order to cheer Duryodhana, now roared like a lion and blew his
conch.
13. Then (following Bhishma), conches and
kettle-drums, tabors, drums and cow-horns blared forth quite suddenly (from the side of
the Kauravas); and the sound was tremendous.
14. Then also, Madhava (
15. Hrishikesa blew the
“Panchajanya” and Arjuna blew the “Devadatta”, and Bhima, the doer of
terrible deeds, blew the great conch, “Paundra”.
16. Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew the
“Anantavijaya”; and Sahadeva and Nakula blew the “Manipushpaka” and
“Sughosha” conches.
17. The king of Kasi, an excellent archer,
Sikhandi, the mighty car-warrior, Dhristadyumna and Virata and Satyaki, the unconquered,
18. Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, O Lord
of the Earth, and the son of Subhadra, the mighty-armed, all blew their respective
conches!
19. The tumultuous sound rent the hearts of
Dhritarashtra’s party, making both heaven and earth resound.
20. Then, seeing all the people of
Dhritarashtra’s party standing arrayed and the discharge of weapons about to begin,
Arjuna, the son of Pandu, whose ensign was that of a monkey, took up his bow and said the
following to Krishna, O Lord of the Earth!
Arjuna said:
21-22. In the middle of the two armies, place
my chariot, O Krishna, so that I may behold those who stand here, desirous to fight, and
know with whom I must fight when the battle begins.
23. For I desire to observe those who are
assembled here to fight, wishing to please in battle Duryodhana, the evil-minded.
Sanjaya said:
24. Being thus addressed by Arjuna, Lord
Krishna, having stationed that best of chariots, O Dhritarashtra, in the midst of the two
armies,
25. In front of Bhishma and Drona and all the
rulers of the earth, said: “O Arjuna, behold now all these Kurus gathered
together!”
26. Then Arjuna beheld there stationed,
grandfathers and fathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons and
friends, too.
27. (He saw) fathers-in-law and friends also
in both armies. The son of Kunti—Arjuna—seeing all these kinsmen standing
arrayed, spoke thus sorrowfully, filled with deep pity.
Arjuna said:
28. Seeing these, my kinsmen, O Krishna,
arrayed, eager to fight,
29. My limbs fail and my mouth is parched up,
my body quivers and my hairs stand on end!
30. The (bow) “Gandiva” slips from
my hand and my skin burns all over; I am unable even to stand, my mind is reeling, as it
were.
31. And I see adverse omens, O Kesava! I do
not see any good in killing my kinsmen in battle.
32. For I desire neither victory, O Krishna,
nor pleasures nor kingdoms! Of what avail is a dominion to us, O Krishna, or pleasures or
even life?
33. Those for whose sake we desire kingdoms,
enjoyments and pleasures, stand here in battle, having renounced life and wealth.
34. Teachers, fathers, sons and also
grandfathers, grandsons, fathers-in-law, maternal uncles, brothers-in-law and
relatives,—
35. These I do not wish to kill, though they
kill me, O Krishna, even for the sake of dominion over the three worlds, leave alone
killing them for the sake of the earth!
36. By killing these sons of Dhritarashtra,
what pleasure can be ours, O Janardana? Only sin will accrue by killing these felons.
37. Therefore, we should not kill the sons of
Dhritarashtra, our relatives; for, how can we be happy by killing our own people, O
Madhava (
38. Though they, with intelligence
overpowered by greed, see no evil in the destruction of families, and no sin in hostility
to friends,
39. Why should not we, who clearly see evil
in the destruction of a family, learn to turn away from this sin, O Janardana (
COMMENTARY: Ignorance of the law is no
excuse and wanton sinful conduct is a crime unworthy of knowledgeable people.
40. In the destruction of a family, the
immemorial religious rites of that family perish; on the destruction of spirituality,
impiety overcomes the whole family.
COMMENTARY: Dharma pertains to the
duties and ceremonies practised by the family in accordance with scriptural injunctions.
41. By prevalence of impiety, O Krishna, the
women of the family become corrupt and, women becoming corrupted, O Varsneya (descendant
of Vrishni), there arises intermingling of castes!
42. Confusion of castes leads to hell the
slayers of the family, for their forefathers fall, deprived of the offerings of rice-ball
and water.
43. By these evil deeds of the destroyers of
the family, which cause confusion of castes, the eternal religious rites of the caste and
the family are destroyed.
44. We have heard, O Janardana, that
inevitable is the dwelling for an unknown period in hell for those men in whose families
the religious practices have been destroyed!
45. Alas! We are involved in a great sin in
that we are prepared to kill our kinsmen through greed for the pleasures of a kingdom.
46. If the sons of Dhritarashtra, with
weapons in hand, should slay me in battle, unresisting and unarmed, that would be better
for me.
Sanjaya said:
47. Having thus spoken in the midst of the
battlefield, Arjuna, casting away his bow and arrow, sat down on the seat of the chariot
with his mind overwhelmed with sorrow.
Hari Om Tat Sat
Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious
Bhagavad Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue
between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the first discourse entitled:
“The Yoga Of the Despondency of Arjuna”