1.

OBSERVING THE ARMIES

ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF KURUK~ETRA

"1
Blind Dhrtara?tra, partial to his own s~ms, inquires
1 : Dhrtara?tra' s Inquiry to what his sons and the Pa,:ic;favas did on the
Sanjaya
battlefield. , I

2-11 : Duryodhana ' s Fear Duryodhana goes to Dror:,acarya and describes thE
and Diplomacy in Describing - - warriors of the Par:,c;favas' army and his own arm~
the Armies and compares t hem.
r r ~·
12-19: Blowing of
Conchshells (Signs of Victory - - Lord Kr~r:ia and the Pa,:ic;lavas blow their conchshell
of the Par:-i~favas) shattering the hearts of the opposite party.
,~I
20-25: Desiring to see the supporters of
Duryodhana , Arjuna asks Kr~r:ia to take the chariot
20-27: Arjuna Observes between the two armies.
the Armies
26-27: Seeing differe t k. d f .
becomes overwhel n rn s o relatives ArJ·una
p me d wit
· h compassion
' .

28-30: First reason _ c .

the resultant bmd~lassron for relatives and
0 1Y symptoms

31-35: Second reason - F . .

. oreseerng no enjoymen t rn
28-46 : Arjuna's Reasons r=-===~~~~====-==-=-::-::-;v=r'.=c;to;r-;-y
_ _ _N_o_t _to_F_ig_h_t _ _J- --i 36-38: Third reason - F ~ -.- -- - __
- ,
ear of srnful reactions
39-43: Fourth reason ~ - -............_ ~
destroying ti) Haf rmtul effects ( >f
e am,ly
44-46. Ar·
· Juna be1ng
· grief .k . .. jJ
' ---i
fight.srr en, decide~ n to 1
 1 . Observing th e Armies
--------
•
1: DH~TARA~TRA'S INQUIRY TO SANJA YA
( (/,., Background: Dhrtarii~tra was blind from birth. Unfortunately, he was also ber_eft of
spiritual vision. H is hundred sons, headed by Duryodhana, were equally blind m th e
matter of religion . PaQ.<;iavas were the sons of PaQ.<;iu, D}:irtani$tra 's brother. They ~ere
virtuous and Dhrtara$tra's sons usurped their rightful kingdom by inappropriate
means. Now a fight ensued between both the parties at a holy place called Kuruk$et ra.
Dhrtara$tra was doubtful about the influence of the holy place on the fate of the battle.
Therefore he asked Sa.iijaya, his assistant, about the situation on the battlefield. By the
mercy of Srila Vyasadeva, Sa.iijaya was able to envision the Battlefield of Kuruk$etra.
1. DhrtaraHra asked Safijaya: "After my sons (mdmakd~) and the sons of Pai:ic;lu
(pd1_u;f,avaM assembled in the holy place of pilgrimage (dharma-k$etra) at Kuruk$etra,
desiring to fight, what did they do?"
dhrtard$tra uvdca
dharma-k$etre kuru-k$etre samavetd yuyutsava~
mdmakd~ pd1:1t}avds caiva kim akurvata safijaya
DhrtaraHra was partial to his own sons and separated his nephews, the Pal).<;iavas,
although both parties belonged to the same family. Although he himself had said that
they had assembled to fight, still he asked Sa.iijaya what they did, because, he w as -
• desirous that his sons get the kingdom.
• doubtful of the possibility of his sons' victory.
• fearful because the holy place Kuruk~etra might influence his sons to compromise.
• hopeful that under the holy influence, the PaQ.<;iavas may renounce their claim, to
avoid bloodshed.
KHt;ta's plan: Just as in a paddy field (k$etra) , unnecessary weeds are taken ou t
similarly in the religious 'field ' of Kuru-k$etra, in the presence of the fath er of religion,'
Kr$Q.a, unwanted harmful weeds like Dhrtara$fra's sons would be wiped out.
GEl The rest of the chapter is Sa.iijaya's description of the scene on the battlefield in
response to Dhrtara$fra's inquiry. He first described the acts of Duryodhana, who didn 't have
any intentions to compromise in the battle, as feared by Dhrtara$tra.

2-11: DURYODHANA'S f EAR AND DIPLOMACY IN DESCRIBING THE ARMIES

2. Duryodhana approached Dro9-acarya, after seeing the army of the Pandavas and
spoke the following words (verses 3-11): ··
 :--." ,..'A.-. _ ",-,,""' "'-,r... . . .,.,.,.(""'-
. ..._
Qta Subodhin1 ti~C\1tf
-

l11tB\
-

:~~
~ ~-=-~_:::!-----
>

t=• !:J~ ~ . _:~~~ ~~~~{.~,t;;fi\:____

~ ~·t,;-f
3-6. Pandavas' arm y: "O teacher, beho ld t·h.1s grea t army expertly arran°ed by y ---=~~ ,·c..: .
· ligen
· · ·t · · ' . t:, our
mtel d1sc1ple , the son of Drupa da. It has many great fighters equal to Bk-
· a: y uyu dh ana s ._ uuna
1 , y·1rata
( atyak.)
an d A qun - , Dru pada , Dhr--·
stak etu, Cek itana, Kasirai·a
.
Purujit, Kuntibhoja, Saib ya, Yudhamanyu , Uttam;m 1
1

ia, Abh ~an yu _(s~n if ~u~hadra )

and the five sons of Draupadi (Prativindhya,
Srutasena, Srutakirti, atanik.a and
Srutakarma). All these people are maha-rathas."
( (l Duryodhana feared internally seeing the P~4avas
' army. But, being political, he hid (
his fear by showing that he had come personally out
of his respect to guru, DroQ.a.
Duryodhana points out Dro~acarya for liberally
imparting the military secrets to
Dh_r~µdyumna, despite knowing that he was born
to kill DroQ.a. Duryodhana wanted
DroQ.a not be similarly lenient in battle with the P~c,
iavas, his affectionate students.
Duryodhana wanted to anger Dro~a, by reve
aling the disrespect of the Pfl.Q.c,iavas,
who arrogantly came with their army, not consideri
ng DroQ.a's exalted position as a
teacher and a warrior. Also, by addressing Dh.r~µdy
umna as the son of Drupada, he
wanted to remind DroQ.a of his previous enmity with
Drupada.
G9 Thinking that Droi:tacarya might perceive that he was fearful
of the Pai:i.c,lavas' army,
Duryodhana then spoke boldly about his own army
to cover his inner fears.
7-9. Dur yod han a's army: "The captains in my
army are personalities like you,
Bhi~ma, Kari;ia, K_rpa, Asvatthama, Vikarr:ia
and Bhurisrava who are alwa ys
victorious in battle. There are many other expe
rienced heroes, well equipped with
weapons, prepared to lay down their lives for my
sake 1 (madart he tyakta jivitab)."
10-11. Comparison: "Ou r army, protected by
the most experienced general Bhi~ma,
is immeasurable (aparyaptam 2), whereas the army of the
Pa1_19avas, protected by less
experienced Bhima, is limited (paryaptam). All of
you must protect Bhi~ma from all
sides, standing at your respective strategic position
s."
( ,,.. Duryodhana considered that others migh
t feel less important as he praised Bhi~ma. So
he diplomatically said that Bru~ma, although the
greatest hero, was old and need s
protection from everyone.
Duryodhana was co~i den t of the full support
of Bhi~madeva and DroQacarya in the
battle because they did not speak when Draupadi
had appealed to them for jusri ;:e
while she was being forced to appear naked.

1
Indirectly it mean s that they will surely die for takin
2
g the side of sinful Duryodhana.
The word "aparydptam" could also mean "insu
· · ,, Th D dh , fficient " and "p - ,, uld
"su ff 1c1ent. . . d ' arya ptam
u.s uryo ana s army 1s ma equate to fight with the Pa.Qgavas. co mea n

,~, €£"---:t:f ,r,,;,1,1,1;(~t,;,·1,1,1:,ri~1,~,~1,1;,":t1-1,.•"'~'ft,. ,,._"",,.,.l,'",. ,,,~~ -$

lt,/ ~ ~-•t /~ ..._
--- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- ---h_lt
"- >1 ~ ,._ '->1 ~ '4.-: '--"/~ ~- ....." 1 ~-....:
. ._ ,/'2!
--- 1~-..__II / .. . _. 11 1:...1 II 1t•l• •t•1• 1t•l I~
-~--=-:-...::::,--1~'«..c-- -- --
1 1 1
.___,/ ~'-4._ '->/ ~ ~ "-" / ~ ~ ...;;
-- -- ---
;;:qf,".i",J~f••;f;jfit'S,if¢t';'""ff,~
111 ~' f f_yW,,.;l ...
~~ !:,.:.-~-_;----------------
~' -, .7 ~~ '-«J ,_, ;~' -.,. .; ._.. ,~
1. Ob se rvi ng th e Ar mi es
-------------■
12 -1 9: BL OW IN G OF CO NC H SH
ELLS (S IG NS O f VI CT
OR Y O f TH E p All:-lt;>A VAS)
12-13. Th en Bh i~ m ad ev
a b le w hi s co nc hs he ll
of a lion, giv in g D ur yo lo ud ly , m ak in g a so un
dh an a joy. Th er ea fte r, d lik e th e ro ar
crumpets an d ho rn s we re th e co nc hs he lls , dr um
a'.ll so un de d, an d th e co s, bu gl es ,
(l Bhi~madeva's nuan ced
predic~ion : Bhisma, Wi
m bi ne d so un d w as tu m
ul tu ou s .
conchshell, informing his th ou t sa yin g a w or d,
depresse d gran dson Du ry bl ew the
victory, because the Suprem od hana chat he ha d no
e Lord Kr sn a was on th ch an ce of
duty to conduct the fight , e ot he r sid e.• Bu t still, it w as his
an d no pa ins wo ul d be sp
14. Lo rd Kn l). a an d A rj ar ed in thitt co nn ec tio n.
un a, sta tio ne d on a gr
e: it ch ar io t dr aw n by
so un de d th eir tra ns ce nd en w hi te ho rs es ,
ta l co nc hs he lls (d iv ya u
sa tik ha u) .
tatal:z, sv et ai r ha ya ir yu kt
e m ah at i sy an da ne st hi
madhaval:z, pa,:uj,avas ca iv ta u
a di vy au sa nk ha u pr ad
15-16. Na m es of th e co nc ad hm at uh
hs he lls bl ow n by Va rio us
pe rs on al iti es : .
Personality Conchshell
1 Hr~Ikesa (Lord Kn r:ia) Pa fic aja ny a
2 Dhanafijaya (Arjuna) De va da tta
3 Vr ko da ra (Bhima) Pa ur:ic;lra
4 Yudhi~thira An an ta -v ija ya '
5 Na ku la Su gh o~a
6 Sahadeva Mar:iipu~paka
( (l Kr ~i:ta
· . is called Hr. sik
a11 1,vm g entities in. teresms
a ' be ca us e H e is
of their surre. nd
t h e ow ne r of all
transcendental senses of Ar er H . h senses. H e di re cts
juna. . ere m t e ba ttl e, H e di th e se ns es of
re ctly co nt ro ls th e
Ar
whjun
en ait isw called Dh
.
as req mr edanbyan-1a. ya, be ca us e he
Bh· . the kin g to co nd uche lpe d his eld er b
t dif fe .
. . ro th er m fe t ch in g w ea lth
ima is called Vrkoda rent sacnf1ces
herculean tasks, su ch as ra, be ca us e he co ul d .
17-18 0t h killing the de mo n H"d· eab
l'k t as vo ra cio us ly as h e
1. 1m a . co ul d f
. er s i e Ka sir aja , Si kh
sons of Dr au an di Dh pe r or m
r? .' S - · pa di an d Ab h'im
~ .. ' rs ta dy um .
an yu , all na ,
bl ew th ei r re sp ec t'V iri ita
an1aya informed Dh
- . ' Sacya k i, D ru pa da
th e
and further b s
whole Ku t
ru
. rtaraHra very tactfully
peakmg the next verse) th
deceive the Pii.nn;sty would at
(by the
the signs
ive co nc hs he lls
wo r " .
alr e '!; .
,
~• vy au §aitkhau" in 1 14

-,~=----- Dhrtarii.s\ra, be ~; :;: ~ wasn

it'!,:-;'(.c"M,-4 ;; -. :- --
' be killed in th at great ba
t very !audible. Th e whole
e encouraged the policy follo
ttl a y c ea_riy in di ca te d th
:~ tan d his un law fu l polic
wed by h~ str op he wa s d
at die
y to
u e to Kin g
.......... . ,, IJ•J• -- -
1~~ J•..J.r.~•,J
' "H ,-; \'"'"M,- ~=------- is so ns .
' ~-: _2 ~ ~ ~ '-c~ ~ 1
l~Jttfl}!f4l ~~2Nl~t~l♦.
 Gitc1 Suboclhini

19. Ku rus' hearts shattered: The blowing of variou s conch shells became uproa rious.
Vibrating both in the sky and on th e earth, it shattered the hearts of the sons of
DhrtaraHra.
Pandavas' confidence in Krsna: T he sound of the conches of Bhi~ma and others on
Du~~odhana' s side did not c~ ~~e any heart-breaking for the Pai:idavas. One who takes
shelter of Lord Kr~i:ia has nothing to fear, even in the midst of the greatest calamity.

[ 20-27: ARJUNA OBSERVES THE ARMIES

l
20. Arjuna took up his bow and prepared to shoot arrows, after looking at the sons
of Dhrtaragra drawn in military array. The battle was about to begin. Arjuna, with
Hanuman's insignia on his flag (kapi-dhvaja ~), then spoke to Lord Kr~i:ia:
The emblem of Hanuman is another sign of victory for Arjuna, because H anuman
helped Lord Rama to be victorious over Ravai:ia. Lord Kr~i:ia is Rama Himself, and thus
His eternal servitor Hanuman and H is eternal consort Sita (goddess of fortune), were
also present with Arjuna now.
21-23. Arjuna said to KHi:ia, "O infallible one (acyuta), please draw my chariot
between the two armies so that I may see those present here, who desire to fight,
wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhrtaragra , and with whom I must fight."
Kr~i:ia is called Acyuta, because H e never fails in H is affection for His devotees and
takes pleasure in serving them. H ere, as a charioteer, He carried out Arjuna's orders
without hesitation. Yet, in all circumstance s·, His supreme position remains intact.
Arjuna had no desire to fight with his cousins, because he is a pure devotee. But he
was forced by the obstinacy of Duryodhana, who was never agreeable to any peaceful
negotiation. Arjuna wanted to m~ke an estimate of the strength which he had to face.
24-25. Lord Hr~ikefa theri drew the chariot between the two armies, at the request
of Gu9akesa (Arjuna). In the presence of Bhi~ma, Droi:ia and all the other chieftains,
the Lord said, "Just behold, Partha, all the Kurus assembled here."
Arjuna is called Gu4akesa, beeause he conquered sleep (gucj,aka means sleep). Sleep
also means ignorance. So Arjuna conquered both sleep and ignorance because of his
absorption in the remembrance of the beauty and qualities of his close friend, Kr~i:ia.
Kr~i:ia is called HHikesa, because He could understand the mind of Arjuna. Although
He is the controller of everyone's senses, He is now controlled by Arjuna's words.
KHQa called Arjuna as Partha, because he is the son of Prtha, or Kunti, the sister : · '.
His father Vasudeva. As a friend, He had agreed to be Arjuna's charioteer, but now !.
saying "Behold the Kurus", He predicted Arjuna's mind of giving up fighting in jokifl'
-; _27 _ Arjuna sees all kinds of relatives
6
- 1 p_itf11 Fathers Bhuri srava ,

- 11 pitamah an Grandfa thers BhI~ma, Somada tta

- ;;; dcdrydn Teachers Dro1;aca rya, Krpacar ya

mdtulan Materna l uncles Salya, Sakuni

iv
bhratfn Brothers Duryodh ana, Vikarna and others
V

ll l putrdn Sons Lak~mai:ia kumara and others

V lt pautrdn Grandso ns Sons of Lak ~m ai:ia

.. . Asvattha ma
Vtlt sakhims Friends
lX svasurdn Fathers-in-law Drupada

X suhrdas Well-wis hers Krtavarm a (this word best applies to Kr~i:ia)

Seeing all the above categories of people, Arjuna was overwhe lmed by compassion and spoke.
(This compassion is the first reason due to which Arjuna didn't want to fight).

KHi;ta has put Arjuna under illusion. Being the merciful Lord of all beings, Kr~i:ia
desired to deliver the universe through instructi ons to H is dear associate Arjuna. He
thus made Arjuna feel that his duty to fight was against religious principle s, through a
distortion of the philosop hy of non-violence mention ed in the sruti scripture s.

_A
-4_6_:_A_R_JU_N
2_8_
[__ _ ___ __ _'_s_R_EA _o_r _r_o_F_,c
_s_N
_s_o_N T_ _ _ _ _ ___,,]
_ H_

~~ In this section, Arjuna presents four reasons not to fight in the battle. In the next
chapter, he becomes indecisive whether to fight or not (See 2.6) . Kr~i:ia addresse s these
concerns and confusio ns of Arjuna in the later chapters as shown below.

Why Arjuna didn't want to fight? - Kr~9a addresses them in

l Compassion for frie nds and relatives (1. 28-30) 2.11-30
tt No enjoyment even if victoriou s (1.31-35) 2.31-37 !
~

iii Fear of sinful reaction s (1.36-38) 2.33, 38-53

I

iv Destructi on of family tradition s (1.39-43 ) 2.45-46, 3.24

I

V Indecision (2.6) 2.41

 Git a Subodhini

mp tom s
. f I fv es an d th e re su lta nt bo dil y sy.
rea son Compassion or re a ' . g my fri en ds an d .rel. ati ve s
28 -30 : First
1a My de ar Kr$
.r:ta, see m
dr~ rue ,na dr sva -ja11mi1 kr~ t a fig hti ng sp 1n t,
pre sen t be for e me in su ch
yu yu tsu 1i1 sam up ast hit am qu ive rin g,
(i) the limbs of my bo dy are
slda,rti ma ma gdtrd ~zi
(ii) my mo uth is dry ing up ,
11wkha1i1 ca pa ris u$yati
(iii) my wh ole bo dy is tre mb
lin g,
vep atlr us ca sar ire m e
en d,
(iv) my hairs are sta nd ing on
ro1na- ha r$ai ca ;ay ate
(v) my Ga.r:ic;iiva bo w is sli pp
ing fro m my ha nd ,
ga~rcjiva, h srmirsate hastd t
(vi) my skin is bu rni ng .
tva k cai va pa rid ah ya te
(vii) I am un ab le to stand he
re an y lon ge r.
na ca sak no my av ast ha tum
(viii) I am for ge ttin g myself,
an d my mi nd is ree lin g.
bhrama.t iva ca me ma na b
(ix) I see on ly causes of mi sfo
rtu ne an d op po sit e
11imit tdn i ca pa syd mi
Kesi de mo n.
viparitcin i kes ava results, 0 Kr$.r:ta, killer of the

pas sio nat e to his ow n sol die rs an d even for the soldiers of the
Arjuna felt com ed ne ss, a
~' for ese ein g the ir im mi nen t dea th. This is due to his sof the art
opposite party,
characteristic of a pure devotee.
wh ich is to
nce of his real sel f-i nte res t,
I ~ By_ KH1:1a 's wil l,
rem
Ar
e
jun
Lo
a
rd.
is sho
Th us
wi ng
he
ign
dis
ora
pla yed impatience an d we ak ne
ss of mi nd .
satisfy. the Sup t, fea r an d
me nt for ma ter ial things pu ts a ma n in such be wi lde rm en h
Excessive attach s on ly fru str ·
ati on in h · ex pe cta tio e
ilibrium. Wh en one see ns ,
loss of mental equ I h ~,, A • . to be a ca
IS
f 1 .
thinks "Wh ya m ere.
' rJuna considered his victory use o am en tat 1o n.
y
eeing no enjoyment in vic tor
31 -35 : Second reason - Fores
3 1. No des ire for kingdom
Id
na ca sre yo 'nu pasycim i o no t see ho w an y go od ca n co
me
hitva sva -ja na m cihave from killing m k.
y ow n ms me n in thi s ba
ttl e
na kdnk~e vijayam kr~,:za .
-· nor can I, my de ar Kr. ~.r:ia, d es1 r e an y vic tor y
na ca ra1yam sukhan i ca
k. d '
. mg om , or ha pp ine ss .
[ ~t No mterest in kin do
CT.
even the ca u g m: ~ ttracted to bodil y r elat1onsh1ps .
ses of matenaJ h me . '. som eti me s pe op le for get
. app ss. tr .
A ksa tya req u r .
subsis ten.ce, and as k a A · , · 1 es a km gd o f h.
• fighting . h h.
ries m a $atrry .
, f)una s sole op po rtu nit y fo I . . m or J.1 S
H
is cousins
t -.:.
wu
. r rec a1mmg the kin gd c-n
owever, Arjuna lost . ere
,~ -: -; -- -- -
,~;·.;- lllt st i n figh tm
.
g, jus t a a
rr.•, ' t' i ''-'",. .",ti,~•t-:.--; ----
~r~~~,,~~A--~---
?~--- ;_11
t•,,-~ •J;.t, ~i 1'-
~ ~- .,._ ."" '/., .-. ..I. _ .'I- ✓--~
-------= --- ~. ::_ -~ ~- -... . '" ',-411•1 t~1, 1~'-~ ~,,.'ItJ~•t.~1-:-1 -;-
"J.J,.. . , . ......
• . ... •"• l
- -- - - - - - . . . . . _
, , , .... ,....~ ~ , ,
-- -
. . . . .,.. ,

n i ...~~ ~- :: ;- -- -- -
1

t.,,~ n, ,..,.~~·~
1 ,t
-- -!- ;:_ ~~ ~" --1 ~,~ i.1 l• I• J, t"'..
-- -- ~~ '-"'"'ll-- ~-.~II~ ~ ,l ! . I .I •t•J• ~
1

~ -- ~ - : - ' , ,./ (!,_t ~ ~

 1. Observin g th e Armies

person w h o has lost inte rest in · food has no inte rest. in cook ing. Inst ead , Arju na
cons iders living in the fore st as mor e com men
dabl e for him .
G-£) Arjuna now relates the reason for his disin tere
st in the king dom and vict ory.
32-35. No plea sure wit hou t rela tive s: 0 Gov
inda , wha t is the use of a king dom ,
happiness or life1, whe n thos e for who m we
desi re the ~ - teac~er~, fath ers, son s,
grandfathers, uncles and othe r relatives - are
read y to give ~p thei r lives and ~ea lth
in the battle? Wh y sho uld I wis h to kill them ,
even if they kill me? 0 Ma dhu sud ana ,
I can' t fight with them even in exc han ge for the
thre e worlds2, let alon e this eart h. 0
Janardana, wha t pleasure will we derive from
killing the son s of Dhr tara ~tra ?
Kr~Q.a is called Govinda because He kno ws (vin
dati ) the func tion s of ever yon e's sens es
(go). Arjuna called l(r~Q.a as Gov inda , expe ctin
g Kr~I_la to und erst and his min d.
Everyone wants to show his opu lenc e to frien
ds and relatives, but Arju na fear s that if
all his relatives are killed, he will be unab le to
shar e his opu lenc e afte r vict ory.
Arjuna called l(r~I_J.a Janardana, because if they
are to be killed, then Kr~I_la, who
descended to relieve the eart h of its burd en,
shou ld kill them . And Kr~1,1.a, bein g the
Supreme Lord need not suffer the effects of sin
in killing them also.
Kfg1a had already killed them before thei r com
ing into the batt lefie ld and Arju na was
only an instrument for Kr~I_la. A devotee does
n't reta liate agai nst the wro ngd oer, but
the Lord does not tolerate any mischief done to
the devo tee by the misc rean ts.
36-3 8: Third reason - Fear of sinful reac
tions
36. If we slay such agg ress ors (iita tiiyi naM ,
sin will ove rcom e us. Wh at sho uld we
gain, 0 Madhava, and how could we be hap py
by killing our own kins men ?
~' Si~ kinds of aggressors: One who - (1) gives
poison, (2) sets fire to hous e, (3) atta cks
with_weapons, (4) plunders riches, (5) occupies
land, and (6) kidn aps wife. The y shou ld
be killed at once, and there is no sin in doing so
(Ma nu Smr ti 8.350).
Artha-sastra Vs. Dharma-sastra: The above
· l )· · • state men t of arth a sdst ra (poI ·t· d
socio ogy is mfe nor to, that ~f dharma_ s~stra
(religion and saintly beha viou r)i ,1cs an
whi ch
says that one shouldn t afflict any hvmg entit
h. · . y. Thu s killi ng Bh- d h
wors 1pabie people is .
certamly sm. i~ma an ot er
After a II , k . So, Arjuna wan ted to be saintly and f ·
mgdoms are not permanent. h
orgi ve t em ·

1
This show s A · , l .
2 . riuna s contro over his sens es and mind (sam a
This shows A · , · d'ff and dam a).
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this life and the next (upa rati).
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 Gita Subodhini

Arjuna called Kr~r:ta as Madha va, the husban d (dhava) of Lak~mi (ma), the goddess
of
fortune , because He wanted Him not to instigate a war that brings misfort une (Kr~Q.a,
however never brings misfort une to anyone, to say nothing of His devotees).

G-9 Although it's the obligation of a k~atriya not to refuse to battle or gamble when he is so
challenged by some rival party, Arjuna considered it better not to accept it.
37-38. These greedy men see no fault (do$am ) in killing the family (kula-k
$aya) or
quarrel ing with friends (mitra- droha) , as their hearts are overta ken by
greed
(/obhop ahata-c etasa/:z ). But, 0 Janard ana, why should we, who can see the
crime in
destroy ing a family, engage in these acts of sin (pataka m)?
( /;,' Obliga~ion is a_ctu~lly binding when the effect is good, but not when the
effect is
otherwise. Cons1denng all these pros and cons, Arjuna decided not to fight.

39-43 : Fourth reason - Harmf ul effects of destroying the family

kula-k~aya: Destruction of the dynasty

prar:iasyanti kula-dharmat): Family traditions stop

V
, adhafmc;> abhibhavaty: lrr,eli&io.n increases

pradu~yanti kula-striyat): Women become polluted

varr:ia-sankara: U11w9nted "progeny by mixture of castes

' ' \, .

naraka: Hellish life for patanti pitaro: utsadyante jati-dharma~ 1

those who destroy the Forefathers fall down, kula-dharmah: I

family and family deprived of piQ<;ia Commu nity projects and I
offerings of food and family welfare activities \
traditions.
water. are destroyed .

Elders in a family in the van;ias rama system are responsible for the right conduct
;f
younge r f~mily membe rs. But upon their death, family traditio ns may stop, and orh 5
develop irreligio us habits and thereby lose their chance for spiritua l salvation.
Chaste women engage d in differen t family traditio ns of religious activities will ,
birth to a good populat ion, which is the basis of peace, prosper ity and spiritual prop
in human society.
 For~fathers, som_eti~n es ma y suf
-============:]-
f~r fro m som e sin ful reactions or
bodies, bu t rem am m sub tle bod ma y not acq uir e gro ss
ies . Wh en their des cen dan ts off
(re m nan ts of foo d off ere d to Vi~ er the m · vi$,:zu -prasada
l).u), the y are del ive red fro m sin ful
sim ply by per for mi ng dev oti ona rea ctio ns. Ho we ver
l ser vic e un to the Su pre me Lo
tho usa nd s of for efa the rs fro m all rd, one can delive r'
kin ds of mi ser y.
Mi xtu re of cas tes res ult s in ma
ny fau lts tha t des tro y bo th the pri
k$a triy a (ja ti dha nn a ) and the nciples of cas tes like
pri nciples of par ticu lar familie s
are des ign ed for the ultim ate sal (kula- dha rm a), wh ich
vation of a hu ma n being. Irr esp
b rea k thi s tra dit ion bri ng abo ut ons ible lea ders wh o
cha os in tha t soc iety .
44 . Al as, ho w str an ge it is tha
t we are pre pa rin g to co mm it
(mahat pd pa m) . Dr ive n by the gre atl y sin ful act s
des ire for roy al en joy me nt (rd jya
are int en t on kil lin g ou r ow n kin -su kha -lo bh en a), we
sm en.
G-e> Even if Ar jun a is dis inc lin ed to fig
ht, the opp osi te par ty is inc lin ed
Bu t Ar jun a prefer s to die in the to fig ht and kill him .
ir han ds wi tho ut opp osi tio n, con sid eri ng
(prdyascitta) for the sin of thi nki it as ato nem ent
ng of killing relatives.
45 . Be tte r for me if the son s
of Dh rta ra~ tra , we ap on s in ha
un arm ed (asastram) an d un res ist nd , we re to kill me
ing (ap rat ika ram ) on the bat tle fie
ld.
46 . Sa yin g thi s, Ar jun a cas t asi
de his bo w an d arr ow s an d sat
his mi nd ov erw he lm ed wi th gri ef. do wn on the ch ari ot,
Qu ali fic ati on for enl igh ten me nt:
~' like Ar jun a, is fit to receive sel
Suc h a kin d, sof t-h ear ted and non
-vi ole nt per son
f-k now led ge, by inq uir ing abo ut
one wh o is cru el and vio len t. dtm d (so ul), and no t

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