Arjuna's Dilemma

Dhritarashtra said, "What did my people and the sons of Pandu do when they had assembled together, eager for battle, on the holy plain of Kurukshetra, O Sanjaya?"

Dharmakshetra -- that place which protects Dharma is Dharmakshetra. Because it was in the land of the Kurus, it was called Kurukshetra.Sanjaya is one who has conered likes and dislikes and who is impartial.

Sanjaya said: Having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn up in battle array, King Duryodhana approached his teacher, Drona, and spoke these words.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra was blind from birth. Unfortunately, he was also bereft of spiritual vision. He knew very well that his sons were equally blind in the matter of religion, and he was sure that they could never reach an…

Behold, O Teacher! This mighty army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed by the son of Drupada, thy wise disciple.

Duryodhana, a great diplomat, wanted to point out the defects of Droṇācārya, the great brāhmaṇa commander in chief. Droṇācārya had some political quarrel with King Drupada, the father of Draupadī, who was Arjuna’s wife.…

Here are heroes, mighty archers, equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna, Yuyudhana (Satyaki), Virata, and Drupada—all mighty warriors.

Technically, maharatha means a warrior who is proficient in the science of war and who is able to fight alone with ten thousand archers.

Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, the valiant king of Kasi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Saibya—the best of men.

The strong Yudhamanyu and the brave Uttamaujas, the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra and Arjuna), and the sons of Draupadi, all of them great charioteers (great heroes)."

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 you for your information.

"Thou thyself, Bhishma, Karna, Kripa, the victorious in war, Asvatthama, Vikarna, and Bhurisrava, the son of Somadatta—all these are ready for battle."

Duryodhana mentions the exceptional heroes in the battle, all of whom are ever victorious. Vikarṇa is the brother of Duryodhana, Aśvatthāmā is the son of Droṇācārya, and Saumadatti, or Bhūriśravā, is the son of the King…

And also many other heroes, ready to give up their lives for my sake, armed with various weapons and missiles, all well-skilled in battle.

As far as the others are concerned – like Jayadratha, Kṛtavarmā and Śalya – all are determined to lay down their lives for Duryodhana’s sake. In other words, it is already concluded that all of them would die in the…

Our army, marshalled by Bhishma, is insufficient, whereas theirs, marshalled by Bhima, is sufficient.

The verse is differently interpreted by different commentators. Sridhara Swami takes the word aparyaptam to mean insufficient. Ananda Giri takes it to mean unlimited.

Therefore, do all of you, stationed in your respective positions in the several divisions of the army, protect Bhishma alone.

Duryodhana, after praising the prowess of Bhīṣma, further considered that others might think that they had been considered less important, so in his usual diplomatic way, he tried to adjust the situation in the above…

His glorious grandsire, the oldest of the Kauravas, roared like a lion to cheer Duryodhana and blew his conch.

The grandsire of the Kuru dynasty could understand the inner meaning of the heart of his grandson Duryodhana, and out of his natural compassion for him he tried to cheer him by blowing his conchshell very loudly,…

Then, suddenly, conches, kettledrums, tabors, drums, and cow horns blared forth from the Kaurava side, and the sound was tremendous.

Then, Madhava (Krishna) and the son of Pandu (Arjuna), seated in the magnificent chariot yoked with white horses, blew divine conches.

In contrast with the conchshell blown by Bhīṣmadeva, the conchshells in the hands of Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are described as transcendental. The sounding of the transcendental conchshells indicated that there was no hope of…

Hrishikesha blew the Panchajanya, Arjuna blew the Devadatta, and Bhima, the wolf-bellied doer of terrible deeds, blew the great conch Paundra.

Lord Kṛṣṇa is referred to as Hṛṣīkeśa in this verse because He is the owner of all senses. The living entities are part and parcel of Him, and therefore the senses of the living entities are also part and parcel of His…

King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya; Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosha and the Manipushpaka.

Sañjaya informed King Dhṛtarāṣṭra very tactfully that his unwise policy of deceiving the sons of Pāṇḍu and endeavoring to enthrone his own sons on the seat of the kingdom was not very laudable. The signs already clearly…

The king of Kasi, an excellent archer, Sikhandi, the mighty car-warrior, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, and Satyaki, the unconquered.

Sañjaya informed King Dhṛtarāṣṭra very tactfully that his unwise policy of deceiving the sons of Pāṇḍu and endeavoring to enthrone his own sons on the seat of the kingdom was not very laudable. The signs already clearly…

Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, O Lord of the Earth, and the son of Subhadra, the mighty-armed, blew their conches each separately.

This blowing of conches announced the commencement of the battle.

The tumultuous sound rent the hearts of Dhritarashtra's party, reverberating through both heaven and earth.

When Bhīṣma and the others on the side of Duryodhana blew their respective conchshells, there was no heart-breaking on the part of the Pāṇḍavas. Such occurrences are not mentioned, but in this particular verse it is…

Then, seeing the people of Dhritarashtra's party standing arrayed and the discharge of weapons about to begin, Arjuna, the son of Pandu whose ensign was a monkey, took up his bow and said the following to Krishna, O Lord of the Earth.

The battle was just about to begin. It is understood from the above statement that the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra were more or less disheartened by the unexpected arrangement of military force by the Pāṇḍavas, who were guided…

Arjuna said, "O Krishna, place my chariot in the middle between the two armies, so that I may behold those who stand here, desirous to fight, and know with whom I must fight when the battle is about to commence."

Although Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, out of His causeless mercy He was engaged in the service of His friend. He never fails in His affection for His devotees, and thus He is addressed herein as…

Arjuna said, "O Krishna, place my chariot in the middle between the two armies, so that I may behold those who stand here, desirous to fight, and know with whom I must fight when the battle is about to commence."

Although Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, out of His causeless mercy He was engaged in the service of His friend. He never fails in His affection for His devotees, and thus He is addressed herein as…

For I desire to observe those who are assembled here to fight, wishing to please in battle the evil-minded Duryodhana—the son of Dhritarashtra.

It was an open secret that Duryodhana wanted to usurp the kingdom of the Pāṇḍavas by evil plans, in collaboration with his father, Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Therefore, all persons who had joined the side of Duryodhana must have been…

Sanjaya said, Thus addressed by Arjuna, Krishna stationed the best of chariots, O Dhritarashtra, in the midst of the two armies.

In this verse Arjuna is referred to as Guḍākeśa. Guḍākā means sleep, and one who conquers sleep is called guḍākeśa. Sleep also means ignorance. So Arjuna conquered both sleep and ignorance because of his friendship with…

In front of Bhishma and Drona, and all the rulers of the earth, he said: "O Arjuna, son of Pritha, behold these Kurus gathered together."

As the Supersoul of all living entities, Lord Kṛṣṇa could understand what was going on in the mind of Arjuna. The use of the word Hṛṣīkeśa in this connection indicates that He knew everything. And the word Pārtha,…

Then, Arjuna (son of Pritha) saw there (in the armies) stationed fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and friends.

On the battlefield Arjuna could see all kinds of relatives. He could see persons like Bhūriśravā, who were his father’s contemporaries, grandfathers Bhīṣma and Somadatta, teachers like Droṇācārya and Kṛpācārya, maternal…

He saw fathers-in-law and friends in both the armies. The son of Kunti, Arjuna, seeing all those kinsmen thus standing arrayed, spoke sorrowfully, deeply filled with pity.

Arjuna said, "O Krishna, seeing my kinsmen arrayed here, eager to fight,

Any man who has genuine devotion to the Lord has all the good qualities which are found in godly persons or in the demigods, whereas the nondevotee, however advanced he may be in material qualifications by education and…

My limbs fail, my mouth is parched, my body quivers, and my hair stands on end.

There are two kinds of trembling of the body, and two kinds of standings of the hair on end. Such phenomena occur either in great spiritual ecstasy or out of great fear under material conditions. There is no fear in…

The Gandiva slips from my hand, and my skin burns all over; I am unable to stand, and my mind is reeling, as it were.

Due to his impatience, Arjuna was unable to stay on the battlefield, and he was forgetting himself on account of this weakness of his mind. Excessive attachment for material things puts a man in such a bewildering…

And I see ill omens, O Kesava. I do not see any good in slaying my kinsmen in battle.

Kesava means he who has fine or luxuriant hair.

I desire not victory, O Krishna, nor kingdom, nor pleasures. What use is dominion to us, O Krishna, or pleasures or even life?

Arjuna has addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa as Govinda because Kṛṣṇa is the object of all pleasures for cows and the senses. By using this significant word, Arjuna indicates that Kṛṣṇa should understand what will satisfy Arjuna’s…

Those for whose sake we desire kingdom, enjoyments, and pleasures stand here in battle, having renounced life and wealth.

Arjuna has addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa as Govinda because Kṛṣṇa is the object of all pleasures for cows and the senses. By using this significant word, Arjuna indicates that Kṛṣṇa should understand what will satisfy Arjuna’s…

Teachers, fathers, sons, and grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other relatives—

Arjuna has addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa as Govinda because Kṛṣṇa is the object of all pleasures for cows and the senses. By using this significant word, Arjuna indicates that Kṛṣṇa should understand what will satisfy Arjuna’s…

These I do not wish to kill, O Krishna, even though they kill me, for the sake of dominion over the three worlds; leave alone killing them for the sake of the earth."

Arjuna has addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa as Govinda because Kṛṣṇa is the object of all pleasures for cows and the senses. By using this significant word, Arjuna indicates that Kṛṣṇa should understand what will satisfy Arjuna’s…

By killing these sons of Dhritarashtra, what pleasure could be ours, O Janardana? Only sin would accrue to us from killing these felons.

Janardana means one who is worshipped by all for prosperity and salvation -- Krishna.He who sets fire to the house of another, who gives poision, who runs with sword to kill, who has plundered wealth and lands, and who…

Therefore, we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our relatives; for how can we be happy by killing our own kin, O Madhava (Krishna)?

A kṣatriya is not supposed to refuse to battle or gamble when he is so invited by some rival party. Under such an obligation, Arjuna could not refuse to fight, because he had been challenged by the party of Duryodhana.…

Though they, with intelligence overpowered by greed, see no evil in the destruction of families and no sin in hostility to friends,

A kṣatriya is not supposed to refuse to battle or gamble when he is so invited by some rival party. Under such an obligation, Arjuna could not refuse to fight, because he had been challenged by the party of Duryodhana.…

Why should we not, who clearly see the evil in the destruction of families, learn to turn away from this sin, O Janardana (Krishna)?

Ignorance of law is no excuse but wanton sinful conduct is a grave crime, unworthy of us, who are wiser.

In the destruction of a family, the immemorial religious rites of that family perish; on the destruction of spirituality, impiety indeed, overwhelms the whole family.

Dharma -- the duties and ceremonies practised by the family in accordance with the injunctions of the scriptures.

O Krishna, by the prevalence of impiety, the women of the family become corrupt; and, when women are corrupted, O Varshenya (descendant of Vrishni), intermingling of castes arises.

According to the rules and regulations of fruitive activities, there is a need to offer periodical food and water to the forefathers of the family. This offering is performed by worship of Viṣṇu, because eating the…

Confusion of castes leads to hell for the slayers of the family, for their forebears fall, deprived of the offerings of rice-balls and libations of water.

Community projects for the four orders of human society, combined with family welfare activities, as they are set forth by the institution of sanātana-dharma, or varṇāśrama-dharma, are designed to enable the human being…

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.

Arjuna bases his argument not on his own personal experience, but on what he has heard from the authorities. That is the way of receiving real knowledge. One cannot reach the real point of factual knowledge without being…

We have heard, O Janardana, that those men in whose families the religious practices have been destroyed are inevitably destined to dwell in hell for an unknown period.

Driven by selfish motives, one may be inclined to such sinful acts as the killing of one’s own brother, father or mother. There are many such instances in the history of the world. But Arjuna, being a saintly devotee of…

Alas! We are involved in a great sin, for we are prepared to kill our kinsmen, out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom.

It is the custom – according to kṣatriya fighting principles – that an unarmed and unwilling foe should not be attacked. Arjuna, however, decided that even if attacked by the enemy in such an awkward position, he would…

If the sons of Dhritarashtra, with weapons in hand, should slay me in battle, unresisting and unarmed, that would be better for me.

While observing the situation of his enemy, Arjuna stood up on the chariot, but he was so afflicted with lamentation that he sat down again, setting aside his bow and arrows. Such a kind and soft-hearted person, in the…

Sanjaya said, Having thus spoken in the midst of the battlefield, Arjuna cast away his bow and arrow and, his mind overwhelmed with sorrow, sat down on the seat of the chariot.