Important points of the Discourse
- Description of the warriors of the two armies. (1-11)
- Conch sounds of the two armies. (12-19)
- Arjuna surveys the armies. (20-27)
- The despondency of Arjuna. (28-47)
Verses 1 to 47
- Dhritarashtra said: Having assembled on the holy plain in Kurukshetra desirous of fighting the battle, what did my people and the Pandavas do? O Sanjaya! (1.1)
- Sanjaya said: On seeing the Pāndava army arrayed for battle, King Duryodhana went to his teacher and spoke these words: (1.2)
- O teacher, behold the great army of the sons of Pāndu arrayed by your talented disciple, the son of Drupada. (1.3)
- In that army are mighty archers and heroes, in battle equal to Bhima and Arjuna: Yuyudhāna, Virāta, and Drupada, each a mahāratha; Heroic Dhrishtaketu, Chekitāna, and the king of Kāśi; Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Śaivya, all the best of men; Powerful Yudhāmanyu, brave Uttamaujā, Subhadrā’s son, and the sons of Draupadi— all mahārathas indeed. (1.4-1.6)
- O best of the twice-born, let me also recount to you the leaders of my own army, those distinguished amongst ourselves. I shall name them, that you may know them all: (1.7)
- Yourself and Bhishma and Karna; Kripa, who is ever victorious in war; Aśvatthāmā, Vikarna, Jayadratha, and Somadatta’s son; And many other heroes besides, armed with many weapons, each well skilled in battle, and all resolved to lay down their lives to serve my cause. (1.8-1.9)
- But this army of ours, protected by Bhishma, is unlimited, and that army of theirs, protected by Bhima, is limited. (1.10)
- Now take your proper places in front of your marshalled troops and protect Bhishma alone. (1.11)
- Bhishma the grandsire, the glorious, the oldest of the Kurus, gave forth a lion-roar and blew his conch, causing joy to Duryodhana. (1.12)
- Then conchs and kettle-drums, tabors and trumpets and cow-horns suddenly blared forth; and the sound was stupendous. (1.13)
- Whereupon Mādhava and Pāndava, seated in their magnificent chariot yoked to white horses, also blew their celestial conchs. (1.14)
- Hrishikeśa blew His conch, the Pānchajanya; Dhananjaya, the Devadatta; and Vrikodara, the doer of fearful deeds, blew his great conch, the Paundra. King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conch, the Anantavijaya; and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosha and the Manipushpaka. The great archer, the king of Kāśi; the great warrior Śikhandi; Dhristadyumna and Virāta; the unconquered Sātyaki; Drupada, and the sons of Draupadi, and the mighty son of Subhadrā, O Lord of the Earth, each blew his own conch. (1.15-1.18)
- And that tumult, resounding through heaven and earth, rent the hearts of Dhritarāshtra’s followers. (1.19)
- O King! Now seeing the Kauravas arrayed in battle order and the discharge of weapons about to begin, Arjuna took up his bow and spoke these words to Lord Krishna. (1.20)
- Arjuna said: O Achyuta, between the two armies draw up my chariot, that I may behold those who stand there eager to fight, and may know, on the eve of battle, with whom I must contend. (1.21-1.22)
- I would observe these warriors assembled here for the battle wishing to please the evil-minded Duryodhana. (1.23)
- Sanjaya said: Advised thus by Arjuna Lord Krishna placed the noble chariot in the middle of the two armies, and in front of Bhishma and Drona, and all the Kings, and said: ‘O Arjuna! Behold those Kauravas gathered here.’ (1.24-1.25)
- There Arjuna saw fathers, grand-fathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, companions, fathers-in-law, and friends in both the armies. (1.26)
- Casting his eyes on all these kinsmen stationed on opposing sides, the son of Kunti was overcome with deep pity and sorrowfully spoke. (1.27)
- Arjuna said: O Krishna, at the sight of these my kinsmen, assembled here eager to give battle, my limbs fail and my mouth is parched. My body is shaken and my hair stands on end. The bow Gāndiva slips from my hand and my skin is on fire. I cannot hold myself steady; my mind seems to whirl. O Keśava, I see omens of evil. (1.28-1.30)
- O Krishna! I see many ill-omens and I do not understand what good could come by killing my own people in battle. (1.31)
- O Krishna! I do not desire victory or kingdom or pleasures. Of what avail are these kingdom, enjoyment, or even life itself to us. (1.32)
- Those for whose sake we desire kingdom, enjoyments, and pleasures—teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in law, brothers-in-law, grandsons and other relations are all standing here ready for battle, having abandoned their wealth and very life even. (1.33-1.34)
- These, O Madhusudana, I would not kill, though they should kill me, even for the sake of sovereignty over the three worlds— how much less for this earth! (1.35)
- O Janārdana, what joy can be ours in killing these sons of Dhritarāshtra? Sin alone will possess us if we kill these felons. (1.36)
- Therefore we ought not to kill our kinsmen, the sons of Dhritarāshtra; for, O Mādhava, how can we ever be happy by killing our own people? (1.37)
- Though they, their understanding overcome by greed, perceive no evil in the decay of families and no sin in hostility to friends, why, O Janārdana, should not we, who clearly perceive the evil in the decay of families, learn to refrain from this sin? (1.38-1.39)
- With the decay of a family, perish its dharmas, which have existed from time out of mind. With the ending of the dharmas, adharma overwhelms the whole family. When adharma overwhelms the family, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt; and when, O Krishna, the women are corrupt, there arises a mixing of castes. This mixture leads into hell the family itself as well as those who destroy it; for their ancestors fall, deprived of the offerings of rice-balls and water. (1.40-1.42)
- By these evil deeds of the destroyers of families, which result in the mixing of castes, the eternal dharmas of caste and family are uprooted. We have heard it said, O Janārdana, that inevitably the men whose family dharmas are destroyed dwell in hell. (1.43-1.44)
- Alas, we are resolved to commit a great sin, in that we are ready to slay our kinsmen to satisfy our greed for the pleasure of a kingdom! (1.45)
- Far better would it be for me if the sons of Dhritarāshtra, weapons in hand, should slay me in the battle, unarmed and unresisting. (1.46)
- Sanjaya said: Arjuna, having spoken thus on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrow and sank down on his chariot-seat, his mind overcome with grief. (1.47)