Bhagavad Gita

Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjaya, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do when they had assembled on the holy field of Kurukshetra, desiring to fight?

But then, King Duryodhana, having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn up in battle array, approached his teacher and spoke these words.

Behold, O teacher, this vast army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed by the son of Drupada, your intelligent disciple.

Here are the heroes, mighty archers, equal to Bhima and Arjuna in battle; Yuyudhana, Virata, and Drupada, the great chariot warriors.

Here are heroes, mighty archers, equal to Bhima and Arjuna in battle, Yuyudhana, Virata, and Drupada, the great chariot warriors.

Yudhamanyu, the mighty; Uttamauja, the heroic; Saubhadra (Abhimanyu, son of Subhadra); and the sons of Draupadi – all of them are great chariot warriors.

But, O best of the twice-born, hear also of the distinguished among our own, the leaders of my army, whom I shall name to you for your information.

You, Bhishma, Karna, Kripa, who is ever victorious in battle, Ashvatthama, Vikarna, and Saumadatti as well,

And there are many other heroes who are prepared to lay down their lives for my sake. All of them are well equipped with different kinds of weapons, and all are experienced in warfare.

Unlimited is this army of ours, protected by Bhishma; limited is that army of theirs, protected by Bhima.

Now, all of you, remaining in your respective positions in the various divisions of the army, must give full support to Grandfather Bhishma.

Then the mighty grandsire, the eldest of the Kurus, roaring like a lion, blew his conch loudly, giving joy to Duryodhana.

Then, conches and kettledrums, tabors, drums, and horns blared forth suddenly. That sound was tumultuous.

Then, situated in their magnificent chariot yoked with white horses, Krishna and Arjuna blew their divine conch shells.

Hrishikesha (Krishna) blew his conch, Panchajanya; Arjuna blew Devadatta; and Bhima, the doer of terrible deeds, blew his great conch, Paundra.

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

King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew the conch named Anantavijaya (Of Unending Victory); and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the conches named Sughosha (Of Beautiful Sound) and Manipushpaka (Jewel-Blossom), respectively.

Hrishikesha (Krishna) blew His conch Pāñcajanya; Dhananjaya (Arjuna) blew Devadatta; and Bhīma, of terrible deeds, blew the great conch Paundra.

That tumultuous sound, resounding through the sky and the earth, tore the hearts of the sons of Dhritarashtra.

Then, seeing the sons of Dhritarashtra arrayed, and with the weapons poised for discharge, Arjuna, whose banner bore the emblem of Hanuman, took up his bow.

Arjuna said: O Acyuta (Krishna), please place my chariot between the two armies.

Let me behold those who are arrayed here, eager to fight, with whom I must contend in this upcoming battle.

Let me observe those who are assembled here, eager to fight, with whom I must contend in this impending battle.

Sanjaya said: O descendant of Bharata (Dhritarashtra), thus addressed by Gudakesha (Arjuna), Hrishikesha (Krishna), having placed the excellent chariot between the two armies,

Sanjaya said: Thus addressed by Gudakesha (Arjuna), O Bharata (Dhritarashtra), Hrishikesha (Krishna), having placed the best of chariots between the two armies, (proceeded to speak).

There Pārtha (Arjuna) saw standing fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and also friends. He also saw fathers-in-law and well-wishers in both armies.

Seeing all those relatives present, the son of Kunti (Arjuna), overwhelmed by supreme compassion, spoke these words in sorrow.

Arjuna said: O Krishna, seeing these kinsmen present before me, eager to fight...

My limbs are failing, and my mouth is drying up. A tremor runs through my body, and my hair is standing on end.

My Gāṇḍīva bow is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning. I am also unable to stand steadily, and my mind seems to be reeling.

I do not foresee any good (welfare) by killing my own kinsmen in battle, O Krishna. I do not desire victory, nor kingdom, nor pleasures.

What use is a kingdom to us, O Govinda, or enjoyments, or even life itself? Those for whose sake we desire a kingdom, enjoyments, and happiness—they stand here in battle, ready to give up their lives and wealth.

Teachers, fathers, sons, and indeed grandfathers; maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other relatives as well.

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

Even if they kill me, O Madhusudana, I do not wish to kill them, even for the sovereignty of the three worlds, let alone for the sake of the earth.

By killing these sons of Dhritarashtra, what pleasure, O Janardana, can be ours? Only sin will accrue to us by slaying these aggressors.

Therefore, we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our own kinsmen. Indeed, O Madhava, how can we be happy by slaying our own people?

Although these (my kinsmen), whose minds are overpowered by greed, do not see the evil in destroying the family and the sin in betraying friends.

With the destruction of the family, the eternal family traditions (dharma) perish. When dharma perishes, unrighteousness (adharma) overtakes the entire family.

O Krishna, with the prevalence of unrighteousness, the women of the family become corrupt; and when women become corrupt, O Vārṣṇeya, there arises social chaos (confusion of social order).

This intermingling of social orders leads to hell for the destroyers of the family and for the family itself. Their ancestors, deprived of the offerings of rice-balls and water, also fall.

By these faults of the destroyers of the family, which create confusion of castes, the eternal family duties and community duties are destroyed.

O Janardana, we have heard through disciplic succession that those whose family traditions are destroyed perpetually dwell in hell.

By these faults of the destroyers of the family, which cause the intermixture of social classes, the eternal family duties and community duties are destroyed.

Alas, what a great sin are we intent upon committing, as we are prepared to kill our own kinsmen out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom!

Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus, Arjuna, with his mind overwhelmed by sorrow, sat down on the chariot seat, casting aside his bow and arrows.

Sanjaya said: Having thus spoken on the battlefield, Arjuna cast aside his bow and arrows, and sat down on the chariot seat, his mind overwhelmed with grief.

Sanjaya said: To him, Arjuna, who was thus overwhelmed by pity, with his eyes full of tears and distressed, Madhusudana spoke these words.

The Blessed Lord said: O Arjuna, from where has this impurity (dejection) come to you at this critical moment? It is not cherished by noble persons, it does not lead to heaven, and it is a cause of infamy.

O son of Pritha, do not yield to unmanliness; it does not become you. Cast off this petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of foes!

Arjuna said: How, O Madhusudana, can I fight with arrows in battle against Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship, O destroyer of enemies?

Indeed, it is better to live on alms in this world without killing these great and venerable gurus, than to enjoy pleasures stained with blood, after killing these teachers, even if they are desirous of material gain.

Nor do we know which is better for us: whether we should conquer them or they should conquer us. The sons of Dhritarashtra, whom if we kill, we would not wish to live, are standing before us.

My nature is afflicted by the weakness of pity; my mind is confused about my duty. I ask You, tell me decisively what is best for me. I am Your disciple; instruct me, who has surrendered unto You.

For I do not see what could remove this sorrow that is drying up my senses, even if I were to obtain an unrivaled, prosperous kingdom on earth, or even the sovereignty of the gods.

Sañjaya said: Having spoken thus to Hṛṣīkeśa (Krishna), Guḍākeśa (Arjuna), the scorcher of foes, declared, "I will not fight," and became silent, O Govinda.