CHAPTER
1: THE
YOGA OF DEJECTION
On
the confrontation with the necessity to
fight
(1)
[Time: 3102 B.C.] Dhritarâshthra [the
blind uncle of the Pândavas, the sons of king
Pându] said: "At Kurukshetra, a place of
pilgrimage, my party and the sons of Pându
assembled desiring to fight. What did they do, o
Sañjaya?"
(2)
Sañjaya said: "After seeing the formation of the
soldiers of the Pândavas, king Duryodhana [the
chief of the sons of Dhritarâshthra, the Kurus]
at that time approached his teacher
[Dronâcârya] and said:
(3)
' Just see the sons of Pându [a brother of
Dhritarâshthra and the father of the
Pândavas], o teacher, arranged as a great
military force by the son of Drupada [the father in
law of Arjuna who leads the Pândavas], your
intelligent disciple [Dhrishthadyumna].
(4)
There are heroes and mighty bowmen equal in the fight to
Bhîma and Arjuna [two of the five sons of
Pându] like Yuyudhâna and Virâtha
as also Drupada himself, who is also a great warrior.
(5)
Dhrishthâketu, Cekitâna,
Kâs'îrâja, and also the very powerful
Purujit, Kuntibhoja and S'aibya are there, who are all
great heroes in human society. (6)
Yudhâmanyu, the mighty Uttamaujâ, the very
powerful son of Subhadrâ [sister of Krishna, a
wife of Arjuna] and the sons of Draupadî all
certainly are great chariot fighters.
(7) But to your
information, o best of the twice-born, let me tell you
also about the specially powerful captains of our
soldiers. (8)
Of your good self there are grandfather Bhîshma and
also Karna, Kripa, and As'vatthâmâ, Vikarna
and the son of Somadatta [Bhuris'ravâ], who
are certainly also always victorious in battle.
(9)
There are as well a great number of other heroes equipped
with many weapons having combat experience, that are
willing to risk their lives for my sake. (10)
Our strength is immeasurable being perfectly protected by
Grandfather Bhîshma, but limited is all of this
strength with the Pândavas carefully protected by
Bhîma. (11)
Those everywhere strategically arranged to support
Bhîshma certainly all respectively will give you
their support'.
(12)
To his greater joy, did the valiant grandsire of the Kuru
dynasty, the grandfather, blew his conchshell very loudly
vibrating like a roaring lion. (13)
Other conchshells as also large and small drums and horns
all of a sudden were sounded together thereafter, which
culminated into a tumultuous
uproar.
(14)
Thereupon Mâdhava [Krishna as the husband of
the goddess of fortune] with Arjuna standing in a
great chariot drawn by white horses, both confidently
sounded their divine conchshells. (15)
Hrishîkes'a [Krishna as the Lord of the
Senses] blew the Pâñcajanya, Arjuna the
Devadatta and the herculean Bhîma, the voracious
eater, blew the Paundra. (16-17-18)
The king, the son of Kuntî [Yudhishthhira, the
eldest Pândava] blew Ananta-vijaya while Nakula
and Sahadeva [the twin brother Pândava's]
blew the Sughosha and Manipushpaka. So also the king of
Kâs'î [Varanasi], the great archerer
Sikhandî and the great warrior Dhrishthadyumna,
Virâtha [who gave the Pândavas
shelter], Sâtyaki [Yuyudhâna, the
charioteer of Krishna] who was never defeated and, o
King, Drupada together with all the sons of the
Pândavas, and the mighty armed Abhimanyu [son
of Subhadrâ], each blew their respective
conchshells. (19)
That vibration tore the hearts of the sons of
Dhritarâshthra as it resounded tumultuous in the
sky and the earth. (20)
Then the son of Pându, whose flag was marked with
Hanumân and who was looking from his chariot upon
the sons of Dhritarâshthra in preparing to take up
his bow and shoot his arrows, o King, at that time spoke
the following words to Hrishîkes'a.
(21-22)
Arjuna said: 'Please drive my chariot between both the
armies, o Infallible One, for the time that I may look
upon those desiring to fight arrayed on the battlefield
with whom together I have to contend in this trial of
arms. (23)
Let me see those who will be fighting and are assembled
here wishing to please the evil minded son of
Dhritarâshthra.'
(24)
Sañjaya said: "O son of Bharata, thus being
addressed by Arjuna, did Hrishîkes'a place the
mighty fine chariot in the midst of the two armies.
(25)
In front of Bhîshma, Drona and all the military
leaders of the world the Lord said: 'O son of
Prithâ, just see how all the members of the
Kuru-dynasty are assembled here'. (26)
There he indeed could see standing both parties of the
armies: his fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal
uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends and also his
fathers-in-law and well-wishers. (27)
Seeing
all kinds of relatives he, the son of Kuntî got
overwhelmed by a high degree of compassion and lamenting
he thus spoke.
(28)
Arjuna said: 'The look of all these kinsmen, o Krishna,
all present in a fighting spirit, makes the limbs of my
body quiver and my mouth dry up. (29)
My body trembles and my hair stands on end, my
Gândîva [his bow] is slipping from my
hand and my skin certainly is burning. (30)
Nor am I able to keep standing, my mind goes and I see
just the opposite, o Kes'ava [Krishna as the killer
of the the mad horse Kes'î]. (31)
Nor do I forsee any good in killing my own kinsmen in the
fight, and I do not desire the victory either, o Krishna,
nor do I expect a happy kingdom thereof. (32-35)
What use is the kingdom to us, Govinda? What joy or life
is there either if the kingdom is desired by us for the
sake of those who want that material pleasure and
happiness also, while they have all taken positions on
the battlefield and are willing to give up their
lives:
our teachers, fathers, sons as well as certainly also our
grandfathers. All
these maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons,
brothers and other relatives I never wish to kill nor get
killed, o Madhusûdana [Krishna who defeated
Madhu]. Not
even in exchange for the three worlds I want the kingdom
not to speak about having it for the sake of the earth -
what pleasure will there be in killing the sons of
Dhritarâshthra, o Janârdana [Krishna as
maintainer of the three worlds]? (36)
For sure sin will come upon us by killing all these
aggressors and therefore we should never kill the sons of
Dhritarâshthra along with the friends and kinsmen.
How can we become happy by killing others, o
Mâdhava?
(37-38)
Even if they do not see with their hearts overpowered by
greed the fault to kill one's family, the quarreling with
friends and having to suffer the reactions - why should
we, who see the crime of destroying a dynasty, not turn
us away from such sins, o Janârdana?
(39)
Destroying the family, its eternal traditions of religion
will vanish as a consequence of which the whole family
will lose its sense of duty, it is said. (40)
With the prominence of this lack of responsibility, o
Krishna, the women of the family will become spoiled and
from that corruption of womanhood there will be a
confusion of identity in society. (41)
Such a confusion will certainly turn the life of the
family members of those who killed their family to hell,
as with the fall of their forefathers they also will have
stopped with the offerings of food and water.
(42)
Such faults of all those who destroyed the family and
became confused in their identity, will devastate the
continuation of the righteousness of status orientations
and family traditions in society. (43)
Of those men who spoiled the family traditions, o
Janârdana, one will always turn out to reside in
hell, thus I heard from the learned. (44)
Alas, oddly we have decided to perform great sins in
trying to kill kinsmen in our being driven by greed for
royal happiness. (45)
It would rather be better for me to give up my resistance
and arms and have me killed by the weapons in the hands
of the sons of Dhritarâshthra on the
battlefield'."
(46)
Sañjaya said: "Thus having spoken on the
battlefield, Arjuna sat down on the seat of his chariot
putting aside his bow and arrows, in distress with a mind
full of lamentation."
Spoken
by Anand Aadhar Prabhu
to the text offered below