(1) The
blind
uncle
and
head
of
the family Dhritarâshthra said: "At
Kurukshetra, the place of pilgrimage, my family members and my nephews
the Pāndavas assembled to fight for justice, what exactly took place
there, my dearest Sañjaya?"
(2) Sañjaya said: "Duryodhana, that noble
and distinguished son of yours, being faced with the forces of the
assembled army in support of your nephews the Pândavas, at that
time consulted his former martial teacher Dronâcarya, and said to
him: (3) 'Dear master Drona, now consider this mighty army of the sons
of Pându assembled here by your so very intelligent disciple the
son of Drupada (Dhrishthadyumna)! (4) They managed to get together some
people of stature as there are Arjuna's father-in-law Drupada as also
some other great warriors like Yuyudhâna and Virâtha who
are just as skilled in the art of war as Bhîma and Arjuna. (5)
And we may also fear their support group of fighters consisting of
Dhrishthaketu, Cekitâna, Kâs'irâja, the very
powerful Purujit, Kuntibhoja and the eminent man S'aibya. (6)
Yudhâmanyu, the mighty Uttamaujâ, the very powerful son of
the sister of Krishna, Subhadrâ, and the sons of Draupadî:
they are all truly great chariot fighters. (7) But rest assured, we are
no less directly and faithfully supported by the qualities of the
warriors at our side. (8) To the support of your goodness there
are grandfather Bhîshma as also Karna, Kripa and
As'vatthâmâ, Vikarna and the son of Somadatta who all, most
certainly, are always victorious in battle as well. (9) And there are
many other heroes experienced in combat who, equipped with all kinds of
weapons, are prepared to risk their lives for my sake. (10) Under the
care of our gray eminence, grandpa Bhîshma we have, unlimited in
our opulence and influence, nothing to fear from the but limited power
and control of Bhîma and his Pândava brothers. (11) Surely
none of our allies will, from the undisputed sovereignty of our
position, ever let you down!'
(12) Duryodhana was glad to hear a lion's roar on
the conchshell delivered by grandfather Bhîshma to the
commencement of the battle. (13) Directly thereafter suddenly from all
sides of the Kaurava array the sound was heard of their conches, horns
and drums, which combined grew into a tumultuous uproar. (14) In
response the husband of the goddess of fortune and the son of
Pându sounded together their divine conches. (15-18) Krishna, the
lord of the senses, blew the Pâñcajanya, Arjuna the
Devadatta and the herculean Bhîma, the voracious eater, blew the
great conch named the Paundra. King Yudhishthhira, the eldest
Pândava, blew Ananta-vijaya while Nakula and Sahadeva blew the
Sughosha and Manipushpaka. So also the conch shells were blown by the
king of Kâs'î, the great archer S'ikhandî and the
great warrior Dhrishthadyumna, Virâta, Sâtyaki who was
never defeated and, oh King, Drupada together with all the men of
Drupadî and the skillful Abhimanyu. (19) The response of their
opponents, which just as tumultuous as theirs resounded in the sky and
the earth, tore the hearts of the terrified Kauravas. (20) When the son
of Pându, Arjuna, ready with his bow and arrows, saw how the
opposition of the repressive forces of Dhritarâshthra's sons
prepared to fight them in battle, he addressed the sense master, his
divine friend Krishna standing at the reigns in his chariot that was
marked with the flag of Hanumân.
(21-22) Arjuna said: 'Please Perfect-aim, as he also
called Krishna, drive the chariot to the middle of the battlefield to
face the warriors who, to my support and the support of our opponents,
are arrayed there for a final showdown. (23) Let me on this
battlefield face my Kaurava opponents who are so convinced of their
acquired privileges in pleasing that crooked Dhritarâshthra who's
supposed to be our uncle.' "
(24) Sañjaya said: "O desendant of Bharata,
thus requested Krishna drove the chariot to the middle of Kurukshetra,
and stopped right in between the warriors positioned there on both
sides. (25) With before his eyes grandfather Bhîshma, Drona and
all the leaders of the world gathered there for the unique event of the
final battle, the fortunate one said: 'O son of aunt Kuntî, see
how all the members of the Kaurava family are gathered here.' (26) And
there at Kurukshetra, the original place of pilgrimage of the Kuru
dynasty, Arjuna saw indeed standing both the parties of his fathers,
grandfathers, uncles, nephews, friends, well-wishers and alike. (27)
Right in the middle of them faced with the huge gathering of his
family, the son of aunt Prithâ was overwhelmed by an avalanche of
conflicting feelings and he stood perplexed, unable to move one more
step.
(28) Arjuna said: 'The sight of all these kinsmen,
oh Krishna, my dear friend, ready to fight each other to the bone,
gives
me the jitters and frightens me terribly. (29) My sweat turns cold and
my body refuses to obey, I don't know what to say anymore and I feel a
fever burning inside. (30) The world is spinning before my eyes, I have
to sit down, I'm losing it completely and see nothing in all of this,
oh
great beauty! (31) What's the use of killing these opposing family
members! I'm not after a victory at all, Krishna, what kind of world
would that lead to? (32-35) Oh friend of the women, what does world
dominion mean to us? What happiness can we find in desiring a rule of
our own design to hold sway over those friends and family members who
have now all taken opposing positions to rule each other out to the
point of extinction? They are our fathers, teachers, sons, uncles and
grandfathers for God's sake! I do not wish to kill any of them, nor
that they would kill any of us, oh devil's despair! Never ever I would
wish such a thing, not even in my dreams! I'm not interested in a
battle to defeat the sons of uncle Dhritarâshthra oh keeper of
the
world! (36) Such a thing of fighting your own kind wouldn't be anything
less than madness! How can one become happy ending the lives of others,
oh sweetest of them all? Isn't that sheer suicide? Doesn't that give
bad
karma?
(37-38) And even if they are as blind as uncle
Dhritarâshthra in denying and defying in their greed, in fighting
and quarreling with friends whatever the consequences that might have;
why would we, who see how sinful this all is, not turn away from such a
stupendous self-betrayal oh winner of the wealth? (39) Destroying the
family this way, all its traditions and hard won respect will vanish
and the entirety of the remaining family will lose its sense of duty,
so each and everyone will confirm. (40) With such an irresponsible
attitude, dear Krishna, the women of the family will lose their respect
for us. Thus fallen out of grace, no man will know who he is anymore.
(41) Also the chance for a good life of our offspring will thus be
spoiled because they, with us having fallen in mutual disrespect, will
also fail to know how to exercise respect for or confide in any
reciprocally healthy and cultured humanity any longer. (42) From these
faults made by all who ruined the family, and because of which
confusion rose in society, thus the righteousness of all classes and
age groups will be lost. Also every good habit with the ether we had in
the community will be lost. (43) As they always say: those who spoiled
the traditions, oh spur of man, always turn out to land in hell. (44)
Greedy for the supreme rule and its privileges we've oddly enough
decided to act against our better knowledge. (45) I'd rather give up
our resistance right now and grant them the victory of the battle.' "
(46) Sañjaya said: "And so, there, right in
between the armies ready on both sides, Arjuna sat down in the chariot,
forgetting about the fight with a mind full of doubts and sadness."
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