Shrimad Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Dhrithrashtra said: O Sanjaya, gathered on the holy land of Kurukshetra, in the field of Dharma; eager to fight, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do? (1)

Sanjaya said: Seeing the army of the Pandavas ready, drawn up for battle at that time; approaching Guru Dronacharya, King Duryodhana said the following: (2)

Behold, O Respected Master, the mighty army of the sons of Pandu arrayed, standing ready for the battle by your talented pupil, Dhristadyumna, son of Drupada. (3)

In this army there are heroes wielding mighty bows and equal in military expertise to Bheema and Arjuna - Satyaki and Virata and the Maharathi (warrior chief) Drupada; Dhristaketu, Cekitana and the brave King of Kashi and Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Saibya, the best of men, and mighty Yudhamanyu, and fearless Uttamauja, Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra, and the five sons of Draupadi - all of them Maharathis (warrior chiefs). (4 to 6)

O best of the Brahmanas, also know them who are the primary warriors on our side - the generals of my army. I mention them for your information. (7)

Yourself and Bheeshma and Karna and Kripa, who are ever victorious in battle; and also Ashvaththama, Vikarna and Bhurisrava (the son of Somadatta). (8)

And there are many other heroes, all skilled in warfare and equipped with various weapons, who have staked their lives for me. (9)

Fully protected by Bheeshma, this army of ours is unconquerable; while that army of theirs, which is guarded in every way by Bheema, is easy to conquer. (10)

Therefore, stationed in your respective strategic positions on all fronts, you all guard Bheeshma in particular on all sides. (11)

The old man of the Kaurava race, their glorious grand-patriarch Bheeshma; cheering up Duryodhana, roared like a mighty lion and blew his conch loudly. (12)

Then conches, kettledrums, tabors, drums and trumpets thundered all at once and the noise was deafening. (13)

Then seated in a glorious chariot drawn by white horses, Lord Shree Krishna (Madhava, the husband of the Goddess of Fortune, Lakshmi) as well as Arjuna blew their divine conches. (14)

Lord Shree Krishna (Hrishikesha, the Lord of the Mind & Senses) blew His conch named Panchajanya; Arjuna (Dhananjaya, the conqueror of wealth), Devadatta; while Bheema of ferocious deeds blew his mighty conch Paundra. (15)

King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conch named Anantavijaya, while Nakula and Sahadeva blew theirs, known as Sughosha and Manipushpaka respectively. (16)

And the excellent archer, the King of Kashi and Shikhandi the Maharathi (the great warrior), Dhristadyumna and Virata, and unconquerable Satyaki, Drupada as well as the sons of Draupadi, and the mighty-armed, son of Subhadra, all of them, O Master of the Earth, severally blew their respective conches from all sides. (17-18)

The heaven and the Earth resounded with the echoing terrible roar, which pierced the hearts of Dhrithrashtra’s army. (19)

Now, O King, seeing your sons arrayed against him and with the weapons ready to be hurled, Arjuna, who had the figure of Hanuman on the flag of his chariot, took up his bow and then said the following words to Hrishikesha (Lord Shree Krishna); Arjuna said: O Achyuta (O Lord Shree Krishna, the infallible one), please place my chariot in the middle of the battlefield, between both the armies. (20-21)

And keep it there till I have carefully observed these warriors lined up for the battle, and have seen with whom I have to fight in this great combat. (22)

I shall have a look at the well-wishers of the evil-minded son of Dhrithrashtra, who have assembled on his side in this war to please him and are ready for the fight. (23)

Sanjaya said: Thus, addressed by Arjuna (Gudakesha, the conqueror of sleep), Lord Shree Krishna (Hrishikesha, the Lord of the Mind & Senses) then placed the magnificent chariot between the two armies, O Bharata; in front of Bheeshma, Drona and all the Kings and said, “O Arjuna (O Partha, the son of Pritha), behold these Kauravas assembled here.” (24-25)

Now Arjuna saw stationed there in both the armies; his uncles, grand-uncles & teachers, even great grand-uncles, maternal uncles, brothers & cousins, sons & nephews, and grand-nephews, even so friends, fathers-in-law and well-wishers as well. (26 & first half of 27)

Seeing all the relatives standing there, Arjuna was overcome with great compassion and spoke thus in sorrow. (Second half of 27 and first half of 28)

Arjuna said: O Krishna, seeing these kinsmen standing ready to fight, my limbs are giving way and my mouth is becoming dry; I feel shivering and hair standing on my body. (Second half of 28 and 29)

My bow is slipping from my hand and my skin is burning all over; my mind is wandering and whirling with confusion, I am no longer able to hold myself steady. (30)

And, O Keshava (O Lord Shree Krishna, the killer of the demon named Keshi), I see bad omens, I do not see any good in killing my relatives in the battle. (31)

O Krishna, I do not desire victory, nor kingdom, nor pleasures. O Krishna (O Govinda, he who gives pleasure to the senses), of what use will Kingdom or luxuries or even life be to us! (32)

For those very persons, for whose sake we have desired the kingdom, luxuries and pleasures; are standing here, arrayed on the battlefield staking their lives & wealth. (33-34)

O Lord Shree Krishna (O Madhusudana, slayer of the demon Madhu), I do not want to kill them, though they may kill me, even for the supremacy over the three worlds; how much the less for the kingdom here on Earth! (35)

O Lord Shree Krishna, how can we hope to be happy killing the sons of Dhrithrashtra; by killing even these brutes, sin will surely accrue to us. (36)

Therefore, O Lord Shree Krishna, it does not befit us to kill our relations, the sons of Dhrithrashtra. For, how can we be happy after killing our own relatives? (37)

Even though these people, with their mind blinded by greed, perceive no evil in destroying their own race and no sin in treason to friends, why should not we, O Krishna, who see clearly the sin accruing from the destruction of one’s family, think of desisting from committing this sin. (38-39)

Age-long family traditions disappear with the destruction of a family; and virtue having been lost, vice takes hold of the entire race. (40)

With the preponderance of vice, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt; and with the corruption of women, O descendant of Vasharni, there ensues an intermixture of castes. (41)

Progeny owing to promiscuity damns the destroyers of the race as well as the race itself. Deprived of the offerings of rice and water (Shraddha, Tarpana etc.,) the manes of their race also fall. (42)

Through these evils bringing about an intermixture of castes, the age-long caste traditions and family customs of the killers of kinsmen get extinct. (43)

O Krishna, we hear that men who have lost their family traditions, dwell in hell for an indefinite period of time. (44)

Oh, what a pity! Though possessed of intelligence we have set our mind on the commission of a great sin; that due to lust for throne and enjoyment we are intent on killing our own kinsmen. (45)

It would be better for me if the sons of Dhrithrashtra, armed with weapons, kill me in battle, while I am unarmed and unresisting. (46)

Sanjaya said: Arjuna, whose mind was agitated by grief on the battlefield, having spoken thus, and having cast aside his bow and arrows, sank into the hinder part of his chariot. (47)