The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1: 

The Path of Arjuna’s Grief

Dhritarashtra said, “O Sanjaya! My sons and the sons of Pandu have gathered in the sacred field of Kurukshetra in order to fight a war with each other. What did they do? (1)

Sanjaya said, “The King Duryodhana observed the formation of the Pandavas’ army. Then, he went to his army teacher Drona and said, “O Teacher! Behold the formation of the huge army of the sons of Pandu arrayed by your talented student Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Dhrupada. (2-3)

In this army, there are mighty archers and heroes, in battle equal to Bhima and Arjuna, Yuyudhana, Virata, and Dhrupada. Each one is a Maharathi, one who can single-handedly fight several archers simultaneously; the heroic Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, and the valiant king of Kashi; Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya, all the best of men; the powerful Yudhamanyu, brave Uttamauja, Subhadra’s son Abhimanyu, and the five sons of Draupadi–all Maharathas indeed. (4-6)

O Great Brahmin! Please recognize the main warriors on our side. For your information, I will tell the names of the main leaders of our army. They are you, Bhishma, Karna, the ever-victorious in war Krupacharya, Ashwatthama, Vikarna, and Somadatta’s son Bhurishrava. (7-8)

(Note:  Addressing Drona as a Brahmin on the battlefield is an insult to Drona.)

There are many brave warriors who are ready to die for me. They are well equipped with various weapons and are clever in fighting. (9)

(Note:  See the ego of Duryodhana in saying that “they are ready to die for me.” He also told the truth –that these people were fighting for Duryodhana and not for a just cause.)

We have unlimited power because we are all protected by Bhishma, while the opposite army is limited in power as they are protected by Bhima. Therefore, all the leaders remaining in their own positions in your divisions definitely protect Bhishma alone from all the sides. (10-11)

(Note: Duryodhana could only mention seven names of the leaders of his army. Also, he chose only Bhima’s name from the opposite army, because he was afraid that Bhima could kill him in mace-battle.)

At that time, the oldest of the Kurus and mighty grandsire Bhishma roared like a lion and blew a conch to create joy in the heart of Duryodhana. (12)

(Note: I think Bhishma knew the ultimate outcome of the war and he wanted to finish the whole matter, so he made the first move.)

Then, together the conches blew, war-drums started beating, and other war-instruments like tabors and cow-horns blared forth. The sound of all these things created a terrible, stupendous sound. (13)

Then, Shri Krishna and Arjuna blew their divine conches from their magnificent chariot yoked by white horses. (14)

(Note:  From the Pandavas’ side, Shri Krishna blew the first conch.)

Shri Krishna blew the Panchjanya conch and Arjuna blew the Devadatta conch. Mighty Bhima, who does terrible deeds in the fight, blew the Paundra conch. King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya conch, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosha conch and Manipushpaka conch respectively. (15-16)

O King Dhritarashtra! The great archer, the king of Kashi, the great warrior Shikhandi, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, the unconquered Satyaki, King Dhrupada, five sons of Draupadi, and the mighty-armed Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra, blew their conches from all the sides of the Pandava army. That terrible sound filled the sky and the earth and pierced the hearts of all the people of Dhritarashtra. (17-19)

Then, by seeing Dhritarashtra’s army ready to start the war, Arjuna lifted up his bow and asked Shri Krishna, “O Achyuta (Shri Krishna)! Please take my chariot in the middle of the two armies. I want to see who are the war-mongers gathered here in the opposite army and decide with whom I am going to fight.  I really want to know all the kings who are supporting the evil-minded Duryodhana and gathered here to fight for him.” (20-23)

(Note: See the spirit of mighty Arjuna.)

Sanjaya said, “O Dhritarashtra! Upon Arjuna’s request, Shri Krishna drove his chariot in the middle of the two armies and stopped it, facing Bhishma, Drona, and other kings. Then Shri Krishna said, “O Partha (Arjuna)! Behold all the Kurus assembled here.” (24-25)

Then, Arjuna saw arrayed in the armies (on both the sides) fathers and grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles and brothers, sons and grandsons, friends, fathers-in-laws and comrades. Looking at the relatives, Arjuna, the son of Kunti, was overcome with deep pity and said in a sorrowful voice:

Arjuna said, “O Krishna! By seeing my relatives gathered here to fight a war, all my senses are losing their power, my mouth is drying out, my body has tremors and I have goose-bumps all over. My Gandiva bow is slipping from my hand, my skin is burning, I am feeling dizzy, and I cannot stand on my feet. (26-30)

O Keshava (Krishna)! I see bad omens and I do not see any good in killing my relatives in the war. I do not desire victory, the kingdom, or happiness. What is the use of such a kingdom or the enjoyment or even to live after killing my relatives? (31-32)

Our teachers, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, sons, grandsons, fathers-in-law, brothers-in-law, and other relatives, for whose sake we desire kingdom, enjoyments, and happiness, are arrayed here in battle having staked their wealth and lives. (33-34)

O Madhusudan (Krishna)! I would not kill them even though they kill me. I would not kill them even if I were to acquire the three worlds, then what to talk about this little earth? (35)

O Janardana (Shri Krishna)! What joy can we have by killing the sons of Dhritarashtra? We incur only sins by killing these criminals. O Madhava (Shri Krishna)! Therefore, we should not kill our own cousins. By killing our own relatives, how can we be happy? (36-37)

Even though greed has overpowered their minds and they do not see the evil in destroying their own families and incurring sins in being hostile towards friends, should not we, who clearly see the evil in destroying our families, think about refraining from this sin? (38-39)

With the decay of the family, its long-established traditions and religious practices will perish. With that, unrighteousness will prevail in the family. O Krishna! With that unrighteousness, the women of the family will have unrestricted relationships and with that mixed-caste children will be born. The mixed-caste children will destroy the traditions of the families and ultimately lead families to hell. These children will not properly perform the religious rituals for their ancestors and then their ancestors will also go to hell. With these mixed-caste children, the long-time traditions and religious rituals of the family and the caste will be destroyed. O Krishna! We have heard that the people of such family and caste stay in hell for a long time. (40-44)

(Note: Arjuna’s reasoning is based on the traditional beliefs of his time. If there were people other than his relatives on the opposite side of the battlefield, Arjuna would not have any hesitation to fight with them.)

Oh! It is so sad that we are engaged in committing a great sin. Just for the greed of enjoyment of a kingdom, we are eager to kill our own relatives. (45)

I think it would be better if, in the battlefield, the sons of Dhritarashtra, with their weapons, killed me, unarmed and unresisting.” (46)

Sanjaya said, “By saying this, Arjuna, who was filled with grief, casting aside his bow and arrows, sat on the chariot seat.” (47)

Thus, in the Bhagavad Gita— the essence of the Upanishads, the science of Brahman, the scripture of Yoga, and the dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjuna— ends the First Chapter, entitled “The Path of Arjuna’s Grief.”

Om Tat Sat.

(Thanks to Sonali Tatapudy and Rushil Desai for editing this post.)