Arjuna Viṣāda Yoga
The Yoga of Arjuna's Dejection
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjaya, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do when they assembled on the holy field of Kurukshetra, eager to fight?
Sanjaya said: Having seen the army of the Pandavas arrayed in battle formation, King Duryodhana approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words.
Behold, O teacher, this great army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed by the son of Drupada, your wise disciple Dhrishtadyumna.
Here are heroes, mighty bowmen, equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna - Yuyudhana, Virata, and Drupada, the great chariot warrior.
Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, the valiant king of Kashi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya - all great warriors.
The mighty Yudhamanyu, the valiant Uttamauja, the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu), and the sons of Draupadi - all great chariot warriors.
But know also, O best of the twice-born, the distinguished leaders of our army. I name them for your information.
Yourself (Drona), Bhishma, Karna, Kripa who is always victorious in battle, Ashvatthama, Vikarna, and the son of Somadatta.
And many other heroes who are prepared to give up their lives for my sake, armed with various weapons, all skilled in the art of warfare.
Our army, protected by Bhishma, is unlimited in strength, while their army, protected by Bhima, is limited.
Therefore, stationed in your respective positions at every entrance to the formation, all of you must protect Bhishma in particular.
Then Bhishma, the grand old man of the Kuru dynasty, the valiant grandfather, roared like a lion and blew his conch loudly, bringing joy to Duryodhana.
Then conch shells, kettledrums, tabors, drums, and horns suddenly blared forth, and the combined sound was tumultuous.
Then, seated in a great chariot yoked with white horses, Krishna and Arjuna blew their divine conch shells.
Krishna blew his conch Panchajanya, Arjuna blew Devadatta, and Bhima of terrible deeds blew his great conch Paundra.
King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conch Anantavijaya; Nakula and Sahadeva blew their conches Sughosha and Manipushpaka.
The king of Kashi, the supreme archer, Shikhandi the great warrior, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, and the unconquered Satyaki.
Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, and the mighty-armed son of Subhadra, O lord of the earth, all blew their respective conch shells.
That tumultuous sound, reverberating through earth and sky, shattered the hearts of the sons of Dhritarashtra.
Then, seeing the sons of Dhritarashtra arrayed and the discharge of weapons about to begin, Arjuna, whose flag bears Hanuman, took up his bow.
Arjuna said to Krishna: O Achyuta, please draw my chariot between the two armies.
Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra, and with whom I must contend in this great battle.
Let me see those who have assembled here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded Duryodhana in this battle.
Sanjaya said: O Bharata (Dhritarashtra), thus addressed by Arjuna, Krishna drew the finest chariot between the two armies.
In the presence of Bhishma, Drona, and all the rulers of the earth, Krishna said: O Partha, behold these Kurus assembled here.
There Arjuna saw standing fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and friends.
He saw fathers-in-law and well-wishers in both armies. Seeing all these relatives arrayed, Arjuna, the son of Kunti, was overcome with deep compassion.
Arjuna said: O Krishna, seeing my own kinsmen arrayed and eager to fight, my limbs quiver, my mouth dries up, my body trembles, and my hair stands on end.
My body trembles, my hair stands on end, my bow Gandiva slips from my hand, and my skin burns all over.
I am unable to stand, my mind seems to reel, and I see adverse omens, O Keshava.
I do not see any good in killing my own kinsmen in battle. I desire neither victory, O Krishna, nor kingdom, nor pleasures.
Of what use is a kingdom to us, O Govinda, or enjoyments, or even life itself, when those for whose sake we desire kingdom, enjoyments, and pleasures are arrayed in battle?
Teachers, fathers, sons, and also grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other relatives - they stand here in battle, ready to give up their lives and wealth.
I do not wish to kill them, O Madhusudana, even if they kill me - not even for the sovereignty of the three worlds, let alone this earth.
What pleasure can we derive from killing the sons of Dhritarashtra, O Janardana? Sin alone will accrue to us by slaying these aggressors.
Therefore, we are not justified in killing the sons of Dhritarashtra, our own relatives. How can we be happy by killing our own kinsmen, O Madhava?
Even though these men, whose minds are overcome by greed, see no fault in the destruction of families and no sin in hostility to friends, why should we not have the wisdom to turn away from this sin?
Why should we, who can clearly see the sin in the destruction of families, not know enough to turn away from this evil, O Janardana?
With the destruction of the family, the eternal family traditions are destroyed; when dharma is lost, adharma overcomes the entire family.
When adharma prevails, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupted; when women are corrupted, O descendant of Vrishni, there arises an unwanted mixture of social orders.
Such social disorder leads to hell for the family destroyers and the family itself, for the ancestors fall, deprived of their offerings of rice and water.
By the misdeeds of those who destroy the family and create social disorder, the eternal community traditions and family dharma are destroyed.
O Janardana, we have heard that those whose family dharma is destroyed dwell in hell for an indefinite period.
Alas, how strange it is that we are preparing to commit great sins, driven by the desire for royal pleasures, and are intent on killing our own kinsmen.
It would be better for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, were to kill me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield.
Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus on the battlefield, Arjuna cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the seat of his chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.
Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, in the science of the Eternal, in the scripture of Yoga, in the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the first chapter entitled 'The Yoga of Arjuna's Dejection.'