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Chapter 01 · 47 verses

अर्जुनविषादयोगः

Arjuna-viṣāda-yoga

Arjuna’s sorrow

What happens when duty becomes unbearable?

Before Krishna teaches, Arjuna looks. What he recognizes on the battlefield makes the victory he came to seek almost impossible to desire.

What happens here

A turn in the
conversation.

The Gita begins within another conversation. Dhritarashtra, the blind king, asks Sanjaya what happened when his sons and the sons of Pandu assembled at Kurukshetra. His division between 'my sons' and the Pandavas establishes the family fracture before any weapon moves. The field is named as a field of dharma, yet that name does not make its human choices simple. The question of right action enters through a place where competing claims are already armed.

Duryodhana surveys the opposing forces and speaks to his teacher Drona. His catalogue of warriors presents the battle through military strength, loyalties, and protection. Conches then sound on both sides. The names of the instruments and the people who hold them give the scene density: these are particular participants, not anonymous symbols in a lesson. Sanjaya lets the reader hear the approaching conflict before drawing attention to a single chariot.

Arjuna asks Krishna to place that chariot between the armies. Initially he wants to inspect the people he must fight. But inspection becomes recognition. Teachers, uncles, cousins, sons, friends, and relatives stand on both sides. His body responds before his argument is complete: limbs fail, his mouth dries, his skin burns, and his bow slips. The accomplished warrior can no longer inhabit the role that had seemed to organize the situation.

He argues against the battle through affection, the guilt of killing, and the destruction of family obligations. His reasoning carries both moral seriousness and the social assumptions of his world. Krishna does not yet answer these arguments. The chapter ends with Arjuna putting down his weapons and sinking into the chariot. A refusal has been spoken, but a settled understanding has not been reached. That unresolved space becomes the beginning of the teaching.

Dhritarashtra

What did my sons and the Pandavas do on the field of dharma?

Arjuna

Place the chariot between the armies. Let me see whom I must face.

Arjuna

I see my own people. What could victory give us after their destruction?

The Dialogue · An editorial account of the exchange

Chapter essence

The conversation begins when an inherited role no longer settles what is right. Arjuna's grief exposes a conflict that strength and certainty alone cannot answer.

Key movements

Follow the
argument.

1.1–11

A family conflict becomes a military formation

Dhritarashtra's question and Duryodhana's assessment establish two ways of seeing the battlefield: family possession and strategic advantage. The warriors are counted, named, and assigned significance. Duryodhana's comparison of the armies in 1.10 permits different readings, confidence in unlimited strength or anxiety about insufficient protection. The ambiguity fits a speech that seeks assurance as well as displaying power. In either reading, Bhishma's safety matters greatly. The coming dialogue begins inside these relationships of dependence, rivalry, and authority.

1.12–19

The sound before the teaching

Bhishma's conch answers Duryodhana's concern, and a tumult of instruments follows. Krishna and Arjuna sound their own conches, joined by the Pandava allies. This is more than a decorative opening. The sequence communicates the scale and immediacy of an encounter that philosophical language might otherwise make abstract. A decision must be made in a world already moving toward violence. The sudden concentration on Arjuna therefore interrupts momentum; it does not occur in the safety of an isolated classroom.

1.20–27

The chariot changes the view

Arjuna requests a position from which he can see the opposing warriors. Krishna places him before Bhishma, Drona, and the assembled rulers, naming them as Kurus. The enemies do not cease to be enemies, but they become visible as members of the same extended world. Arjuna's earlier categories cannot contain what he now recognizes. Looking is consequential here: it restores particular faces and relationships to a situation that military purpose had organized more cleanly. Knowledge begins by making action harder.

1.28–39

The body speaks, then the argument

Arjuna's distress takes physical form before he reasons about it. His speech then asks what enjoyment, power, or life could mean without the people for whom they were desired. He identifies the opposing side as aggressors yet fears the wrong of killing them. The tension should remain audible. Neither mere cowardice nor uncomplicated moral enlightenment describes everything the text presents. He sees a real cost and also struggles to determine which obligations that cost should outweigh.

1.40–47

An inherited world under threat

The argument widens from immediate deaths to the loss of family rites and social continuity. Arjuna speaks through inherited ideas about lineage, gender, social class, and obligations to ancestors. A responsible reading identifies those ideas rather than quietly endorsing or erasing them. Finally he says he would prefer to die unarmed than kill his own people. Sanjaya closes the chapter with the bow put aside. The act of stopping is complete; the work of understanding has only begun.

Selected key verses

Stay with the words.

The Sanskrit, an original translation, and a way into the meaning.

Bhagavad Gita 1.21Arjuna · in the dialogue

Between the armies

हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते ।सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत ॥ २१ ॥
hṛṣīkeśaṃ tadā vākyamidamāha mahīpatesenayorubhayormadhye rathaṃ sthāpaya me’cyuta

He spoke these words to Hrishikesha, O king. Arjuna said: Achyuta, place my chariot between the two armies,

Original King of Dwarka translation · Complete verse

Textual edition ↗Second textual witness ↗

Why this verse matters

Arjuna asks for a clearer view before acting. The verse crosses from Sanjaya's narration into Arjuna's request, so its opening words address Dhritarashtra, while the second line addresses Krishna. That change of speaker matters. The chariot's position will let Arjuna see more than an opposing force: it will bring teachers and relatives into the field of moral attention.

Explore deeper

The request is not yet the decision to stop fighting. Arjuna initially wants to inspect those he must face. What follows exceeds that intention. A useful reading preserves the sequence: he asks to see, recognizes his own people, experiences distress, and then begins to argue. Knowledge is not presented as an effortless clarification. Here it unsettles the very action for which the warrior has prepared.

Bhagavad Gita 1.31Arjuna · in the dialogue

The cost of victory

निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव ।न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे ॥ ३१ ॥
nimittāni ca paśyāmi viparītāni keśavana ca śreyo’nupaśyāmi hatvā svajanamāhave

I see ominous signs, Keshava, and can see no good in killing my own people in battle.

Original King of Dwarka translation · Complete verse

Textual edition ↗Second textual witness ↗

Why this verse matters

Arjuna cannot see a good outcome in killing his own people. The statement combines perceived omens with a moral judgment, and both belong to his experience of the battlefield. It is an objection within the dialogue, not the final teaching of the Gita. Its force comes from asking whether the desired achievement can retain its value after the destruction it requires.

Explore deeper

The word shreyas concerns good or benefit in a deeper sense than immediate pleasure. Arjuna's later request in 2.7 will ask Krishna to establish that good decisively. The continuity is important: he already has reasons, but he does not yet possess a settled account of their relation. Reading this verse beside the next chapter allows compassion, attachment, uncertainty, and the search for right action to remain distinct without separating them from one another.

Bhagavad Gita 1.47Sanjaya · to Dhritarashtra

The bow is put aside

एवमुक्त्वार्जुनः सङ्ख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् ।विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः ॥ ४७ ॥
evamuktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye rathopastha upāviśatvisṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ śokasaṃvignamānasaḥ

Sanjaya said: Having spoken in this way on the battlefield, Arjuna sank down in the chariot, putting aside his bow and arrows, his mind shaken by grief.

Original King of Dwarka translation · Complete verse

Textual edition ↗Second textual witness ↗

Why this verse matters

Sanjaya ends the chapter with an embodied action: Arjuna sits down and relinquishes his weapons. The narrator names grief as the condition shaking his mind. The gesture arrests the battlefield's momentum, but it does not resolve the ethical problem. The conversation can begin because the warrior's previous understanding no longer enables him to proceed.

Explore deeper

This is not a failure scene added only to make later resolve impressive. It establishes the human situation in which teaching becomes necessary. The Gita will explore enduring selfhood and disciplined action, but those claims arrive after a person has been made vulnerable by what action could cost. Letting the chapter end here, without rushing to Krishna's answer, preserves the seriousness of that vulnerability and the openness of the question it creates.

Read the full chapter

The whole conversation
matters.

All 47 verses, with Sanskrit, IAST transliteration and original King of Dwarka English.

Read Chapter 147 verses · Sanskrit & English

Use the peacock feather above to mark your place. Sources & editions

1.1Dhritarashtra

धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः ।मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥ १ ॥
dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥmāmakāḥ pāṇḍavāścaiva kimakurvata sañjaya

Dhritarashtra asked: Sanjaya, when my sons and the sons of Pandu gathered, eager for battle, on the field of dharma at Kurukshetra, what did they do?

1.2Sanjaya

दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा ।आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत् ॥ २ ॥
dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṃ vyūḍhaṃ duryodhanastadāācāryamupasaṅgamya rājā vacanamabravīt

Sanjaya said: Seeing the Pandava army drawn up for battle, King Duryodhana approached his teacher and spoke.

1.3

पश्यैतां पाण्डुपुत्राणामाचार्य महतीं चमूम् ।व्यूढां द्रुपदपुत्रेण तव शिष्येण धीमता ॥ ३ ॥
paśyaitāṃ pāṇḍuputrāṇāmācārya mahatīṃ camūmvyūḍhāṃ drupadaputreṇa tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā

Teacher, look at this great army of Pandu's sons, arranged by your gifted pupil, the son of Drupada.

1.4

अत्र शूरा महेष्वासा भीमार्जुनसमा युधि ।युयुधानो विराटश्च द्रुपदश्च महारथः ॥ ४ ॥
atra śūrā maheṣvāsā bhīmārjunasamā yudhiyuyudhāno virāṭaśca drupadaśca mahārathaḥ

Here stand heroic bowmen, the equals of Bhima and Arjuna in battle: Yuyudhana, Virata, and Drupada, a mighty chariot warrior;

1.5

धृष्टकेतुश्चेकितानः काशिराजश्च वीर्यवान् ।पुरुजित्कुन्तिभोजश्च शैब्यश्च नरपुङ्गवः ॥ ५ ॥
dhṛṣṭaketuścekitānaḥ kāśirājaśca vīryavānpurujitkuntibhojaśca śaibyaśca narapuṅgavaḥ

Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, the valiant king of Kashi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya, foremost among men;

1.6

युधामन्युश्च विक्रान्त उत्तमौजाश्च वीर्यवान् ।सौभद्रो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्व एव महारथाः ॥ ६ ॥
yudhāmanyuśca vikrānta uttamaujāśca vīryavānsaubhadro draupadeyāśca sarva eva mahārathāḥ

the daring Yudhamanyu, the powerful Uttamauja, Subhadra's son, and Draupadi's sons, all mighty chariot warriors.

1.7

अस्माकं तु विशिष्टा ये तान्निबोध द्विजोत्तम ।नायका मम सैन्यस्य संज्ञार्थं तान्ब्रवीमि ते ॥ ७ ॥
asmākaṃ tu viśiṣṭā ye tānnibodha dvijottamanāyakā mama sainyasya saṃjñārthaṃ tānbravīmi te

Now hear who is distinguished among us, best of brahmins. I will name the leaders of my army so that you may recognize them.

1.8

भवान्भीष्मश्च कर्णश्च कृपश्च समितिञ्जयः ।अश्वत्थामा विकर्णश्च सौमदत्तिस्तथैव च ॥ ८ ॥
bhavānbhīṣmaśca karṇaśca kṛpaśca samitiñjayaḥaśvatthāmā vikarṇaśca saumadattistathaiva ca

You yourself, Bhishma, Karna, Kripa, victorious in battle, Ashvatthama, Vikarna, and Somadatta's son;

1.9

अन्ये च बहवः शूरा मदर्थे त्यक्तजीविताः ।नानाशस्त्रप्रहरणाः सर्वे युद्धविशारदाः ॥ ९ ॥
anye ca bahavaḥ śūrā madarthe tyaktajīvitāḥnānāśastrapraharaṇāḥ sarve yuddhaviśāradāḥ

and many other heroes, ready to give their lives for me, bearing weapons of many kinds, all accomplished in warfare.

1.10

अपर्याप्तं तदस्माकं बलं भीष्माभिरक्षितम् ।पर्याप्तं त्विदमेतेषां बलं भीमाभिरक्षितम् ॥ १० ॥
aparyāptaṃ tadasmākaṃ balaṃ bhīṣmābhirakṣitamparyāptaṃ tvidameteṣāṃ balaṃ bhīmābhirakṣitam

Our force, guarded by Bhishma, is without limit; their force, guarded by Bhima, has its limits.

Aparyāpta can be understood as unlimited or insufficient. This rendering takes Duryodhana to boast of his army's immeasurable strength; another reading hears anxiety about its adequacy. The contrast with paryāpta permits a materially different account of his tone.

1.11

अयनेषु च सर्वेषु यथाभागमवस्थिताः ।भीष्ममेवाभिरक्षन्तु भवन्तः सर्व एव हि ॥ ११ ॥
ayaneṣu ca sarveṣu yathābhāgamavasthitāḥbhīṣmamevābhirakṣantu bhavantaḥ sarva eva hi

All of you, stationed in your assigned positions at every approach, must protect Bhishma above all.

1.12

तस्य सञ्जनयन्हर्षं कुरुवृद्धः पितामहः ।सिंहनादं विनद्योच्चैः शङ्खं दध्मौ प्रतापवान् ॥ १२ ॥
tasya sañjanayanharṣaṃ kuruvṛddhaḥ pitāmahaḥsiṃhanādaṃ vinadyoccaiḥ śaṅkhaṃ dadhmau pratāpavān

Then the mighty grandsire, eldest of the Kurus, heartened Duryodhana by sounding a loud lion's roar and blowing his conch.

1.13

ततः शङ्खाश्च भेर्यश्च पणवानकगोमुखाः ।सहसैवाभ्यहन्यन्त स शब्दस्तुमुलोऽभवत् ॥ १३ ॥
tataḥ śaṅkhāśca bheryaśca paṇavānakagomukhāḥsahasaivābhyahanyanta sa śabdastumulo’bhavat

At once conches, kettledrums, smaller drums, great drums, and horns sounded together. The noise became a tumult.

1.14

ततः श्वेतैर्हयैर्युक्ते महति स्यन्दने स्थितौ ।माधवः पाण्डवश्चैव दिव्यौ शङ्खौ प्रदध्मतुः ॥ १४ ॥
tataḥ śvetairhayairyukte mahati syandane sthitaumādhavaḥ pāṇḍavaścaiva divyau śaṅkhau pradadhmatuḥ

Then Madhava and Pandu's son, standing in their great chariot yoked to white horses, sounded their divine conches.

1.15

पाञ्चजन्यं हृषीकेशो देवदत्तं धनञ्जयः ।पौण्ड्रं दध्मौ महाशङ्खं भीमकर्मा वृकोदरः ॥ १५ ॥
pāñcajanyaṃ hṛṣīkeśo devadattaṃ dhanañjayaḥpauṇḍraṃ dadhmau mahāśaṅkhaṃ bhīmakarmā vṛkodaraḥ

Hrishikesha sounded Panchajanya and Dhananjaya sounded Devadatta; Bhima, wolf-bellied and terrible in deeds, blew the great conch Paundra.

1.16

अनन्तविजयं राजा कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिरः ।नकुलः सहदेवश्च सुघोषमणिपुष्पकौ ॥ १६ ॥
anantavijayaṃ rājā kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥnakulaḥ sahadevaśca sughoṣamaṇipuṣpakau

King Yudhishthira, Kunti's son, sounded Anantavijaya; Nakula and Sahadeva sounded Sughosha and Manipushpaka.

1.17

काश्यश्च परमेष्वासः शिखण्डी च महारथः ।धृष्टद्युम्नो विराटश्च सात्यकिश्चापराजितः ॥ १७ ॥
kāśyaśca parameṣvāsaḥ śikhaṇḍī ca mahārathaḥdhṛṣṭadyumno virāṭaśca sātyakiścāparājitaḥ

The king of Kashi, supreme among bowmen, Shikhandi the mighty chariot warrior, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, and unconquered Satyaki;

1.18

द्रुपदो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्वशः पृथिवीपते ।सौभद्रश्च महाबाहुः शङ्खान्दध्मुः पृथक्पृथक् ॥ १८ ॥
drupado draupadeyāśca sarvaśaḥ pṛthivīpatesaubhadraśca mahābāhuḥ śaṅkhāndadhmuḥ pṛthakpṛthak

Drupada, Draupadi's sons, and Subhadra's strong-armed son each sounded their own conches, ruler of the earth.

1.19

स घोषो धार्तराष्ट्राणां हृदयानि व्यदारयत् ।नभश्च पृथिवीं चैव तुमुलोऽभ्यनुनादयन् ॥ १९ ॥
sa ghoṣo dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṃ hṛdayāni vyadārayatnabhaśca pṛthivīṃ caiva tumulo’bhyanunādayan

That tumultuous sound, reverberating through earth and sky, tore into the hearts of Dhritarashtra's sons.

1.20

अथ व्यवस्थितान्दृष्ट्वा धार्तराष्ट्रान् कपिध्वजः ।प्रवृत्ते शस्त्रसम्पाते धनुरुद्यम्य पाण्डवः ॥ २० ॥
atha vyavasthitāndṛṣṭvā dhārtarāṣṭrān kapidhvajaḥpravṛtte śastrasampāte dhanurudyamya pāṇḍavaḥ

Then Pandu's son, whose banner bore the monkey, saw Dhritarashtra's sons drawn up. As weapons were about to clash, he raised his bow.

1.21Sanjaya / Arjuna

हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते ।सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत ॥ २१ ॥
hṛṣīkeśaṃ tadā vākyamidamāha mahīpatesenayorubhayormadhye rathaṃ sthāpaya me’cyuta

He spoke these words to Hrishikesha, O king. Arjuna said: Achyuta, place my chariot between the two armies,

The first half continues Sanjaya's narration; Arjuna begins speaking within this numbered verse. Some editions divide the surrounding half-verses differently. The dialogue has not lost a line.

1.22

यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान् ।कैर्मया सह योद्धव्यमस्मिन् रणसमुद्यमे ॥ २२ ॥
yāvadetānnirīkṣe’haṃ yoddhukāmānavasthitānkairmayā saha yoddhavyamasmin raṇasamudyame

so that I may look at those standing here eager to fight, those with whom I must contend in this undertaking of battle.

1.23

योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेऽहं य एतेऽत्र समागताः ।धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः ॥ २३ ॥
yotsyamānānavekṣe’haṃ ya ete’tra samāgatāḥdhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddheryuddhe priyacikīrṣavaḥ

Let me see those who have assembled to fight, wishing to please Dhritarashtra's ill-judging son in this war.

1.24Sanjaya

एवमुक्तो हृषीकेशो गुडाकेशेन भारत ।सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये स्थापयित्वा रथोत्तमम् ॥ २४ ॥
evamukto hṛṣīkeśo guḍākeśena bhāratasenayorubhayormadhye sthāpayitvā rathottamam

Sanjaya said: Addressed in this way by Gudakesha, Hrishikesha placed the splendid chariot between the two armies, descendant of Bharata,

1.25

भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतः सर्वेषां च महीक्षिताम् ।उवाच पार्थ पश्यैतान्समवेतान्कुरूनिति ॥ २५ ॥
bhīṣmadroṇapramukhataḥ sarveṣāṃ ca mahīkṣitāmuvāca pārtha paśyaitānsamavetānkurūniti

before Bhishma, Drona, and all the rulers. He said: Partha, look at these Kurus assembled here.

1.26

तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः पितॄनथ पितामहान् ।आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातॄन्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा ॥ २६ ॥
tatrāpaśyatsthitānpārthaḥ pitṝnatha pitāmahānācāryānmātulānbhrātṝnputrānpautrānsakhīṃstathā

There Partha saw fathers and grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and companions standing before him;

1.27

श्वशुरान्सुहृदश्चैव सेनयोरुभयोरपि ।तान्समीक्ष्य स कौन्तेयः सर्वान्बन्धूनवस्थितान् ॥ २७ ॥
śvaśurānsuhṛdaścaiva senayorubhayorapitānsamīkṣya sa kaunteyaḥ sarvānbandhūnavasthitān

fathers-in-law and friends as well, in both armies. Seeing all these kinsmen standing there, Kunti's son

1.28Sanjaya / Arjuna

कृपया परयाविष्टो विषीदन्निदमब्रवीत् ।दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् ॥ २८ ॥
kṛpayā parayāviṣṭo viṣīdannidamabravītdṛṣṭvemaṃ svajanaṃ kṛṣṇa yuyutsuṃ samupasthitam

was overcome with deep compassion and spoke in sorrow. Arjuna said: Krishna, when I see my own people gathered here, intent on fighting,

Sanjaya's narration gives way to Arjuna's speech within this verse. Verse divisions differ in some editions of this part of Chapter 1.

1.29

सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति ।वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते ॥ २९ ॥
sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṃ ca pariśuṣyativepathuśca śarīre me romaharṣaśca jāyate

my limbs give way and my mouth dries up. My body trembles and my hair stands on end.

1.30

गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात्त्वक्चैव परिदह्यते ।न च शक्नोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मनः ॥ ३० ॥
gāṇḍīvaṃ sraṃsate hastāttvakcaiva paridahyatena ca śaknomyavasthātuṃ bhramatīva ca me manaḥ

Gandiva slips from my hand and my skin burns. I cannot remain standing; my mind seems to reel.

1.31

निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव ।न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे ॥ ३१ ॥
nimittāni ca paśyāmi viparītāni keśavana ca śreyo’nupaśyāmi hatvā svajanamāhave

I see ominous signs, Keshava, and can see no good in killing my own people in battle.

1.32

न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च ।किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा ॥ ३२ ॥
na kāṅkṣe vijayaṃ kṛṣṇa na ca rājyaṃ sukhāni cakiṃ no rājyena govinda kiṃ bhogairjīvitena vā

Krishna, I do not want victory, a kingdom, or its pleasures. Govinda, what use to us are sovereignty, enjoyment, or even life,

1.33

येषामर्थे काङ्क्षितं नो राज्यं भोगाः सुखानि च ।त इमेऽवस्थिता युद्धे प्राणांस्त्यक्त्वा धनानि च ॥ ३३ ॥
yeṣāmarthe kāṅkṣitaṃ no rājyaṃ bhogāḥ sukhāni cata ime’vasthitā yuddhe prāṇāṃstyaktvā dhanāni ca

when those for whose sake we wanted a kingdom, enjoyment, and happiness stand here in battle, having put life and wealth aside?

1.34

आचार्याः पितरः पुत्रास्तथैव च पितामहाः ।मातुलाः श्वशुराः पौत्राः श्यालाः सम्बन्धिनस्तथा ॥ ३४ ॥
ācāryāḥ pitaraḥ putrāstathaiva ca pitāmahāḥmātulāḥ śvaśurāḥ pautrāḥ śyālāḥ sambandhinastathā

Teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other relatives: they are all here.

1.35

एतान्न हन्तुमिच्छामि घ्नतोऽपि मधुसूदन ।अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः किं नु महीकृते ॥ ३५ ॥
etānna hantumicchāmi ghnato’pi madhusūdanaapi trailokyarājyasya hetoḥ kiṃ nu mahīkṛte

I do not want to kill them, Madhusudana, even if they kill me; not for sovereignty over the three worlds, much less for the earth.

1.36

निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याज्जनार्दन ।पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिनः ॥ ३६ ॥
nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrānnaḥ kā prītiḥ syājjanārdanapāpamevāśrayedasmānhatvaitānātatāyinaḥ

What joy would be ours after killing Dhritarashtra's sons, Janardana? Even though they are aggressors, killing them would bring wrongdoing upon us.

1.37

तस्मान्नार्हा वयं हन्तुं धार्तराष्ट्रान्सबान्धवान् ।स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिनः स्याम माधव ॥ ३७ ॥
tasmānnārhā vayaṃ hantuṃ dhārtarāṣṭrānsabāndhavānsvajanaṃ hi kathaṃ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava

Therefore we ought not to kill Dhritarashtra's sons together with their kinsmen. How could we be happy after killing our own people, Madhava?

1.38

यद्यप्येते न पश्यन्ति लोभोपहतचेतसः ।कुलक्षयकृतं दोषं मित्रद्रोहे च पातकम् ॥ ३८ ॥
yadyapyete na paśyanti lobhopahatacetasaḥkulakṣayakṛtaṃ doṣaṃ mitradrohe ca pātakam

Even if they, their minds overcome by greed, do not see the harm in destroying a family or the wrong in betraying friends,

1.39

कथं न ज्ञेयमस्माभिः पापादस्मान्निवर्तितुम् ।कुलक्षयकृतं दोषं प्रपश्यद्भिर्जनार्दन ॥ ३९ ॥
kathaṃ na jñeyamasmābhiḥ pāpādasmānnivartitumkulakṣayakṛtaṃ doṣaṃ prapaśyadbhirjanārdana

why should we not understand how to turn away from this wrong, Janardana, when we can see the harm that the destruction of a family brings?

1.40

कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः ।धर्मे नष्टे कुलं कृत्स्नमधर्मोऽभिभवत्युत ॥ ४० ॥
kulakṣaye praṇaśyanti kuladharmāḥ sanātanāḥdharme naṣṭe kulaṃ kṛtsnamadharmo’bhibhavatyuta

When a family is destroyed, its ancient obligations perish. Once dharma has perished, disorder overwhelms the whole family.

1.41

अधर्माभिभवात्कृष्ण प्रदुष्यन्ति कुलस्त्रियः ।स्त्रीषु दुष्टासु वार्ष्णेय जायते वर्णसङ्करः ॥ ४१ ॥
adharmābhibhavātkṛṣṇa praduṣyanti kulastriyaḥstrīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya jāyate varṇasaṅkaraḥ

When disorder prevails, Krishna, the women of the family become corrupted; when the women are corrupted, descendant of Vrishni, a mixing of social classes arises.

Verses 1.40–44 express Arjuna's fears in the inherited social and ritual language of the epic, including assumptions about women, lineage, and social classes. These are his arguments before Krishna's instruction, not the site's prescriptions for contemporary families or the worth of individuals.

1.42

सङ्करो नरकायैव कुलघ्नानां कुलस्य च ।पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रियाः ॥ ४२ ॥
saṅkaro narakāyaiva kulaghnānāṃ kulasya capatanti pitaro hyeṣāṃ luptapiṇḍodakakriyāḥ

Such mixing leads both the family's destroyers and the family to hell. Their ancestors fall, deprived of the rites of food and water offered to them.

1.43

दोषैरेतैः कुलघ्नानां वर्णसङ्करकारकैः ।उत्साद्यन्ते जातिधर्माः कुलधर्माश्च शाश्वताः ॥ ४३ ॥
doṣairetaiḥ kulaghnānāṃ varṇasaṅkarakārakaiḥutsādyante jātidharmāḥ kuladharmāśca śāśvatāḥ

Through these faults of those who destroy families, bringing about the mixing of social classes, the enduring duties of birth-group and family are uprooted.

1.44

उत्सन्नकुलधर्माणां मनुष्याणां जनार्दन ।नरके नियतं वासो भवतीत्यनुशुश्रुम ॥ ४४ ॥
utsannakuladharmāṇāṃ manuṣyāṇāṃ janārdananarake niyataṃ vāso bhavatītyanuśuśruma

We have heard, Janardana, that those whose family duties have been destroyed are destined to dwell in hell.

1.45

अहो बत महत्पापं कर्तुं व्यवसिता वयम् ।यद्राज्यसुखलोभेन हन्तुं स्वजनमुद्यताः ॥ ४५ ॥
aho bata mahatpāpaṃ kartuṃ vyavasitā vayamyadrājyasukhalobhena hantuṃ svajanamudyatāḥ

Alas, we have resolved upon a terrible wrong: driven by greed for the pleasures of kingship, we are ready to kill our own people.

1.46

यदि मामप्रतीकारमशस्त्रं शस्त्रपाणयः ।धार्तराष्ट्रा रणे हन्युस्तन्मे क्षेमतरं भवेत् ॥ ४६ ॥
yadi māmapratīkāramaśastraṃ śastrapāṇayaḥdhārtarāṣṭrā raṇe hanyustanme kṣemataraṃ bhavet

It would be better for me if Dhritarashtra's armed sons killed me in battle, unarmed and offering no resistance.

1.47Sanjaya

एवमुक्त्वार्जुनः सङ्ख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् ।विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः ॥ ४७ ॥
evamuktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye rathopastha upāviśatvisṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ śokasaṃvignamānasaḥ

Sanjaya said: Having spoken in this way on the battlefield, Arjuna sank down in the chariot, putting aside his bow and arrows, his mind shaken by grief.

A deeper reading

Questions worth
remaining with.

1.20–31

Compassion and confusion can coexist

Arjuna's compassion is not a minor obstacle to be brushed aside so that a lesson about courage can start. It brings the people affected by action into view. Yet feeling their importance does not by itself establish a complete answer to the conflict. The same attachment that opens recognition may also limit whose claims become visible. The chapter allows moral perception and uncertainty to occupy the same person at the same time.

This makes the opening more demanding than a simple endorsement or condemnation of Arjuna. A reader is asked to remain with the difficulty long enough to see its several elements. The next chapter will question his understanding, but it does so because his present arguments matter. The dialogue's educational force depends on a participant whose objections have substance, whose body is shaken, and whose familiar language of justification no longer suffices.

1.32–44

Read the social assumptions in their setting

Arjuna fears the collapse of the household and the loss of rites that connect generations. Those concerns help explain why a war can appear to destroy the very world its victors expect to inherit. His account also places responsibility for social continuity on women and invokes anxiety about the mixing of social classes. These are historically situated claims made by a character, not neutral descriptions of the worth of people.

Translation should not replace those difficult words with a comforting modern slogan. Commentary can make their position clear without treating inherited hierarchy as an ethical requirement for today's reader. The chapter gives us Arjuna's reasoning before Krishna's sustained response. Distinguishing speaker, circumstance, and claim protects both accuracy and moral attention. Reading carefully means hearing the argument in full while retaining the responsibility to examine what it assumes.

1.45–47

The pause that makes a dialogue possible

Arjuna's final gesture interrupts the expected action of a warrior on a battlefield. It does not yet constitute the teaching's conclusion. The distinction matters whenever this scene is read as an image of personal crisis. Stopping may reveal that an existing framework has failed, but it cannot guarantee that the next interpretation will be adequate. The chapter ends before the language of discipleship and instruction becomes explicit.

There is therefore no need to hurry past the last image in search of reassurance. A bow lies unused; a capable person cannot proceed. The Gita makes room for that suspension before offering an account of self, duty, action, and freedom. Its philosophical movement begins from an actual human difficulty, with relationships and consequences still present. Arjuna will eventually act, but the meaning of that action must be transformed through the conversation.

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