Arjuna’s Reaction
arjuna uvaacha
drishtwe mam swajanam krishna yuyutsum samupasthitam // 28 //
Arjuna said
O Krishna, seeing these relatives and friends gathered here eager to fight,
seedanti mama gaatraani mukham cha parishushyati
vepathushcha shareere me romaharshashcha jaayate // 29//
My limbs fail me and my mouth gets parched up, my body trembles and my hairs stand on end.
gaandeevam sramsate hastaat twak chaiva paridahyate
na cha shaknomyavasthaatum bhramateeva cha me manah // 30 //
The Gandiva (bow) slips from my hand and my skin burns all over; I am unable even to stand steady and my mind is reeling.
nimittaani cha pashyaami vipareetaani keshava
na cha shreyo'nupashyaami hatwaa swajanam aahave // 31 //
And I see evil omens, O Kesava (Krishna), I do not see any good in killing my own people in this battle.
Arjuna's attention to omens indicates that his mental strength had gone down. It started showing its weakness and instability. The world he was seeing till a short while ago, now presented him with a different picture on account of his change of perception. Subjectivity replaced objectivity on account of his mental confusion. Losing self-control, he landed in the abyss of ignorance. His words make us think of the loneliness of man oppressed by doubts and emptiness from whom the comforts of human life are slipping away. This sadness is the first experience of those who aspire for the vision of the Reality.
Arjuna’s Anguish
na kaangkshe vijayam krishna na cha raajyam sukhaani cha
kim no raajyena govinda kim bhogair jeevitena vaa // 32 //
For, I do not desire victory, O, Krishna, or pleasures or kingdoms. Of what avail is kingdom to us O, Govinda (Krishna), or pleasures or even life?
Indifference to acquisition of worldly pleasures is a sign of ethical and spiritual progress. However, Arjuna was far from it. It is only his delusion which is masquerading as mental achievement. It is nothing but a momentary temptation to adopt the method of renunciation in times of great sorrow and crisis bordering on escapism from the reality.
yeshaam arthe kaangkshitam no raajyam bhogaah sukhaani cha
ta ime'vasthitaa yuddhe praanaams tyaktwaa dhanaani cha // 33 //
Those for whose sake we desire kingdoms, enjoyments and pleasures, stand here in battle staking their life and wealth.
aachaaryah pitarah putraastathaiva cha pitaamahaah
maatulaah shwashuraah pautraah shyaalaah sambandhinas tathaa // 34 //
Teachers, fathers, sons and also grandfathers, uncles and fathers-in-law, grandsons and brothers-in-law and other relatives
etaan na hantum icchaami ghnato'pi madhusoodana
api trailokya raajyasya hetoh kim nu maheekrite // 35 //
O, Madhusudana (Krishna), though these were to kill me, I do not wish to kill them even for the sake of dominion over the three worlds, leave alone killing them for the sake of the earth.
nihatya dhaartaraashtraan nah kaa preetih syaaj janaardana
paapam evaashrayed asmaan hatwaitaan aatataayinah // 36 //
By killing these sons of Dhritarashtra, what pleasures can be ours O, Janardana (Krishna)? Only sin will accrue by killing these felons.
The term `felon' refers to the one who sets fire to the house of another, runs with a sword to kill, poisons others, plunders the wealth and land of others or usurps the wife of somebody else. Duryodhana committed all these crimes against the Pandavas. According to Artha Sastra no sin is committed if such felons are killed. But Arjuna overwhelmed with a sense of sentimental sympathy for his near and dear ones takes the help of the general principle of Dharma Sastra which forbids the sin of killing one another. He is talking in terms of enlightened selfishness.
tasmaan naarhaa vayam hantum dhaartaraashtraan swabaandhavaan
swajanam hi katham hatwaa sukhinah syaama maadhava // 37 //
Therefore, we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our relatives; for, how can we be happy by killing our own people, O, Madhava (Krishna)?
yadyapyete na pashyanti lobhopahatachetasah
kulakshayakritam dosham mitradrohe cha paatakam // 38 //
katham na jneyam asmaabhih paapaad asmaan nivartitum
kulakshayakritam dosham prapashyadbhir janaardana // 39 //
O Janardana, though with their intelligence overpowered by greed they do not see any evil or sin in the destruction of families or hostility towards friends, why should not we who clearly see evil in the destruction of a family, learn to turn away from this sin.
Arjuna was reinforcing his arguments for saving the Kaurava desperadoes due to his attachment for his relatives and friends by putting forward a philosophy of non-resistance to evil. Krishna in his discourses that will follow proved the hollowness of these arguments and their dangerous implications.