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BHAGAVAD GITA CHAPTER ONE dhritarashtra
In the holy field, the field of the Kurus, assembled for the fight, what did my children, O Sunjoy, what did Pandu’s sons?
sun joy
Then the king, even Duryodhan, when he beheld the Pandav army marshalled in battle array, approached the master and spoke this word. “Behold, O Master, this mighty host of the sons of Pandou by Drupad’s son, thy wise disciple, marshalled in battle array. There are their heroes and great bowmen, like unto Bhema and Urjoona in war, Yuyudhana and Virata and Drupad, the mighty warrior, Dhristaketou and Chekitana and Kashi’s heroic king; and Pourujit, Coontybhoj and Shalvya, lion of men, and Yudhamanyu of mighty deeds and hero Uttamaujas and Subhadra’s son and the sons of Draupady, great warriors all. And they who are our chief and first, them also mark, O best of the twice-born, — leaders of my army, for the reckoning let me speak their names, thou and Bhishma and Curna, Cripa, victorious in battle, Aswatthama and Vicurna and Somadutta’s son, and many other courageous hearts that for me have cast their lives behind them, smiters with various weapons and many arms, and all are expert in war. Weak to its task is this our strength but Bhishma guards the host; sufficient to its task is yonder strength of the foe and Bhema is their guard. Do ye then, each stationed to his work, stand up in all the gates of the war and Bhishma, ever Bhishma do ye guard, yea all guard him alone.”
Then giving joy birth in Duryodhan’s heart the Grandsire, elder of the Kurus, thundered loud his war-cry’s lion roar, and blew his conchshell’s blare, the man of might. Then conchshell and bugle, trumpet and horn and drum, all suddenly were smitten and blown, and a huge rushing sound arose. Then in their mighty car erect, their car with snow-white steeds, Madhava and Pandava blew their divine shells, Hrishikesh on Panchajanya, on Devdatta, god-given, Dhanunjoy blew, and on his great shell from far Bengal blew Bhema, wolf-belly, the man of dreadful deeds, and on Anantavijay, boundless conquest, Yudhisthira the king, even Coonty’s son, and Nacool and Sahadev on Sughosha, far-sounding and Manipushpaca, jewel- flower. Page – 77 And Kashi’s king, that excellent bowman, and Shikandi, that great fighter, and Dhristadyoumna and Viral and Satyaqy unconquered, and Drupad and the children of Draupady, and Subhadra’s great-armed son — all these from all sides blew each his separate shell, O Lord of earth, that the thunder of them tore the hearts of Dhritarashtra’s sons and earth and heaven re-echoed with the clamour and the roar. Now as the ape-bannered, the Pandava, saw the Dhritarashtrians at their war-like posts, so heaved he up his bow and even as the shafts began to fall spake to Hrishikesha this word, O King.
“Right in the midst between either host set thou my car, O unfallen. Let me scan these who stand arrayed and greedy for battle; let me know who must wage war with me in this great holiday of fight. Fain would I see who are these that are here for combat to do in battle the will of Dhritarashtra’s witless son.” Thus, O Bharata, to Hrishikesha Gudakesha said, who set in, the midst between either army the noble car, in front of Bhishma and Drona and all those kings of earth. “Lo, O Partha,” he said, “all these Kurus met in one field!” There Partha saw fathers and grandsires stand, and teachers and uncles and brothers and sons and grandsons and dear comrades, and fathers of wives and heart’s friends, all in either battle opposed. And when the son of Coonty beheld all these dear friends and kindred facing each other in war, his heart was besieged with utter pity and failed him, and he said, “O Krishna, I behold these kinsmen and friends arrayed in hostile arms and my limbs sink beneath me and my face grows dryland there are shudderings in my body, and my hair stands on end, Gandeva falls from my hand and my very skin is on fire. Yea, I cannot stand and my brain; whirls, and evil omens, O Keshava, meet mine eyes. I can see no blessing for me, having slain my kin in fight. I desire not victory, O Krishna, no nor kingship nor delights. What shall we do with kingship, O Govinda, what with enjoyments, what with life ? They for whose sake we desire kin ship and enjoyments and delight, lo they all stand in battle against us casting behind them their riches and lives, our teachers and our fathers am our sons, our grandsires and uncles and the fathers of our wives, and on grandsons and our wives’ brothers and the kin of our beloved, These though they slay me, O Madhushudan, I would not slay, no not for the empire of heaven and space and hell, much less for this poor earth of ours. Slaying the sons of Dhritarashtra what joy would be left to us, O Janardana? Page – 78 Sin, sin alone would find lodging in us, if we slew these, though our adversaries and foes. Therefore we do not right to slay the children of Dhritarashtra and their friends, for how can we be happy, O Madhava, if we slay our kin? Even though these see not, for their hearts are swept away by greed, error done in the ruin of our house and grievous sin in treachery to natural friends, how shall we not understand and turn back from this sin, we who have eyes, O Janardana, for error done in the ruin of our house? When the family dwindle, the eternal ideals of the race are lost, and when ideals are lost, unrighteousness besets the whole race; in the prevalence of unrighteousness, O Krishna, the women of the race go astray, and when women grow corrupt, bastard confusion is born again; but confusion brings the slayers of the race and the race itself to very hell; for the long line of fathers perish and the food ceaseth and the water is given no more. By these sins who bring their race to perdition, fathers they of bastard confusion, the eternal ideals of the nation and the hearth are overthrown, and for men who have lost the ancient righteousness of the race, in hell an eternal habitation is set apart, it is told. Alas, a dreadful sin have we set ourselves to do, that we have made ready. From greed of lordship and pleasure, to slay our own kin. Yea, even if the sons of Dhritarashtra slay me with their armed hands, me unarmed and unresisting, it were better and more fortunate for me than this.” Thus spake Urjoona and in the very battle’s heart sat down upon his chariot seat, and let fall his bow when the arrow was on the string, for his soul was perplexed with grief. Page – 79 |