Sanjaya frankly speaks to Dhritarāṣṭra at this time saying that Arjuna, who is the most noble minded, the most compassionate, the eternal well-wisher and the most virtuous;

although frequently fraught with difficulties along with his four brothers, instigated by thee and thy son, including horrid acts of treachery against them with intent to kill,

such as attempting to burn them all alive in a specially made house of combustible lac, administering poison and other unworthy deeds as well.

It is surely known to you that by Arjuna the destruction of all your clan is certain due to the fact that he has the support of the Parama Puruṣa, Krishna Himself, by his side.

He felt weak, overcome by his love and extreme compassion for his relatives. He was also filled with fear, not knowing what was Dharma(righteous) and what was Adharma (unrighteous). His mind was distracted by grief at the thought of losing his relatives.

So he cast aside his bow and arrow and sat down on the floor of the chariot as if to fast to the death.

25 "Confronting Bhīṣma and Drona and all the Rulers of the Earth, and spake: 'O (Arjuna, thou) Son of Pṛthā, behold these congregated Kurus.'" 26 "There the son of Pṛthā beheld, stationed, sires and grand-sires, preceptors, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grand-sons, as also comrades." 27 “Fathers-in-law, and benefactors in both the armies. Perceiving all the kinsmen there stationed, that son of Kuntī. (174)

The chariot was stationed on the spot where Arjuna saw face to face Bhishma, Drona and others closely related, as also several other kings. Turning round Dhanurdhara viewed the whole army and got embarrassed and said, ‘See here, all these are elderly relatives’. Lord Krishna felt momentarily amazed at Pārtha’s saying such strange things and said to himself, “This looks surprising that Pārtha should feel in a way that cannot be understood.” Capable however of reading the future, Lord Krishna understood Pārtha’s mentality, but remained quiet without saying anything. Here Pārtha beheld standing face to face all (closely related such as) fatherlike elders, grand-fathers, brother-disciples (गुरुबधु) maternal uncles; also saw relatives and friends as also youths all included therein. Dhanurdhara also saw there well-wishing fathers-in-law and other relations, sons, grandsons (others) who were once laid under obligation or were given protection in adversity; whether big or small they were all seen coming for fighting. When Pārtha perceived members of the common Gotra all ready for fight in both the armies, he got confused in mind and unconsciously compassion possessed him entirely with the result that heroism abandoned him, resenting such insult; just as a loyal and faithful wife, born of the best family and possessed of good qualities and looks, would not with the force of her character put up with the upper hand of anyone else: or just as an amorous husband forgets his own wife for the love of another youthful woman and gets blind and follows her although (she is) less fit; or just as one, attaining perfection and success (ऋद्धिसिद्धि) on the strength of his penance and religious austerities, gets deluded and forgets the success of his asceticism: in the same way Pārtha lost all his heroism and surrendered completely to compassion; just as a charmer (मात्रिक) missing any word of his incantation himself suffers at the hand of the spirit, in the same way Dhanurdhara got extremely paralysed by a great delusion. (He) lost all physical energy and his heart was greatly melted just as a moon-stone (चंद्रकांत) begins to ooze out with the touch of the moon’s rays: in the same way Pārtha getting deluded by extreme compassion addressed Lord Krishna with a sad heart.

'Tān sarvānbandhūnavasthitān samīkṣya'—Besides the warriors mentioned in the previous verse, Arjuna saw great grandfathers, such as Bāhlīka etc., brothers-in-law, such as Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Śikhaṇḍī and Suratha etc., sister's husbands, such as Jayadratha etc., and several other relatives, who were posted in different positions in both armies.

'Sa kaunteyaḥ kṛpayā parayāviṣṭaḥ'—'Sa kaunteyaḥ' means, that Arjuna, who was ordered by mother Kuntī to wage war and who full of valour and stout-heartedness, entered the battlefield to observe the chief warriors of the Kaurava-army, was overcome by cowardice.

After seeing the warriors, who were related to him, through family and learning, on both the sides, Arjuna suddenly developed an attitude of kinship with them because he thought that on both sides there were his kinsmen and they would be killed in the war. In this way it was his family that would be destroyed on either

side. Thinking thus his stout-heartedness gave place to cowardice and he gave up the idea of war. This faint-heartedness, has been called by Lord Kṛṣṇa (in 2/2-3) 'Kaśmalam' viz., dejection and 'Hṛdayadaurbalyam' viz., weakness of the heart. Arjuna (in 2/7) also accepted it as 'Kārpaṇyadoṣopahatasvabhāvaḥ' viz., nature being tainted by the weakness of faint-heartedness. 'Kṛpayāviṣṭaḥ' means, that faint-heartedness is a temporary phase in him, while stout-heartedness is a permanent virtue, of his life. Thus the temporary phase of faint-heartedness cannot last too long, while his stout-heartedness will remain, forever.

What is extreme cowardice? Extreme cowardice in Arjuna is, that he does not think and make effort to kill his cruel and unrighteous opponents, such as Duryodhana, Duḥśāsana and Śakuni etc., who, without any reason, insulted the Pāṇḍavas gave them trouble and tried to kill them, somehow or the other. On the other hand, he is taking pity on them (Gītā 1/35,46) and is thus deviating from his duty, of the warrior-class.

'Viṣidannidamabravīt'—Arjuna, is very much dejected after thinking over the consequences of a war for the family, tribe and country, and speaks the following words.

जेथ भीष्माद्रोणादिक । जवळिकेचि सन्मुख । पृथिविपति आणिक । बहुत आहाति ॥ १७५॥

तेथ स्थिर करूनि रथु । अर्जुन असे पाहतु । तो दळभार समस्तु । संभ्रमेसी ॥ १७६॥

मग देवा म्हणे देख देख । हे गोत्रगुरु अशेख । तंव कृष्णा मनीं नावेक । विस्मो जाहला ॥ १७७॥

तो आपणयां आपण म्हणे । एथ कायि कवण जाणे । हें मनीं धरिले येणें । परि कांही आश्चर्य असे ॥ १७८॥

ऐसी पुढील से घेतु । तो सहजें जाणे हृदयस्थु । परि उगा असे निवांतु । तिये वेळीं ॥ १७९॥

तंव तेथ पार्थु सकळ । पितृपितामह केवळ । गुरू बंधु मातुळ । देखता जाहला ॥ १८०॥

इष्टमित्र आपुले । कुमरजन देखिले । हे सकळ असती आले । तयांमाजि ॥ १८१॥

सुहृज्जन सासरे । आणिकही सखे सोईरे । कुमर पौत्र धनुर्धरें । देखिले तेथ ॥ १८२॥

जयां उपकार होते केले । कां आपदीं जे राखिले । हे असो वडील धाकुले - । आदिकरुनि ॥ १८३॥

ऐसे गोत्रचि दोहीं दळीं । उदित जालें असे कळीं । हें अर्जुने तिये वेळीं । अवलोकिलें ॥ १८४॥

(1.175) और जहाँ भीष्म-द्रोणादिक नातेदार सामने ही खड़े थे और अन्य भी बहुत से राजा लोग थे।

(1.176) वहीं रथ ठहरा कर अर्जुन शीघ्रता से उस समग्र सेना को देखने लगा।

(1.177) और फिर बोला — हे देव! देखिए देखिए, ये सब अपने ही कुल के श्रेष्ठ जन हैं।

यह सुनकर श्रीकृष्ण के मन में क्षण भर विस्मय हुआ।

(1.178) वे मन में कहने लगे कि न जानें इसके मन में यह क्या आया! परन्तु क्या आश्चर्य है...

(1.179) इस प्रकार उन्हें होनहार बात का स्मरण हुआ। वे सहज ही उसका अन्तरात्मा जान गये, परन्तु उस समय स्तब्ध हो रहे और कुछ न बोले।

(1.180) यहाँ अर्जुन ने अपने सब पितृ, पितामह, गुरु, भ्राता और मातुलों की ओर देखा।

(1.181) अपने इष्ट-मित्र, कुमारजन भी देखे। वे सब युद्ध के लिए आये हुए वीरों में उपस्थित थे। (1.182) मित्रगण, श्वसुर और अन्य सगे सम्बन्धी, कुमार और नाती आदि को अर्जुन ने वहाँ उपस्थित देखा।

(1.183) जिनका उसने उपकार किया था, अथवा संकट के समय जिनकी रक्षा की थी वही नहीं, वरन् सब बड़े-छोटे

(1.184) गोत्रज दोनों सेनाओं में युद्ध के लिए उत्सुक देख पड़े।

कृपया परयाविष्टो विषीदन्निदमब्रवीत्।

युद्ध के लिये तत्पर उन सब बन्धुओं को देखकर अर्जुन का हृदय अत्यन्त करुणा से भर गया और वह बहुत विषादयुक्त होकर कहने लगा।

‘तान् सर्वान्बन्धूनवस्थितान् समीक्ष्य’— पूर्वश्लोकके अनुसार अर्जुन जिनको देख चुके हैं, उनके अतिरिक्त अर्जुनने बाह्लीक आदि प्रपितामह; धृष्टद्युम्न, शिखण्डी, सुरथ आदि साले; जयद्रथ आदि बहनोई तथा अन्य कई सम्बन्धियोंको दोनों सेनाओंमें स्थित देखा।

**‘स कौन्तेयः कृपया परयाविष्टः’—** इन पदोंमें ‘स कौन्तेयः’ कहनेका तात्पर्य है कि माता कुन्तीने जिनको युद्ध करनेके लिये सन्देश भेजा था और जिन्होंने शूरवीरतामें आकर ‘मेरे साथ दो हाथ करनेवाले कौन हैं?’—ऐसे मुख्य-मुख्य योद्धाओंको देखनेके लिये भगवान् श्रीकृष्णको दोनों सेनाओंके बीचमें रथ खड़ा करनेकी आज्ञा दी थी, वे ही कुन्तीनन्दन अर्जुन अत्यन्त कायरतासे युक्त हो जाते हैं!

दोनों ही सेनाओंमें जन्मके और विद्याके सम्बन्धी-ही-सम्बन्धी देखनेसे अर्जुनके मनमें यह विचार आया कि युद्धमें चाहे इस पक्षके लोग मरें, चाहे उस पक्षके लोग मरें, नुकसान हमारा ही होगा, कुल तो हमारा ही नष्ट होगा, सम्बन्धी तो हमारे ही मारे जायेंगे! ऐसा विचार आनेसे अर्जुनकी युद्धकी इच्छा तो मिट गयी और भीतरमें कायरता आ गयी। इस कायरताको भगवान्ने आगे (२।२-३ में) ‘कश्मलम्’ तथा ‘हृदयदीवल्यम्’ कहा है, और अर्जुनने (२।७ में) ‘कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः’ कहकर इसको स्वीकार भी किया है।

अर्जुन कायरतासे आविष्ट हुए हैं—‘कृपयाविष्टः’। इससे सिद्ध होता है कि यह कायरता पहले नहीं थी, प्रत्युत अभी आयी है। अतः यह आगन्तुक दोष है। आगन्तुक होनेसे यह ठहरेगी नहीं। परन्तु शूरवीरता अर्जुनमें स्वाभाविक है; अतः वह तो रहेगी ही।

अत्यन्त कायरता क्या है? बिना किसी कारण निन्दा, तिरस्कार, अपमान करनेवाले, दुःख देनेवाले, वैरभाव रखने-वाले, नाश करनेकी चेष्टा करनेवाले, दुर्गोधन, दुःशासन, शकुनि आदिको अपने सामने युद्ध करनेके लिये खड़े देखकर भी उनको मारनेका विचार न होना, उनका नाश करनेका उद्योग न करना—यह अत्यन्त कायरतारूप दोष है। यहाँ अर्जुनको कायरतारूप दोषने ऐसा घेर लिया है कि जो अर्जुन आदिका अनिष्ट चाहनेवाले और समय-समयपर अनिष्ट करनेका उद्योग करनेवाले हैं, उन अधर्मियों—पापियोंपर भी अर्जुनको करुणा आ रही है (गीता—पहले अध्यायका पैंतीसवाँ और छियालीसवाँ श्लोक) और वे क्षत्रियके कर्तव्यरूप अपने धर्मसे च्युत हो रहे हैं।

**‘विषीदन्तिदमब्रवीत्’—** युद्धके परिणाममें कुटुम्बकी, कुलकी, देशकी क्या दशा होगी—इसको लेकर अर्जुन बहुत दुःखी हो रहे हैं और उस अवस्थामें वे ये वचन बोलते हैं, जिसका वर्णन आगेके श्लोकोंमें किया गया है।

अर्जुन उवाच