कृपया परयाविष्टो विषीदन्निदमब्रवीत् ।दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् ॥
kṛpayā parayāviṣṭo viṣīdannidamabravītdṛṣṭvemaṁ svajanaṁ kṛṣṇa yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam
Seeing all these kinsmen thus standing arrayed, Kaunteya, invaded by great pity, uttered this in sadness and dejection. / Arjuna said: Seeing these my own people, O Krishna, arrayed for battle, my limbs collapse and my mouth is parched, my body shakes and my hair stands on end; Gandiva (Arjuna’s bow) slips from my hand, and all my skin seems to be burning.
Compiled rendering · Anilbaran Roy
AI translation
His translation
“O Krishna, I behold these kinsmen and friends arrayed in hostile arms and my limbs sink beneath me and my face grows dry, and 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, my brain whirls and evil omens, O Késhove, 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 kingship and enjoyments and delight, lo they all stand in battle against us casting behind them their riches and their lives, our teachers and our fathers and our sons, our grandsires and uncles and the fathers of our wives and our grandsons and our wives’ brothers and the kin of our beloved. These though they slay me, O Madhusudan, 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? Sin, sin alone would find lodging in us, if we slew these though our adversaries & foes. Therefore we do not right to slay the children of Dhritarashtra and their friends, for how can we be happy, O Madhove, if we slay our kin? Even though these see not, for their hearts are swept away by greed, error done in the ruin of one’s 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 Janardan, for error done in the ruin of our house? When the family dwindles, 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 their race and the race itself to very hell; for the long line of fathers perishes and the food ceases and the water is given no more. By these their 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 righteousnesses of the race, in hell an eternal habitation is set apart, ‘tis told. Alas a dreadful sin have we set ourselves to do, that from greed of lordship and pleasure we have made ready to slay our own kin. Yea even if the sons of Dhritarashtra slay me with their armèd hands, me unarmed and unresisting, it were better & more fortunate for me than this.”
Essays on the Gita
It is typical again of the pragmatic man that it is through his sensations that he awakens to the meaning of his action. He has asked his friend and charioteer to place him between the two armies, not with any profounder idea, but with the proud intention of viewing and looking in the face these myriads of the champions of unrighteousness whom he has to meet and conquer and slay1·22 “in this holiday of fight” so that the right may prevail. It is as he gazes that the revelation of the meaning of a civil and domestic war comes home to him, a war in which not only men of the same race, the same nation, the same clan, but those of the same family and household stand upon opposite sides. All whom the social man holds most dear and sacred, he must meet as enemies and slay,1·26–31 —the worshipped teacher and preceptor, the old friend, comrade and companion in arms, grandsires, uncles, those who stood in the relation to him of father, of son, of grandson, connections by blood and connections by marriage,—all these social ties have to be cut asunder by the sword. It is not that he did not know these things before, but he has never realised it all; obsessed by his claims and wrongs and by the principles of his life, the struggle for the right, the duty of the Kshatriya to protect justice and the law and fight and beat down injustice and lawless violence, he has neither thought it out deeply nor felt it in his heart and at the core of his life. And now it is shown to his vision by the divine charioteer, placed sensationally before his eyes, and comes home to him like a blow delivered at the very centre of his sensational, vital and emotional being.
The first result is a violent sensational and physical crisis which produces a disgust of the action and its material objects and of life itself. He rejects the vital aim pursued by egoistic humanity in its action,1·32–40 —happiness and enjoyment; he rejects the vital aim of the Kshatriya, victory and rule and power and the government of men. What after all is this fight for justice when reduced to its practical terms, but just this, a fight for the interests of himself, his brothers and his party, for possession and enjoyment and rule? But at such a cost these things are not worth having. For they are of no value in themselves, but only as a means to the right maintenance of social and national life and it is these very aims that in the person of his kin and his race he is about to destroy. And then comes the cry of the emotions. These are they for whose sake life and happiness are desired, our “own people”.1·28 Who would consent to slay these for the sake of all the earth, or even for the kingdom of the three worlds? What pleasure can there be in life, what happiness, what satisfaction in oneself after such a deed? The whole thing is a dreadful sin,—for now the moral sense awakens to justify the revolt of the sensations and the emotions. It is a sin, there is no right nor justice in mutual slaughter; especially are those who are to be slain the natural objects of reverence and of love, those without whom one would not care to live, and to violate these sacred feelings can be no virtue, can be nothing but a heinous crime. Granted that the offence, the aggression, the first sin, the crimes of greed and selfish passion which have brought things to such a pass came from the other side; yet armed resistance to wrong under such circumstances would be itself a sin and crime worse than theirs because they are blinded by passion and unconscious of guilt, while on this side it would be with a clear sense of guilt that the sin would be committed. And for what? For the maintenance of family morality, of the social law and the law of the nation? These are the very standards that will be destroyed by this civil war; the family itself will be brought to the point of annihilation, corruption of morals and loss of the purity of race will be engendered,1·38–42 the eternal laws of the race and moral law of the family will be destroyed. Ruin of the race, the collapse of its high traditions, ethical degradation and hell for the authors of such a crime, these are the only practical results possible of this monstrous civil strife. “Therefore,” cries Arjuna, casting down the divine bow and inexhaustible quiver given to him by the gods for that tremendous hour,1·46 “it is more for my welfare that the sons of Dhritarashtra armed should slay me unarmed and unresisting. I will not fight.”
Arjuna is the Kshatriya, the rajasic man who governs his rajasic action by a high sattwic ideal. He advances to this gigantic struggle, to this Kurukshetra with the full acceptance of the1·22 joy of battle, as to “a holiday of fight”, but with a proud confidence in the righteousness of his cause; he advances in his rapid chariot tearing the hearts of his enemies with the victorious1·14–15 clamour of his war-conch; for he wishes to look upon all these1·22–23 Kings of men who have come here to champion against him the cause of unrighteousness and establish as a rule of life the disregard of law, justice and truth which they would replace by the rule of a selfish and arrogant egoism. When this confidence is shattered within him, when he is smitten down from his customary attitude and mental basis of life, it is by the uprush of the tamasic quality into the rajasic man, inducing a recoil of astonishment, grief, horror, dismay, dejection, bewilderment of the mind and the war of reason against itself, a collapse towards the principle of ignorance and inertia. As a result he turns towards renunciation. Better the life of the mendicant living upon alms than this dharma2·5 of the Kshatriya, this battle and action culminating in undiscriminating massacre, this principle of mastery and glory and power which can only be won by destruction and bloodshed, this conquest of blood-stained enjoyments, this vindication of justice and right by a means which contradicts all righteousness and this affirmation of the social law by a war which destroys in its process and result all that constitutes society.
Writings in Bengali
tān samīkṣya sa kaunteyaḥ sarvān bandhūnavasthitān
kṛpayā parayāviṣṭo viṣīdannidamabravīt (27)
Arjuna Uvacha
dṛṣṭvemam svajanaṁ kṛṣṇa yuyutsuṁ samavasthitam
sīdanti mama gātrāni mukhaṁ ca pariśuṣyati (28)
Arjuna said:
Arjuna first described his dejection. The great hero Arjuna is overwhelmed and defeated by the sudden rebellion of affection and pity; all the strength of his body has dried up in a moment; the limbs are languid; there is no strength even to stand; the strong hand is unable to hold the Gandiva; symptoms of fever are manifest in the heat of grief; there is weakness of the body; the skin seems to be burning in fire; the mouth has dried up inside; the whole body is trembling intensely; the mind seems to be whirling in that attack. Reading the description of this state we first stop enjoying only that poetic beauty calling it an excessive development of the poet’s vigorous imagination; but if we examine it with subtle judgment, then a deep meaning of this description arises in the mind. Arjuna has fought with the Kurus before also, yet such a state never occurred; now suddenly this internal disturbance has happened by the will of Sri Krishna. Many very strong propensities of the human race defeated and bound by Kshatriya education and high aspiration lie hidden in the bottom of Arjuna’s heart. Purification of the heart does not come by repression; purification of the heart comes by self-control with the help of discrimination and pure intelligence. Repressed propensities and feelings rising from the heart either in this life or in a future life one day attack the intelligence and conquering it drive all actions in the path favourable to their own development. For this reason, he who is kind in this life becomes cruel in another life; he who is lustful and licentious in this life becomes a saint and pure-hearted in another life. Instead of repressing, one has to cleanse the heart by rejecting the propensities with the help of discrimination and pure intelligence. This is called self-control. Self-control is impossible without the removal of the tamasic nature by the influence of knowledge. Therefore Sri Krishna wishes to purify the heart by removing Arjuna’s ignorance and awakening the dormant discrimination. But unless the rejectable propensities are raised from the heart and placed before the intelligence, the intelligence does not get the opportunity to reject them either; moreover, the internal demon and titan are killed by discrimination in the battle itself; then discrimination liberates the intelligence. In the first stage of yoga all the evil propensities that are rooted in the heart attack the intelligence with great force and bewilder the unaccustomed sadhak with fear and grief; this is called the temptation of the Devil in the West; this is the attack of Mara. But that fear and grief are born of ignorance; that temptation is not of the Devil, but of God. The indwelling World-Teacher calls those propensities to attack the sadhak for his good, for the purification of the heart. Just as Sri Krishna is Arjuna’s friend and charioteer in the external world in a physical body, so within him he is the bodiless God and the indwelling Supreme Person; He projected these hidden propensities and feelings on the intelligence with great force at one time. At that terrible blow the intelligence whirled and the strong mental disturbance was immediately expressed in the gross body in the symptoms described by the poet. We know that such physical manifestation of strong unexpected grief and sorrow takes place; it is not outside the common experience of the human race. The Vaishnava Maya of God overwhelmed Arjuna with entire force in a moment; hence this strong disturbance. When unrighteousness assumes the form of tender virtues like pity, love etc., ignorance comes in the disguise of knowledge; thick black Tamas pretending to be bright and white purity says, I am Sattwic, I am knowledge, I am virtue, I am the beloved messenger of God, virtue in the form of virtue-promoter,—then it must be understood that God’s Vaishnava Maya has appeared in the intelligence.
তান্ সমীক্ষ্য স কৌন্তেয়ঃ সর্ব্বান্ বন্ধূনবস্থিতান্।
কৃপয়া পরয়াবিষ্টো বিষীদন্নিদমব্রবীৎ॥২৭॥
অর্জ্জুন উবাচ
দৃষ্ট্বেমান্ স্বজনান্ কৃষ্ণ যুযুৎসূন্ সমবস্থিতান্।
সীদন্তি মম গাত্রাণি মুখঞ্চ পরিশুষ্যতি॥২৮॥
অর্জ্জুন বলিলেন, —
“হে কৃষ্ণ, এই সকল স্বজনকে যুদ্ধার্থে অবস্থিত দেখিয়া আমার দেহের অঙ্গ সকল অবসন্ন হইতেছে, মুখ শুকাইয়া যাইতেছে,
অর্জ্জুন প্রথম তাঁহার বিষাদের বর্ণনা করিলেন। স্নেহ ও কৃপার অকস্মাৎ বিদ্রোহে মহাবীর অর্জ্জুন অভিভূত ও পরাস্ত, তাঁহার শরীরের সমস্ত বল এক মুহূর্ত্তে শুকাইয়া গিয়াছে, অঙ্গ সকল অবসন্ন, দাঁড়াইবার শক্তিও নাই, বলবানের হস্ত গাণ্ডীব ধারণে অসমর্থ, শোকের উত্তাপে জ্বরের লক্ষণ ব্যক্ত, শরীরের দৌর্ব্বল্য হইয়াছে, ত্বক্ যেন অগ্নিতে দগ্ধ হইতেছে, মুখ ভিতরে শুকাইয়া গিয়াছে, সমস্ত শরীর তীব্রভাবে কম্পমান, মন যেন সেই আক্রমণে ঘুরিতেছে। এই ভাবের বর্ণনা পড়িয়া প্রথম কবির তেজস্বিনী কল্পনার অতিরিক্ত বিকাশ বলিয়া কেবল সেই কবিত্বসৌন্দর্য্য ভোগ করিয়া ক্ষান্ত হই; কিন্তু যদি সূক্ষ্মবিচারে নিরীক্ষণ করি, তখন এই বর্ণনার একটী গূঢ় অর্থ মনে উদয় হয়। অর্জ্জুন পূর্ব্বেও কুরুদের সহিত যুদ্ধ করিয়াছেন, অথচ এইরূপ ভাব কখনও হয় নাই, এখন শ্রীকৃষ্ণের ইচ্ছায় হঠাৎ এই আন্তরিক উৎপাত হইয়াছে। মনুষ্যজাতির অনেক অতিপ্রবল বৃত্তি ক্ষত্রিয় শিক্ষা ও উচ্চ আকাঙ্ক্ষা দ্বারা পরাভূত ও আবদ্ধ হইয়া অর্জ্জুনের হৃদয়তলে গুপ্তভাবে রহিয়াছে। নিগ্রহ দ্বারা চিত্তশুদ্ধি হয় না, বিবেক ও বিশুদ্ধ বুদ্ধির সাহায্যে সংযমে চিত্তশুদ্ধি হয়। নিগৃহীত বৃত্তি ও ভাবসকল হয় এই জন্মে, নহে পরজন্মে একদিন চিত্ত হইতে উঠিয়া বুদ্ধিকে আক্রমণ করে এবং জয় করিয়া সমস্ত কর্ম্ম স্ববিকাশের অনুকূল পথে চালায়। এই হেতু, যে এই জন্মে দয়াবান, সে অন্য জন্মে নিষ্ঠুর হয়, যে এই জন্মে কামী ও দুশ্চরিত্র, সে অন্য জন্মে সাধু ও পবিত্রচেতা হয়। নিগ্রহ না করিয়া বিবেক ও বিশুদ্ধ বুদ্ধির সাহায্যে বৃত্তিগুলি প্রত্যাখ্যান করিয়া চিত্ত পরিষ্কার করিতে হয়। ইহাকেই সংযম বলে। জ্ঞানের প্রভাবে তমোভাবের অপনোদন না হইলে সংযম অসম্ভব। সেইজন্য শ্রীকৃষ্ণ অর্জ্জুনের অজ্ঞান দূর করিয়া সুপ্ত বিবেক জাগাইয়া চিত্তশোধন করিতে ইচ্ছুক। কিন্তু পরিহার্য্য বৃত্তিসকল চিত্ত হইতে উত্তোলনপূর্ব্বক বুদ্ধির সম্মুখে
