Arjuna Visada Yoga

Dhritarashtra said: On the field of dharma, at Kurukshetra, my sons and the sons of Pandu gathered, eager to fight. What did they do, Sanjaya?

Sanjaya said: Seeing the army of the Pandavas drawn up for battle, King Duryodhana approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words.

Teacher, behold this vast army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed for battle by your intelligent disciple, the son of Drupada.

Here are heroes, mighty bowmen, equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna: Yuyudhana, Virata, and Drupada, a great warrior.

Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, and the valiant king of Kashi; Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya, the best of men.

The valiant Yudhamanyu and the brave Uttamaujas; the son of Subhadra and the sons of Draupadi. All of them are great warriors.

Best of the twice-born, take note of those who are foremost among us, the leaders of my army. I will name them to you.

There is your good self, and Bhishma, and Karna, and Kripa, ever victorious in battle; Ashvatthama, Vikarna, and the son of Somadatta.

And there are many other heroes ready to give up their lives for my sake, armed with various weapons, all skilled in battle.

Our army, guarded by Bhishma, is unlimited. Their army, guarded by Bhima, is limited.

So all of you, stationed in your respective positions throughout the divisions, guard Bhishma above all.

Then, to lift his spirits, the valiant grandfather, the eldest of the Kurus, roared like a lion and loudly blew his conch.

Then, all at once, conches, kettledrums, tabors, drums, and cow-horns blared forth. The sound was overwhelming.

Then Krishna and Arjuna, seated in their magnificent chariot yoked with white horses, blew their divine conches.

Krishna blew the Panchajanya. Arjuna blew the Devadatta. Bhima, doer of terrible deeds, blew the great conch Paundra.

King Yudhishthira, son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya. Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosha and the Manipushpaka.

And the King of Kashi, a great archer, and Shikhandi, a mighty warrior, and Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, and the unconquered Satyaki;

Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, and the mighty-armed son of Subhadra: all of them, O king, blew their own conches.

That tumultuous sound, reverberating through the sky and the earth, pierced the hearts of the sons of Dhritarashtra.

Then, O king, seeing the sons of Dhritarashtra standing in position as the clash of weapons was about to begin, Arjuna, whose banner bore the image of Hanuman, took up his bow.

Arjuna said: Krishna, place my chariot between the two armies,

so that I may look upon those who stand here eager to fight, and see whom I must face in this coming battle.

I wish to see those gathered here to fight, eager to please in battle the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra.

Sanjaya said: Spoken to in this way by Arjuna, O Dhritarashtra, Krishna placed the magnificent chariot between the two armies.

In front of Bhishma and Drona and all the rulers of the earth, Krishna said: Arjuna, behold these Kurus gathered here.

There Arjuna saw, standing in both armies, fathers and grandfathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and friends.

He saw fathers-in-law and well-wishers in both armies as well. Seeing all these kinsmen arrayed, Arjuna was overcome with deep pity and spoke in sorrow.

Arjuna said: Krishna, seeing these kinsmen of mine assembled here, eager to fight, my limbs fail and my mouth goes dry.

My body trembles and my hair stands on end. My limbs give way and my mouth is parched.

The Gandiva slips from my hand and my skin burns all over. I cannot stand steady. My mind is reeling.

And I see adverse omens, Krishna. I foresee no good in killing my own people in battle.

I do not desire victory, Krishna, nor kingdom, nor pleasures. What use is a kingdom to us, or enjoyments, or even life?

Those for whose sake we desire kingdom, enjoyments, and pleasures stand here in battle, giving up their lives and wealth.

Teachers, fathers, sons, and grandfathers; uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other kinsmen.

These I do not wish to kill, Krishna, even if they kill me, not for the sovereignty of the three worlds, let alone for the earth.

What pleasure could be ours from killing the sons of Dhritarashtra, Krishna? Only sin would come to us by killing these aggressors.

So it is not right for us to kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our own kinsmen. How could we be happy after killing our own people, Krishna?

Their minds are overpowered by greed. They see no fault in destroying the family, no sin in betraying friends.

But we see clearly the evil of destroying the family. Why should we not have the sense to turn away from this sin, Krishna?

When a family is destroyed, its eternal traditions perish. When tradition is lost, lawlessness overwhelms the whole family.

When lawlessness prevails, Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt. And when the women are corrupt, the castes intermingle.

This intermingling drags the family and its destroyers down to hell. Their ancestors fall too, deprived of the offerings of rice-balls and water.

By these misdeeds of the family-destroyers, which intermingle the castes, the eternal duties of caste and family are wiped out.

And we have heard that those whose family duties are destroyed are bound to dwell in hell, Krishna.

What a pity. We have resolved to commit a great sin, ready to kill our own people out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom.

If the armed sons of Dhritarashtra were to kill me in this battle, unresisting and unarmed, that would be better for me.

Sanjaya said: Having spoken these words on the battlefield, Arjuna cast aside his bow and arrows and sank down on the seat of the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.