ONE

Dhtarāra spoke:

  1. On the field of Dharma, on the field of the Kurus, they have assembled and are eager to fight, my men on one side and the sons of Pāu on the other. What did they do, Sajaya?

 

Sajaya spoke:

  2. Your son Duryodhana saw the army of the Pāavas drawn up for battle, and then he, the king, approached his teacher, Droa, and spoke these words:

  3. “My teacher, look at this magnificent army of Pāu’s sons and their men all drawn up and led by your wise student, Dhadyumna, the son of Drupada!

  4. There they are, warriors, great archers, all of them equal in battle to Bhīma and Arjuna, Yuyudhāna and Virāa, and Drupada as well, the great chariot warrior!

  5. And Dhaketu and Cekitāna and the king of Kāśī, a heroic man! And also Purujit and Kuntibhoja, and that bull among men, the king of the Śibis!

  6. Also there is that broad-striding Yudhamanyu, and Uttamaujas, also a hero, and Subhadra’s son, and Draupadī’s sons—all of them great chariot warriors!

  7. And now notice, O best of the twice-born Brahmins, these others, the most distinguished among us, the leaders of my army: I tell you their names so that you will remember them!1

  8. You yourself, my lord Droa, and Bhīma and Kara, and Kpa, the winner of many battles! And Ashvatthama and Vikara, and Somadatta’s son as well!

  9. And many other warriors willing to give up their lives for my sake, with their many weapons, all of them war-seasoned!

10. The strength of this army of ours is unmatched, led as it is by Bhīma, whereas that army of theirs, led as it is by Bhīma, can easily be matched!2

11. And so in all of your strategic movements, stationed wherever you are ordered to be, may all of you, all of you, protect Bhīma!”

12. It delighted Duryodhana when the aged grandfather of the Kurus, Bhīma, roared out a lion’s roar and blew his conch shell, full of fire.

13. Then conch shells and drums, and cymbals, and tabors and trumpets, all at once resounded. The sound was thunderous!

14. And standing there on their great chariot yoked to white stallions, Ka Mādhava and Arjuna, the son of Pāu, also blew their celestial conch shells.

15. Ka blew the horn that had belonged to Pañcajanya, Arjuna blew his Gift-of-God conch shell, and fierce wolf-bellied Bhīma blew the great Paura horn.

16. Yudhihira the king, the son of Kuntī, in turn blew the horn of endless victory, while Nakula and Sahadeva blew the sweet-toned and the jewel-toned conch shells.

17. The king of Kāśī, a master archer, and Śikandhin the great chariot rider, and Dhadyumna, and Virāa and Sātyaki the unconquered,

18. and Drupada and the sons of Draupadī and the mighty-armed son of Subhadrā—all at once, my king, they all blew their conch shells, over and over again and in all directions!

19. That sound pierced the hearts of Dhtarāra’s men, and the thunder of it made heaven and earth shake!

20. Then Arjuna, his war banner displaying the sign of the monkey, looked upon Dhtarāra’s men, just as the clashing of the weapons was to begin. And then the son of Pāu raised his bow.

21. And, my king, he spoke these words to Ka: “O unshakable one, stop my chariot here in the middle, between these two armies,

22. where I can see these men fixed in their positions and eager to fight, these men who are ready to fight against me in the strain of war.

23. I see them gathered here, these men who are set to fight, hungry to please in battle Dhtarāra’s reckless son.”

24. O Bhārata, Ka heard the words that Arjuna spoke, and he stopped that excellent chariot between the two armies.

25. Standing before Bhīma and Droa and all of the great kings, Ka spoke: “Arjuna, here they are, the assembled Kurus. Look at them!”

26. Arjuna looked upon them there where they stood, fathers and grandfathers, teachers, uncles and brothers, sons and grandsons, and companions,

27. fathers-in-law and dear friends, in both of the armies. Seeing them all standing there, his kinsmen,

28. Arjuna was overwhelmed by deep compassion, and in despair he said, “Ka, yes, I see my kinsmen gathered here and ready to fight.

29. My arms and legs have grown heavy. My mouth is dry. My body is trembling, and the hair on my head stands on end.

30. My Gāīva bow drops from my hand, and my skin—it burns. I cannot stand still, and my mind swirls like a storm.

31. Ka, I see unfavorable signs here, and I can see nothing good in killing my own family in battle!

32. I have no desire for victory, Ka, nor for a kingdom, nor for the joys of life. What is a kingdom to us, Ka, and what are pleasures, or life itself?

33. It is for our kinsmen that we have desired a kingdom, pleasures, and the joys of life, these men assembled here in battle, men who are prepared to give up their lives and their fortunes.

34. Our teachers, our fathers and sons, and our grandfathers as well. Uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, all of them our kinsmen!

35. I do not want to kill them, even if they kill me, Ka, not for kingship over all of the three worlds, much less for the earth itself!

36. What joy would there be for us, Ka, if we kill Dhtarāra and his men? Evil will follow us if we kill them, even as they draw their bows against us.

37. Thus it is not right for us to kill Dhtarāra’s men. They are our own kin! How can we win happiness, Ka, if we kill our own kin?

38. Even if they themselves don’t see it, blinded as they are by the greed that has destroyed their reason, it is wrong to destroy one’s family and to betray one’s friends.

39. How could we not have the wisdom to turn away from this evil thing, since we can see that to destroy the whole family is a terrible crime?

40. If our family is destroyed, then the timeless traditional laws of the family will die too. If traditional law dies, then chaos will overwhelm the entire family.3

41. If the family is overwhelmed by chaos, then the women of the family will be corrupted, and when the women are corrupted, Ka, all social order will collapse.

42. This collapse drags the family and those who destroy it down into hell, and their ancestors fall with them, since the offerings of rice and water will no longer be given.

43. The crimes of those who destroy the family cause the social order to collapse. They undermine the unchanging laws of caste duty and family duty.

44. Ka, we have been taught that a place in hell is saved for men who undermine family duty. This is our tradition.

45. No! We are intent on committing a great evil here, driven as we are, by greed for a kingdom and for pleasures, to kill our own kinsmen!

46. If Dhtarāra’s men with all their weapons were to kill me here as I am, unarmed and unresisting, that would bring me greater peace.”

47. Saying these things in the midst of a war, Arjuna sank down into his chariot seat. He dropped his bow and arrows. His mind was tormented by grief.