Arjuna Visada Yoga
Arjuna's Dilemma
The first chapter introduces the scene, the setting, the circumstances and the characters involved in the Bhagavad Gita. The two armies are arrayed on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and Arjuna, the mighty warrior, is filled with sorrow and compassion upon seeing his own relatives and teachers in the opposing army.
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच | धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः | मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ||1||
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjay, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukshetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?
Transliteration
dhṛitarāśhtra uvācha | dharma-kṣhetre kuru-kṣhetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ | māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāśhchaiva kimakurvata sañjaya ||1||
Commentary
The Bhagavad Gita begins with the blind king Dhritarashtra asking his secretary, Sanjay, to narrate the events of the Kurukshetra war. His question reveals his anxiety and partiality towards his own sons, the Kauravas.
अर्जुन उवाच | दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् | सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति ||28||
Arjuna said: My dear Krishna, seeing my friends and relatives present before me in such a fighting spirit, I feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up.
Transliteration
arjuna uvācha | dṛiṣhṭvemaṁ svajanaṁ kṛiṣhṇa yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam | sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṁ cha pariśhuṣhyati ||28||
Commentary
Here, Arjuna's emotional breakdown begins. The sight of his beloved family members and revered teachers arrayed against him in battle fills him with overwhelming grief and moral confusion.