The Paperback Gita: 1.24-46

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Krishna, the Lord who relishes serving His own servants, drove the chariot as

Arjun ordered. Arjun, the conqueror of delusion, tried to polish his inner

feelings

with the gloss of explanation, but Krishna sees into the hearts of all. He knew

 

Arjun's emotions precisely. He knew Arjun's weakness. Thus he led Arjun's

chariot

before his beloved Grandfather Bhishma and respected Guru Drona, saying, "Here,

 

Arjun - see who has sided with evil." (24-25)

 

His soft, saintly heart pushed to the brink of tears, Arjun said, "Krishna!

When

I see my family here so eager for war my limbs start to shake and my mouth goes

 

dry." He cast another look upon the noble grandfather to whose lap as a child

he so often ran for safety. "My body quakes! My hair stands up! O Krishna my

bow slips out of my hand, and my skin burns like fire." (27-29)

 

Gripping his own arms as if to overcome their shaking, Arjun's tears crossed

their brink and slid hotly down his cheeks.

 

"O Keshav, I cannot stay in this place! My mind is reeling. Everything I see

that could possibly bring me happiness will bring me only misery.

 

"Victory in this war is no reward - it is a punishment! It means the death of

my family and friends! I don't even want to win!"

 

"But they have stolen your kingdom..." Krishna attempted to say.

 

"No kingdom, no happiness is worth this price!" Arjun shouted, "Govinda, What

use is a kingdom, pleasure, or even life itself when those with whom we long

to share it are killed in the war to gain it?" (30-32)

 

Krishna became stern, "Arjun! You may not want to fight them, but they will

fight

you. They will kill you!"

 

"Nevertheless," the great archer pleaded, "they are still my gurus, fathers,

sons, grandfathers, brothers… Even if they are ready to die and kill, why

should

I be? O Janardan, is a kingdom really worth the sin of killing one's own

family!?

Let alone a kingdom, I would not kill them even for the three worlds! What

happiness

will come from killing Dhritarashtra's sons?" (33-35)

 

Krishna's beautiful eyes shone as He tried to navigate Arjun through the

intricate

maze of right and wrong. "Arjun, under normal circumstances there can be no

cause

to even quarrel with one's elders. Certainly there can be no grounds to kill

them. But you know better than I, Arjun, that these are not ordinary

circumstances.

These men are no longer your relatives. They tried to poison your brother. They

 

tried to burn you and your brothers alive with your mother. They openly

attacked

you at the end of your anonymous slavery. They stole your property and land.

They tried to strip your wife, Arjun! Don't you remember these things? They

called

her a whore! What kind of "family" are they? They are your enemies,

aggressors!"

 

"Whatever they are," Arjun burst, "they are our brothers and friends. It is

sinful

to kill them. Krishna, you are the husband of the goddess of fortune. Is there

anything fortunate to be had by killing one's family? I know that the

protectors

of the nation can kill an aggressor without sin, but forgiveness is a higher

principle. "

 

A sigh of frustration escaped Krishna's lips.

 

"It is sinful, Krishna." (36)

 

" Arjun," Krishna commanded, "do you know right and wrong better than your Guru

 

and Grandfather!?"

 

Bewilderment conquered Arjun's eyes.

 

"They have to fight the same family you have to fight. Do they run away from

the battlefield? If it was wrong, would they not desist?"

 

Arjun's open palms faced the sky as he pleaded,

 

"My grandfather is not in the same situation as I. He is bound by an oath to

support the throne of Hastinapur. To follow that oath is his duty. Even if it

means siding with Duryodhan and fighting one's own family -upholding his oath

cannot be irreligious."

 

Krishna smiled, what Arjun said was true.

 

"As for Dronacarya," Arjun continued, "in this trying moment perhaps he cannot

see the devastating effect of this war, and is thus prepared to fight. However,

 

I can see the effect, and therefore cannot raise my weapons."

 

"You see more clearly than your guru?" Krishna probed with sarcasm, "What makes

 

him so blind?"

 

"Perhaps it is his greed. After all, poverty, which made him unable to properly

 

care for his wife and son, drove him to beseech Drupad, and eventually reach

Hastinapur. Perhaps these economic considerations cloud his vision and compel

him not to see the disaster that will result from this war." (37-38)

 

"What 'disastrous effect'?" Krishna pushed.

 

" Just look around you!" Arjun offered with frustration, "Has there ever been

a war of this magnitude? 18 aukshohinis - that's 64 million soldiers! There is

scarcely one kingdom whose army is not present on either side. What will happen

 

to society when all these kings die? These kings maintain the moral conduct of

society, What will happen without them? How many of these 64 million soldiers

is not a husband, elder brother, father, or grandfather? How many fathers,

grandfathers,

uncles, elders, and kings can we kill? How many nations and families can we

destroy

just to win a kingdom?"

 

A dry wind blew over the armies. Arjun's words were as accurate as his arrows.

 

"When family is destroyed, religion is destroyed," he continued. "That is the

verdict of scripture. When religion is destroyed, the family becomes wicked.

A wicked family does not honor women; who thus become debased and corrupt.

Unwanted

children then flood society. O Krishna, a society of unwanted children is a

living

hell, both for the family and for those who destroyed it! It is hellish even

for ancestors who have already died - when the family loses their religious

traditions,

the rituals to protect the deceased are ceased." (39-41)

 

His voice was raising to a shout, "Destroying the family destroys everything

that is good! The Lord of Death reserves a place in hell for those who endanger

 

religion and family! We have heard it!"

 

Again quiet, he said, "Krishna, You are the one who maintains the prosperity

of all people. Can you expect me to fight this war and destroy society?"

(42-43)

 

Krishna's eyes, like lotus petals in a morning's new moisture, saw Arjun's

mighty

body quake with tears. They saw his face fall into his two hands. Through those

 

hands Arjun let out a sound of anguish and said with great effort, "How strange

 

it is, how strange… We righteous Pandavas have implicated ourselves in such

ferocious

sin! For the sake of a kingdom we are ready to kill our own family.

 

"I cannot fight."

 

"Arjun," Krishna gently said, "What will you do if you do not fight? You will

have no kingdom. No place to live. No occupation."

 

Raising his head from his hands, Arjun said, "Let me go and beg in the forest

if I must. I shall not fight this war."

 

"They will not give you the chance to leave for the forest. Do you think

Duryodhan

will follow the codes of moral warfare? They will attack you and kill you

unarmed."

 

"Let it be, Krishna. Even such an inglorious death is better than the sin of

fighting this war." His unconquerable bow fell to the floor, and arrows spilled

 

from his quiver. His arms fell limp to his thighs; and bright eyes overcast

with

the clouds of grief. Thus the mighty hero Arjun fell backward into the

chariot's

seat, hiding his face in his hands. (44-46)