 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
|
Transliteration and translation of the verses of each chapter - Chapter I |  |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Chapters
dhrtarastra uvaca dharma-ksetre kuru-ksetre Dhrtarashtra said: 1. Gathered together at Kurukshetra, the field of religious activities, what, O Sanjaya, did my war-inclined sons and those of Pandu do? sanjaya uvaca drstva tu pandavanikam Sanjaya said: 2. Now seeing the Pandava army arrayed properly, the Prince Duryodhana drew near his preceptor Drona and spoke these words: pasyaitam pandu-putranam 3. Behold, O master, this mighty army of the sons of Pandu, marshaled by the son of Drupada, your talented disciple. atra sura mahesv-asa 4. Here are mighty archers, peers in warfare equal to heroic Arjuna and Bhima; Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada, the great chariot-warrior. dhrstaketus cekitanah 5. Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana and the valiant King of Kasi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Saibya, the best among men; yudhamanyus ca vikranta 6. The courageous Yudhamanyu, the brave Uttamauja, the son of Subhadra and the sons of Draupadi - all being great chariot-warriors. asmakam tu visista ye 7. Know you, O the best of the brahmanas, all those who are our distinguished chiefs, the leaders of my army; I name them for your information. bhavan bhismas ca karnas ca 8. Your venerable self, Bhishma, Karna, Kripa the victorious in fight, Asvatthama, Vikarna and Saumadatti as well. anye ca bahavah sura 9. And there are yet other heroes well trained in warfare, who, equipped with manifold weapons and missiles, are ready to lay down their lives for my sake. aparyaptam tad asmakam 10. Multitudinous is our army marshaled by Bhishma, but meagre is the army of theirs marshaled by Bhima. ayanesu ca sarvesu 11. Now all of you assume positions in your respective divisions and protect Bhishma alone, by all means. tasya sanjanayan harsam 12. In order to embolden Duryodhana, Bhishma the mighty grandsire, the oldest of the Kurus, now raised a lion's roar and blew his conch. tatah sankhas ca bheryas ca 13. Then suddenly blared forth conch shells and kettledrums, tabors and trumpets and cow-horns; and tremendous was that noise. tatah svetair hayair yukte 14. Then on the other side, seated Madhava and Pandava were in their magnificent chariot yoked to white horses; they gracefully blew their divine conch shells. pancajanyam hrsikeso 15. Panchajanya was blown by Hrishikesa [Lord Krishna], and Devadatta by Dhananjaya [Arjuna]. Vrikodara [Bhima] of terrible exploits blew his great conch, Paundra; anantavijayam raja 16. The King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew Anantavijaya; Nakula and Sahadeva blew Sughosha and Manipushpaka. kasyas ca paramesv-asah 17. And the Ruler of Kasi, the adept archer and Sikhandi the great chariot-warrior, Dhrshtadyumna and Virata and Satyaki, the invincible; drupado draupadeyas ca 18. O Ruler of the Earth! Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, and the mighty armed son of Subhadra, all these as well blew their respective conchshells. sa ghoso dhartarastranam 19. Filling the earth and the sky with reverberation that tumultuous uproar shattered the hearts of the sons of Dhrtarashtra. atha vyavasthitan drstva 20. Then, O Ruler of the Earth, seeing Dhrtarashtra's host being positioned and the fighting about to commence, Pandava, whose ensign badge is Hanuman, lifting his bow spoke the following words to Krishna. arjuna uvaca senayor ubhayor madhye kair maya saha yoddhavyam Arjuna said: 21-22. Place my chariot, O Achyuta, between the two armies so that I may behold the war-minded that stand there, with whom I must wage this war. yotsyamanan avekse 'ham 23. I desire to discern those that throng here to fight, intent on pleasing in battle the evil-minded son of Dhrtarashtra. sanjaya uvaca evam ukto hrsikeso Sanjaya said: 24. Thus requested by Gudakesa [Arjuna], Hrishikesa, O descendant of Bharata, placed the best of chariots in between the two armies; bhisma-drona-pramukhatah 25. Facing Bhishma and Drona and all the rulers of the earth, the Lord spoke, "O Partha [Arjuna], behold all the Kurus gathered together." tatrapasyat sthitan parthah 26. Standing there Partha [Arjuna] then beheld in both the armies, paternal uncles, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, cousins, sons, grandsons, comrades, and also his father-in-law and benefactors. tan samiksya sa kaunteyah 27. He, the son of Kunti, gazing at those kinsmen posted in positions spoke thus in sadness, filled as he was with choking compassion. arjuna uvaca drstvemam sva-janam krsna Arjuna said: 28. Seeing these my kinsmen, collected here prompted by war, my limbs fail me, O Krishna, and my mouth is parched up. vepathus ca sarire me 29. My body quivers and my hair are standing on end. The bow Gandiva slips from my hand and my skin burns all over. na ca saknomy avasthatum 30. I am unable to stand; my mind whirls as it were; and Kesava, I see adverse omens. na ca sreyo 'nupasyami 31. I do not foresee any good ensuing from the slaughter of kinsmen in battle, O Krishna, I hanker not for victory or empire or pleasures even. kim no rajyena govinda 32. Of what avail to us is kingdom or enjoyment or even life, O Govinda? yesam arthe kanksitam no ta ime 'vasthita yuddhe 33. Those for whose sake we seek kingdom, enjoyments and pleasures, they stand here in battle, staking life and property. acaryah pitarah putras matulah svasurah pautrah 34. Teachers, fathers, sons as well as grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law and other relatives. etan na hantum icchami api trailokya-rajyasya 35. Though myself slain by them, I would not, O Madhusudana, seek to slay them even for the sake of domination over the three worlds, how then for the earth? nihatya dhartarastran nah papam evasrayed asman 36. What delight can we derive, O Janardana, by doing away with these sons of Dhrtarashtra? Sin only will accrue to us by slaying these desperadoes. tasman narha vayam hantum 37. We should not therefore slay the sons of Dhrtarashtra our kinsmen; for, how can we, O Madhava, killing our own kinsmen, be happy? yady apy ete na pasyanti 38. Although these, with understanding clouded by greed, see no guilt in the extermination of a family, no crime in hostility to friends, katham na jneyam asmabhih 39. Why should we not learn to recoil from such a sin, O Janardana, we who see evil in the destruction of a family? kula-ksaye pranasyanti 40. In the decline of a family, its time-honored usages perish; with the perishing of sacred rites impiety overtakes the entire family. adharmabhibhavat krsna 41. With the growth of impiety, O Krishna, the family women become unchaste; and women getting corrupted, O Varshneya [descendant of Vrsni], comes unwanted progeny. sankaro narakayaiva 42. Hell is verily the lot of the family and family destroyers through caste admixture; for, their ancestor's fall deprived of performances for offering them food and water. dosair etaih kula-ghnanam 43. The everlasting caste-virtues and the family-merits get ruined because of the caste-confusion created by the bad deeds of the family-destroyers. utsanna-kula-dharmanam 44. We have heard, O Janardana, that hell is verily the long lasting abode of the men whose family religious practices have been broken. aho bata mahat papam 45. Goaded by the greed of the pleasures of a kingdom, we are, alas, bent on perpetrating the great sin of killing our kinsmen. yadi mam apratikaram 46. Should the sons of Dhrtarashtra with weapons in hand slay me, unresisting and unarmed in the battle, that would indeed be better for me. sanjaya uvaca evam uktvarjunah sankhye Sanjaya said: 47. So saying, overwhelmed with sorrow in the battlefield, Arjuna sat on the seat of his chariot, abandoning his bow and arrows. In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad Gita, the knowledge of Brahman, the Supreme, the science of Yoga, and the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, this is the first discourse designated: THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
