Dharmaksetre Kuruksetre Haiya Ekatra

Dhrtarastra said: O Sanjaya, after assembling in the place of pilgrimage at
Kuruksetra, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do, being desirous to fight?

Sanjaya said: O King, after looking over the army gathered by the sons of
Pandu, King Duryodhana went to his teacher and began to speak the following
words:

O
my teacher, behold the great army of the sons of Pandu, so expertly arranged by
your intelligent disciple, the son of Drupada.

Here in this army there are many heroic bowmen equal in fighting to Bhima and
Arjuna; there are also great fighters like Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada.

There are also great, heroic, powerful fighters like Dhrstaketu, Cekitana,
Kasiraja, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Saibya.

There are the mighty Yudhamanyu, the very powerful Uttamauja, the son of
Subhadra and the sons of Draupadi. All these warriors are great chariot
fighters.

O
best of the brahmanas, for your information, let me tell you about the captains
who are especially qualified to lead my military force.

There are personalities like yourself, Bhisma, Karna, Krpa, Asvatthama, Vikarna
and the son of Somadatta called Bhurisrava, who are always victorious in
battle.

There are many other heroes who are prepared to lay down their lives for my
sake. All of them are well equipped with different kinds of weapons, and all
are experienced in military science.

Our
strength is immeasurable, and we are perfectly protected by Grandfather Bhisma,
whereas the strength of the Pandavas, carefully protected by Bhima, is limited.

Now all of you must give full support to Grandfather Bhisma, standing at your
respective strategic points in the phalanx of the army.

Then Bhisma, the great valiant grandsire of the Kuru dynasty, the grandfather
of the fighters, blew his conchshell very loudly like the sound of a lion,
giving Duryodhana joy.

After that, the conchshells, bugles, trumpets, drums and horns were all
suddenly sounded, and the combined sound was tumultuous.

On
the other side, both Lord Krsna and Arjuna, stationed on a great chariot drawn
by white horses, sounded their transcendental conchshells.

Then, Lord Krsna blew His conchshell, called Pancajanya; Arjuna blew his, the
Devadatta; and Bhima, the voracious eater and performer of Herculean tasks,
blew his terrific conchshell called Paundram.

King Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conchshell, the Ananta-vijaya, and
Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosa and Manipuspaka. That great archer the
King of Kasi, the great fighter Sikhandi, Dhrstadyumna, Virata and the
unconquerable Satyaki, Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, and the others, O King,
such as the son of Subhadra, greatly armed, all blew their respective
conchshells.

The blowing of these different conchshells became uproarious, and thus,
vibrating both in the sky and on the earth, it shattered the hearts of the sons
of Dhrtarastra.

O
King, at that time Arjuna, the son of Pandu, who was seated in his chariot, his
flag marked with Hanuman, took up his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows,
looking at the sons of Dhrtarastra. O King, Arjuna then spoke to Hrsikesa [Krsna]
these words:

Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so
that I may see who is present here, who is desirous of fighting, and with whom
I must contend in this great battle attempt.

Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded
son of Dhrtarastra.

Sanjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, being thus addressed by Arjuna, Lord
Krsna drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties.

In
the presence of Bhisma, Drona and all other chieftains of the world, Hrsikesa,
the Lord, said, Just behold, Partha, all the Kurus who are assembled here.

There Arjuna could see, within the midst of the armies of both parties, his fathers,
grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends,
and also his father-in-law and well-wishers--all present there.

When the son of Kunti, Arjuna, saw all these different grades of friends and
relatives, he became overwhelmed with compassion and spoke thus:

Arjuna said: My dear Krsna, 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.

My
whole body is trembling, and my hair is standing on end. My bow Gandiva is
slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning.

I
am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is
reeling. I foresee only evil, O killer of the Kesi demon.

I
do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle,
nor can I, my dear Krsna, desire any subsequent victory, kingdom, or happiness.

O Govinda, of what avail to us are kingdoms, happiness or even life itself when
all those for whom we may desire them are now arrayed in this battlefield? O
Madhusudana, when teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles,
fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law and all relatives are ready to give
up their lives and properties and are standing before me, then why should I
wish to kill them, though I may survive? O maintainer of all creatures, I am
not prepared to fight with them even in exchange for the three worlds, let
alone this earth.

Sin will overcome us if we slay such aggressors. Therefore it is not proper for
us to kill the sons of Dhrtarastra and our friends. What should we gain, O
Krsna, husband of the goddess of fortune, and how could we be happy by killing
our own kinsmen?

O Janardana, although these men, overtaken by greed, see no fault in killing
one's family or quarreling with friends, why should we, with knowledge of the
sin, engage in these acts?

With the destruction of dynasty, the eternal family tradition is vanquished,
and thus the rest of the family becomes involved in irreligious practice.

When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Krsna, the women of the family
become corrupt, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Vrsni,
comes unwanted progeny.

When there is increase of unwanted population, a hellish situation is created
both for the family and for those who destroy the family tradition. In such
corrupt families, there is no offering of oblations of food and water to the
ancestors.

Due
to the evil deeds of the destroyers of family tradition, all kinds of community
projects and family welfare activities are devastated.

O
Krsna, maintainer of the people, I have heard by disciplic succession that
those who destroy family traditions dwell always in hell.

Alas, how strange it is that we are preparing to commit greatly sinful acts,
driven by the desire to enjoy royal happiness.

I
would consider it better for the sons of Dhrtarastra to kill me unarmed and unresisting,
rather than to fight with them.

Sanjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow
and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.

Thus Bhaktivedanta sings the song of Sri Gita, with the hope that hearing this,
Krsna conscious pure devotees will be pleased.