satataM kIrtayanto mAM

[sita]

The conch-shell named Ananta-Vijay, which means 'Unlimited and complete Victory' was sounded by the rightful King Yudhisthira and the two younger Pandava brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva, then blew their horns, named Sughosha and Manipushpaka respectively. (16)

O ruler of the world, the King of Varnasi and the great warrior Shikhandi, the heroic Dhrishtadyumna and the noble Prince Virata, Satyaki and King Drupada of the Panchalas, along with his sons as well as many other great warriors such as Arjuna's son Abimanyu, none of whom had ever seen defeat in the field of battle, then sounded their conch-shells, one after another. (19)

[sita]

The above soloka is (17-18)

The great symphony produced by the vibration of all the Pandava horns seemed to shatter heaven and earth as well as the confidence in the hearts of those allied to Dhritarashtra. (19)

Thereupon, surveying the forces that had been assembled by Dhritarashtra's sons, Arjuna stood on his chariot upon which was flying his flag, emblazoned with the figure of Hanuman, the monkey-devotee of Lord Rama, and took up his bow preparing to release his arrows. O mighty King, Arjuna then spoke these words to the Lord of all beings, Shri Krishna: (20)

[sita]

'O You whose nature is supreme perfection please lead our chariots forward between the two armies so that I may observe the great forces that have assembled here out of their desire to make war. Let me see with whom I must struggle in the impending strife (21-22)

I wish to see those who have come together to fight with us, desiring to endear themselves to Duryodhana, who is beset by crooked intelligence.'''(23)

[sita]

Sanjay narrated:

"O desendant of the noble line of Bharata, upon hearing the words of Arjuna, who was famed for his victory over ignorance, the proprietor of the senses, Lord Krishna, then drew their chariot which was the finest amoungst chariots, forward to the middle ground between the armies. (24)

There in the foreground, not far from Bhishma, Drona and all of the great world leaders, Shri Krishna, the omniscient Lord, said:

'O beloved son of Pritha, just observe the great assembly of the Kurus' (25)

[sita]

There Arjuna could observe his fathers and grandfathers, his revered teachers and uncles, his brothers and sons, his grandsons and friends, his father-in-law and his well wishers, who were all standing there amidst the legions of the two armies. (26)

Seeing all of his relatives brought together in such perilous circumstances, Arjuna became prevaded with a great compassion for them and while he was thus lamenting, he spoke as follows: (27)

[sita]

O Krishna, after seeing all of these, my own dear Kinsmen, assembled in such a militant spirit, the limbs of my body have begun to shake and my mouth has become parched. (28)

My body is trembling and my hair is standing on end. My famous bow, Gandiva, is falling out of my hands whilist my skin feels as if on fire. (29)

[sita]

O Keshava, O Krishna, I do not feel that I can remain here any longer. I am suffering from the shock of all this madness which seems unable to produce anything besides the anomaly of that which we seek. O my Lord why are we here (30)

No good can come from killing our on relatives and neither can I wish to become victorious in such a fight. Even upon winning, I could not derive any happiness from the kingdom thus obtained (31)

[sita]

My dear Govinda, satisfier of the senses of all, of what value will such a kingdom be? Of what value will happiness or even life itself be when all those with whom we could enjoy such a happy life have now taken up their places on the battlefield? O killer of the demon Madhu, when the lives and wealth of my revered teachers, my fathers and my sons, my grandfathers , maternal uncles, my father-in-law and all my dear friends are about to be lost, why should I desire to kill them even if unrivalled sovergnty of the three worlds were at stake? O shelter of all, O my beloved Krishna, I can find no Pleasure in the thought of fighting merely for the control of this earth. (32-35)

[sita]

we will certainly incur sin for such acts, even though they be felonious aggressors. Surely the sons of Dhrisarashtra, our own dear friends and kinsfolk do not deserve death from our hands, so how, my dear Madhava, can we hope to become happy by killing? (36)

O shelter of all beings, having been overcome by greed, they are unable to see the great fault of killing dear friends and family members. We, on the other hand, will certainly incur sinful reaction if we participate in such a struggle, knowing fully well the great crime committed by the destruction of family and dynasty. (37-38)

[sita]

With the destruction of the dynasty and of the families' eternal religious values, the family will be completely overtaken by irreligion.(39)

With the rise of irreligion, the ladies of the house will become polluted and when the flower of womenhood has thus been tainted, illegitimate and unloved children will be conceived. (40)

[sita]

The entire family will then be afflicted by the hellish condition which the uncultured children will create. In such families the obligations to make offerings for the well-being of the ancestors will certainly be neglected and our forefathers will suffer deprivation. (41)

Those who destroy family religious values devastate in turn all co-operation within the community and all social values. (42)

I have heard from authoritative sources that those who destroy family religious traditions are always kept resident in hell. (43)

O what a mysterious turn of fate it is that we proceed to commit such a great sin, being impelled by greed for the happiness enjoyed by kings. For this we are prepared to kill our own dear ones. (44)

[sita]

Instead of meeting our cousion brothers on the field of battle, it is my conclusion that it would be preferable for me to allow myself to be killed,without taking up arms or resisting!''' (45)

Sanjay then said:

"Being deeply disturbed in mind, Arjuna then cast down his bow and arrows and sat, lamenting, on his chariot." (46)

This ends the first chapter
Arjuna's Despondency

Nitai should I continue or is it enough?

[Nitaidas]

Nov 26, 2010 2:43:53 GMT -6 sita said:

Instead of meeting our cousion brothers on the field of battle, it is my conclusion that it would be preferable for me to allow myself to be killed,without taking up arms or resisting!''' (45)

Sanjay then said:

"Being deeply disturbed in mind, Arjuna then cast down his bow and arrows and sat, lamenting, on his chariot." (46)

This ends the first chapter
Arjuna's Despondency

Nitai should I continue or is it enough?

Sitadi, please continue if you can. A verse a day will keep metaphysical forgetfulness away.

[sita]

Bhagavad-Gita
The Eternal Song Goes On
The Second Chapter
The Philosophy of Divine Communion

"Lord Krishna, the saviour of all surrendered souls, then began to address the depressed Arjuna whose eyes were brimming with tears on account of his feelings of mercy and compassion (1)

[Nitaidas]

Thank you, sita, for continuing to post. I look forward to seeing the rest of the chapter. You never told us anything about the translator. I am afraid I have never heard of him and would love to learn more about him,