Chapter 1: Arjuna Viṣhāda Yoga – Transforming Grief into Yoga: Verse 37
तस्मान्नार्हा वयं हन्तुं धार्तराष्ट्रान् स्वबान्धवान् ।
स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिन: स्याम माधव ॥
tasmān-nārhā vayaṃ hantuṃ dhārtarāṣṭrān sva-bāndhavān
svajanaṃ hi kathaṃ hatvā sukhina: syāma mādhava – 1.37
Therefore, we should not kill these sons of Dhritarashtra, who are our relatives. By destroying our own people, how can we become happy, O Madhava?
Chapter 1: Arjuna Viṣhāda Yoga – Transforming Grief into Yoga - Verse 37
Swami Nirviseshananda Tirtha
Arjuna says: “True, I thought of fighting Duryodhanas alone, because they are inveterate enemies, out to destroy us right from the beginning. But now, the war involves many kings and armies siding Duryodhana. On both sides are arrayed great many of my kith and kin, who are not our enemies.
“I have not shirked from any moral, righteous battle. But Kurukshetra gives a totally different picture I had missed to comprehend earlier.
“However, arrows have not yet been shot. Any wrong or omission, the moment it is noticed or identified, requires to be mended. Any evil, even a moment before its commission, needs to be abandoned.
“Krishna, how can we live happily, after killing our relatives? Did you not spare Rukmi, at the request of Rukmini (Krishna’s wife), when he came to kill you?”
