Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjaya, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do when they assembled on the holy field of Kurukshetra, eager for battle?

Sanjaya said: O King, after seeing the army of the Pandavas arrayed in military formation, King Duryodhana approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words.

Behold, O teacher, this great army of the sons of Pandu, arranged in military formation by your intelligent disciple, the son of Drupada.

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

There are also great heroic, powerful fighters like Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, the valiant king of Kashi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya.

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.

But for your information, O best of the twice-born, let me tell you about the commanders of my army who are especially qualified to lead.

There are personalities like yourself, Bhishma, Karna, Kripa, Ashvatthama, Vikarna, and the son of Somadatta, who are always victorious in battle.

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

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

All of you must now give full support to Grandfather Bhishma, standing at your respective strategic points in the military formation.

Then Bhishma, the great valiant grandsire of the Kuru dynasty, the grandfather, roared like a lion and blew his conchshell loudly, giving joy to Duryodhana.

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

On the other side, both Lord Krishna and Arjuna, stationed in a great chariot drawn by white horses, sounded their divine conchshells.

Lord Krishna blew His conchshell called Panchajanya, Arjuna blew his called Devadatta, and Bhima, the performer of herculean tasks, blew his terrific conchshell called Paundra.

King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conchshell Anantavijaya, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosha and Manipushpaka.

The king of Kashi, an excellent archer, Shikhandi the great warrior, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, and the unconquerable Satyaki all blew their conchshells.

O King, Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, and the mighty-armed son of Subhadra, all blew their respective conchshells.

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

O King, at that time Arjuna, the son of Pandu, who was seated in his chariot bearing the flag marked with Hanuman, took up his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows, looking at the sons of Dhritarashtra. Then he spoke these words to Lord Krishna.

Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies.

So that I may see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra in this great battle.

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

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

In the presence of Bhishma, Drona, and all the other chieftains, Lord Krishna said, 'Just behold, O Partha, all the Kurus assembled here.'

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

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: O Krishna, seeing my own kinsmen arrayed and eager for battle, my limbs are failing and my mouth is drying up.

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

I am unable to stand here any longer. My mind is reeling, and I see only evil omens, O Keshava.

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

O Govinda, of what use is a kingdom or enjoyment or even life itself when all those for whom we desire them are now arrayed on this battlefield?

Teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other relatives are ready to give up their lives and wealth and are standing before me.

O Madhusudana, I do not wish to kill them, even though they might kill me. Not even for the sovereignty of the three worlds, let alone this earth!

O Janardana, what pleasure will we derive from killing the sons of Dhritarashtra? Sin will only take hold of us if we slay these aggressors.

Therefore, we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, who are our own relatives. O Madhava, how can we be happy by killing our own kinsmen?

Although these men, their minds overcome by greed, see no wrong in destroying the family and quarreling with friends...

...why should we, who can clearly see the crime in destroying the family, engage in such sinful acts, O Janardana?

With the destruction of the family, the eternal family traditions are destroyed, and with the destruction of these traditions, the whole family becomes involved in irreligion.

O Krishna, when irreligion is prominent in the family, the women become polluted, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Vrishni, comes unwanted progeny.

An increase of unwanted population certainly causes hellish life both for the family and for those who destroy the family tradition. The ancestors fall down, deprived of the offerings of food and water.

By the misdeeds of those who destroy the family and cause unwanted children, all kinds of community projects and family welfare activities are devastated.

O Janardana, I have heard from the learned that those who destroy family traditions dwell always in hell.

Alas, how strange it is that we are preparing to commit great sins, driven by the desire to enjoy royal happiness, and thus we intend to kill our own kinsmen.

Better for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, were to kill me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield.

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

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