Seeing all his kinsmen arrayed in their respective positions, Arjuna, the son of Kunti, overwhelmed by excessive faint-heartedness and sorrowfully lamenting, spoke these words.
Commentary: 'Seeing all those kinsmen stationed...' – In addition to those whom Arjuna had already seen according to the previous verse, Arjuna now saw stationed in both armies many other relatives: paternal great-grandfathers like Bahlika; brothers-in-law like Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, and Suratha; and other relations like Jayadratha.
The phrase 'That son of Kunti, overwhelmed by compassion...' indicates that the very Arjuna who, upon receiving a message from his mother Kunti, had asked, "Who are these heroes who have come forward to fight with me?" and who had therefore commanded Lord Shri Krishna to place the chariot between the two armies to see the principal warriors—that same Arjuna, the son of Kunti, becomes possessed by extreme faint-heartedness!
Seeing only kinsmen—by birth and by learning—in both armies, this thought arose in Arjuna's mind: "Whether the people on this side die in the war, or those on that side die, the loss will be ours alone. Our dynasty alone will be destroyed; our kinsmen alone will be slain!" With the arising of such a thought, Arjuna's desire for battle vanished and faint-heartedness entered within. The Lord later (2.2) refers to this faint-heartedness as 'weakness of heart' and 'despondency,' and Arjuna himself admits to it (2.7) by saying he is 'afflicted by the taint of pity.'
That Arjuna is 'overwhelmed by compassion' proves that this faint-heartedness was not present before; rather, it has come now. Therefore, it is an adventitious defect. Being adventitious, it will not endure. But valor is natural to Arjuna; therefore, that will certainly remain.
What is this extreme faint-heartedness? It is the extreme fault of faint-heartedness to have no thought of slaying, to make no effort to destroy, even when seeing before one, ready for battle, those like Duryodhana, Dushasana, and Shakuni—who censure, scorn, insult, give pain, harbor enmity, and strive for destruction without any cause. Here, the fault of faint-heartedness has so enveloped Arjuna that he feels compassion even for those unrighteous sinners who wish ill for Arjuna and his allies and who strive to do ill from time to time (Gita 1.35-46), and he is deviating from his own duty, the dharma of a Kshatriya.
'Sorrowfully, he spoke this' – Grieving deeply over what the outcome of the war would be for the family, the dynasty, and the country, Arjuna, in that state, speaks these words, which are described in the subsequent verses.
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