1.37. Therefore, we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our relatives; for how can we be happy by killing our own people, O Madhava (Krishna)?

1.35 1.44 Nihatya etc. upto anususruma. Sin alone is the agent in the act of slaying these desperadoes. Therefore here the idea is this : These ememies of ours have been slain, i.e., have been take possession of, by sin. Sin would come to us also after slaying them. Sin in this context is the disregard, on account of greed etc., to the injurious conseences like the ruination of the family and the like. That is why Arjuna makes a specific mention of the [ruin of the] family etc., and of its duties in the passage 'How by slaying my own kinsmen etc'. The act of slaying, undertaken with an individualizing idea about its result, and with a particularizing idea about the person to be slain, is a great sin. To say this very thing precisely and to indicate the intensity of his own agony, Arjuna says only to himself [see next sloka]:

Therefore, we are not fit to slay our own kinsmen, these sons of Dhritarashtra; for, O Madhava, how can we be happy by killing our own kinsmen? Commentary: "Therefore, we are not fit to slay our own kinsmen, these sons of Dhritarashtra" — Considering all the arguments, reasoning, and thoughts I have presented so far (from verse 1.28 up to this point) for not killing my kinsmen, how can we engage in such a disastrous act? The act of slaying our own kinsmen, these relatives of Dhritarashtra, is entirely unfit and improper for us. How can noble men like us possibly perform such an improper deed? "for, O Madhava, how can we be happy by killing our own kinsmen?" — O Madhava! The mere apprehension of their death is causing great sorrow and anguish. So, if, overpowered by anger and greed, we were to kill them, how much greater would the sorrow be! How could we ever be happy after killing them? Here, due to the delusion born of attachment thinking, "These are our close relatives," Arjuna's vision is not turning at all towards his kshatriya duty. The reason is that where there is delusion, a person's discrimination is suppressed. When discrimination is suppressed, delusion becomes powerful. When delusion becomes powerful, one does not have a clear awareness of one's duty. Connection: Now, a doubt arises here: Just as Duryodhana and others are your own kinsmen, similarly, for Duryodhana and others, you are also their own kinsmen. From the perspective of kinship, you are thinking of desisting from battle, but Duryodhana and others are not even considering desisting from battle—what is the reason for this? Arjuna gives the answer to this in the next two verses.