1.46. "If these partisans of Dhritarashtra, armed with weapons in their hands, were to kill even me, who is unresisting and unarmed on the battlefield, that would be most beneficial for me."
Commentary: Arjuna reasons that if he completely withdraws from the war, perhaps these Duryodhana and others will also withdraw. The reason is that if we desire nothing and will not fight, then why would these people fight at all? However, perhaps these partisans of Dhritarashtra, filled with passion and bearing weapons in their hands, thinking, 'Let the thorn in our path be removed forever, let the enemy be destroyed,' might even kill me, who is unresisting and unarmed. That killing by them would indeed be beneficial for me. Because the great sin I had resolved to commit by killing my elders in the war would be atoned for by that act; I would become purified from that sin. The implied meaning is that if I do not fight, I will be saved from sin and my dynasty will also not be destroyed.
[The subject a person describes for himself affects him personally. When Arjuna, overwhelmed with grief, began speaking from the twenty-eighth verse, he was not as grief-stricken as he is now. Initially, Arjuna had not withdrawn from the war, but speaking while overwhelmed with grief, he ultimately withdraws from the war and sits down, having cast aside his bow and arrows. The Lord thought, 'Let Arjuna's outburst of speech subside, then I shall speak.' That is, when Arjuna's grief is fully expressed outwardly and no grief remains within, only then will my words affect him. Therefore, the Lord did not speak in between.]
Special Point:
Until now, considering himself righteous, Arjuna has presented all the arguments and reasoning for withdrawing from the war. People entangled in the world will consider only Arjuna's arguments correct and will not consider the points the Lord will explain to Arjuna later as correct! The reason for this is that people understand as correct only the statements belonging to their own state and level; they cannot comprehend statements of a higher level. Within Arjuna is familial attachment, and it is while being possessed by that attachment that he is speaking such excellent points about dharma and virtue. Therefore, only those people who have familial attachment within will find Arjuna's statements correct. However, the Lord's vision is directed towards the welfare of the soul—how can it attain welfare? Those people (with worldly vision) cannot comprehend this higher-level vision of the Lord. Therefore, they will not consider the Lord's statements correct; rather, they will think that it was very proper for Arjuna to be saved from the sin of war, but the Lord did not do right by engaging him in the war!
In reality, the Lord did not make Arjuna fight the war; rather, He gave him the knowledge of his duty. The war had come to Arjuna automatically as his duty. Therefore, the thought of war was Arjuna's own; he himself had embarked upon the war, that is why he had invited and brought the Lord. However, considering that thought detrimental through his own intellect, he was turning away from the war, i.e., deviating from the performance of his duty. On this, the Lord said that this desire of yours not to fight is your delusion. Therefore, it is not proper to abandon the duty that has automatically come at the appropriate time.
Someone was going to Badrinath; but on the way, he became disoriented, i.e., he mistook south for north and north for south. Therefore, instead of proceeding towards Badrinath, he started walking in the opposite direction. He met a person coming from the front. That person asked, 'Brother! Where are you going?' He said, 'To Badrinath.' That person said, 'Brother! Badrinath is not this way, it is that way. You are going in the opposite direction!' Therefore, that person is not sending him to Badrinath; but is giving him the knowledge of the direction and showing him the correct path. Similarly, the Lord has given Arjuna the knowledge of his duty, He has not made him fight the war.
Upon seeing his kinsmen, this thought had arisen in Arjuna's mind: 'I shall not fight'—'na yotsye' (2.9). But after hearing the Lord's teachings, Arjuna did not say, 'I shall not fight,' rather he said, 'I shall act according to Your command'—'karishye vachanam tava' (18.73), i.e., I shall perform my duty. These statements of Arjuna prove that the Lord gave Arjuna the knowledge of his duty.
In reality, the war was inevitable; because everyone's lifespan had ended. No one could have averted this. The Lord Himself told Arjuna at the time of the Cosmic Form vision: 'I am Time, the great destroyer, come here to annihilate all. Therefore, even without you, all these warriors arrayed in the opposing armies shall cease to be' (11.32). Therefore, this massacre was destined to happen inevitably. This massacre would have occurred even if Arjuna did not fight. If Arjuna did not fight, then Yudhishthira, who had accepted marrying Draupadi along with his five brothers on his mother's command, would certainly have fought on his mother's command to fight. Bhimasena also never retreats from war; because he had taken a vow to kill the Kauravas. Draupadi had even said that if my husbands (the Pandavas) do not fight the Kauravas, then my father (Drupada), brother (Dhrishtadyumna), my five sons, and Abhimanyu will fight the Kauravas. In this way, there were several reasons why it was not possible to avert the war.
To stop what is destined is not within human power; but by performing one's duty, a person can achieve his upliftment, and by deviating from duty, he can cause his downfall. The implied meaning is that man is independent in doing what is desirable or undesirable for himself. Therefore, by giving Arjuna the knowledge of duty, the Lord has instructed all mankind that one should be diligent in performing one's duty according to the injunctions of the scriptures and should never deviate from it.
Connection: In the previous verse, Arjuna declared the conclusion of his arguments. After that, what Arjuna did—Sanjaya states this in the next verse.
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