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Chapter 1. Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra TEXT 36 papam evasrayed asman
SYNONYMS  papam--vices;
eva--certainly;
asrayet--must take upon; asman--us;
hatva--by killing;
etan--all these; atatayinah--aggressors;
tasmat--therefore;
na--never; arhah--deserving; vayam--we;
hantum--to
kill; dhartarastran--the sons of Dhrtarastra;
sa-bandhavan--along
with friends; sva-janam--kinsmen; hi--certainly;
katham--how;
hatva--by killing; sukhinah--happy; syama--become;
madhava--O
Krsna, husband of the goddess of fortune.
TRANSLATION Sin will
overcome us if we slay such aggressors. Therefore it is not proper for
us to kill the sons of Dhrtarastra and our friends. What should we gain,
O Krsna, husband of the goddess of fortune, and how could we be happy by
killing our own kinsmen?
PURPORT According to
Vedic injunctions there are six kinds of aggressors: 1) a poison giver,
2) one who sets fire to the house, 3) one who attacks with deadly weapons,
4) one who plunders riches, 5) one who occupies another's land, and 6)
one who kidnaps a wife. Such aggressors are at once to be killed, and no
sin is incurred by killing such aggressors. Such killing of aggressors
is quite befitting for any ordinary man, but Arjuna was not an ordinary
person. He was saintly by character, and therefore he wanted to deal with
them in saintliness. This kind of saintliness, however, is not for a ksatriya.
Although a responsible man in the administration of a state is required
to be saintly, he should not be cowardly. For example, Lord Rama was so
saintly that people were anxious to live in His kingdom (Rama-rajya),
but Lord Rama never showed any cowardice. Ravana was an aggressor against
Rama because he kidnapped Rama's wife, Sita, but Lord Rama gave him sufficient
lessons, unparalleled in the history of the world. In Arjuna's case, however,
one should consider the special type of aggressors, namely his own grandfather,
own teacher, friends, sons, grandsons, etc. Because of them, Arjuna thought
that he should not take the severe steps necessary against ordinary aggressors.
Besides that, saintly persons are advised to forgive. Such injunctions
for saintly persons are more important than any political emergency. Arjuna
considered that rather than kill his own kinsmen for political reasons,
it would be better to forgive them on grounds of religion and saintly behavior.
He did not, therefore, consider such killing profitable simply for the
matter of temporary bodily happiness. After all, kingdoms and pleasures
derived therefrom are not permanent, so why should he risk his life and
eternal salvation by killing his own kinsmen? Arjuna's addressing of Krsna
as "Madhava," or the husband of the goddess of fortune, is also significant
in this connection. He wanted to point out to Krsna that, as husband of
the goddess of fortune, He should not have to induce Arjuna to take up
a matter which would ultimately bring about misfortune. Krsna, however,
never brings misfortune to anyone, to say nothing of His devotees.
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