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Chapter 1. Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra TEXT 37-38 yady apy ete na pasyanti
katham na jneyam asmabhih
SYNONYMS  yadi--if;
api--certainly;
ete--they; na--do not; pasyanti--see;
lobha--greed;
upahata--overpowered; cetasah--the hearts;
kula-ksaya--in
killing the family; krtam--done; dosam--fault;
mitra-drohe--quarreling
with friends; ca--also; patakam--sinful reactions; katham--why;
na--shall not; jneyam--know this; asmabhih--by us;
papat--from sins; asmat--ourselves;
nivartitum--to
cease; kula-ksaya--the destruction of a dynasty;
krtam--by
so doing; dosam--crime; prapasyadbhih--by those who can see;
janardana--O Krsna.
TRANSLATION O Janardana,
although these men, overtaken by greed, see no fault in killing one's family
or quarreling with friends, why should we, with knowledge of the sin, engage
in these acts?
PURPORT A ksatriya
is not supposed to refuse to battle or gamble when he is so invited by
some rival party. Under such obligation, Arjuna could not refuse to fight
because he was challenged by the party of Duryodhana. In this connection,
Arjuna considered that the other party might be blind to the effects of
such a challenge. Arjuna, however, could see the evil consequences and
could not accept the challenge. Obligation is actually binding when the
effect is good, but when the effect is otherwise, then no one can be bound.
Considering all these pros and cons, Arjuna decided not to fight.
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