BHAGAVAD GITA - THE COMPLETE YOGA SASTRA -CH.1.Sl.44-45 - Illogical logic of Arjuna

BHAGAVAD GITA

(THE COMPLETE YOGA SASTRA)
 

 

CHAPTER.1.VERSE.44
 

Utsannakuladharmaanaam Manushyaanaam Janaardana |

Narakeniyatam Vaaso  Bhavateetyanususruma   ||

Arjuna continues further, expressing his anguish to Lord Krishna :

Meaning :

 

"O Janaardana! Have we not heard that human beings who have destroyed their  kuladharma (righteous duties of the clan or family) would be condemned to the hell for indefinite periods!"

The prescribed duties of each Kula, clan or family were considered very sacred and important in the days of Mahabharat, as we can see from the serious words spoken by Arjuna. People were expected to fulfill them without fail. If some one failed to fulfill them, Arjuna said, that they would be confined to the hell for long and unspecified periods.

Arjuna was clearly in a confused mind. Kula Dharma, for Kshatriyas like Arjuna, was waging war and killing people committing sins or adharma. Arjuna himself declared Duryodhana and his brothers as sinners. That being the case, his duty was to kill them all in this War. But, he was advancing a convoluted logic here for not waging war with these sinners.

Arjuna had said initially that Duryodhana and his brothers were all sinners. But then, even if they were sinners, since they were his kinsmen, Arjuna, argued, that killing them itself was a sin. Arjuna said that destroying the clan, kula or family was an evil deed. 

 

Arjuna went further on saying that when the family or clan declined, all righteous conduct prescribed for the clan members vanished from their conduct. 

 

When righteous conduct vanished, women in the clan would fall for unrighteousness and unhealthy mixture of clans would begin to happen. When unacceptable mixture of clans happened, all family bonds would get destroyed; People won't even perform sacred rites for ancestors and given them Pinda pradaana (annual food offering ceremony). These family destroyers would thus destroy all clan-virtues.

Having given such convoluted logic, Arjuna declared further that these men who broke the prescribed righteous conduct of the clan would be thrown into hell for indefinite periods.

The whole brunt of his words was to convince Lord Krishna to somehow get away from this war.

CHAPTER.1.VERSE.45

Aho bata mahat paapam kartum vyavasitaa vayam  |

Yadraajyasukhalobhena hantum svajanamudyataah   ||  

Meaning :

"Alas,we are prepared to commit the greatest sin of killing our own kinsmen, being goaded by the greed for the pleasures of the kingdom."

Why were they all in the Kurukshetra for waging the war? Arjuna was now convinced that their motive was only greed or Lobha; and the greed was for the pleasures of the kingdom that they wanted to win from each other.

 

Now,Arjuna concluded that their greed was only for the pleasures of the Kingdom and therefore, killing all the kinsmen in this war would be a Great Sin or mahat Paapam!

 

Let us see what he would do further in such a huge dilemma!

.....Will Continue.