Chapter 1
Surveying the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra
Summary of Chapter One Important Verses New Characters What are the key concepts?
Sanjaya described the fighters in the Kaurava and Pandava camps to Dhritarashtra. He then noted while on the battlefield before the fight, Arjuna requested Krishna to drive his chariot in between his army and that of the Kauravas. He wanted to see who was prepared to fight, how the fighters were deployed, and wanted to make sure his battle strategy was sound. When he did so, Arjuna was disheartened to see so many of his own relatives, mentors, elders, and friends in the opposing army ready to attack. In speaking with Krishna, Arjuna cited a number of reasons why it would be better if he did not fight. Faced with making the difficult decision of whether to fight or not, Arjuna was overcome by grief.
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New Characters
In the opposing army:
1. Dronocharya, also known as Drona, was the martial teacher for both the Kauravas and Pandavas. Arjuna was Drona’s pet student.
2. Bhisma was the brother of the Pandava’s and Kaurava’s grandfather. The actual grandfather died young and Bhisma took up the role and cared for the Pandavas and Kauravas like a doting grandfather. He was a fearless and powerful fighter and the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army.
3. Karna was a powerful fighter with skills on the level of Arjuna. Unbeknownst to the Pandavas, Karna was their brother, born prior to their mother’s marriage. Karna was adopted and later befriended Duryodhana and joined him to fight against his brothers.
In the army of the Pandavas
1. Yudhisthira was the oldest of the Pandava brothers. He was the emperor prior to being exiled to the forest. While in power, he was dear to his citizens for his fairness, lack of corruption, and attention to all their needs.
2. Bhima was the second of the Pandava brothers. He was known for his raw strength and courage in battle. He was the brother of Hanuman.
3. Nakula and Sahadeva were twins and the youngest of the Pandava brothers.
What are the key concepts?
A. Arjuna gave the following reasons why war was not a good idea:
- He and his brothers would not be happy if they killed many of their family elders, family members, and friends, even if some of them had tried to kill them and wanted to kill them now.
- It was sinful to kill family members.
- If the family men and elders were killed, the remaining family would not have good guidance and would give up their religious practices. The widows would be unprotected.
- The unprotected widows would give birth to many unwanted children who would be unhappy themselves and would make family life and life in general miserable.
- He and his brothers could avert tragedy by giving up the ambition to regain their position, and go back to living a simple life in the forest.
B. Arjuna’s reasons for not fighting were based on moral principles but disregarded his obligation as a fighter to uphold the law. Arjuna’s reasoning also did not take into account Lord Krishna’s wishes.