Verse 1.43-46

Verse 1.43: “By such transgressions on the part of the destroyers of the family, leading to caste-intermingling, the caste’s and the family’s immemorial rites-and-customs are annihilated.

Verse 1.44: “And for such men-with the family’s rites-and-customs annihilated-there ensues, O World-destroyer, an assured habitation in Hell, as we have heard.

Verse 1.45: “Woe and alas! We are engaged in committing heinous sin in that, out of lust for kingdom and pleasures, we are striving to slay our own kindred!

Verse 1.46: “If Dhritarashtra’s sons, weapons in hand, should, in battle, slay me, weaponless and unresisting, that were happier for me.” (257)

Commentary called Jnaneshwari by Jnaneshwar:

“See Lord, there gets committed one more sin here in that the immemorial rites-and-customs get annihilated by sinful contagion. Just as an unfortunate fire in one’s house, consumes also the surrounding houses, in the same way those, that establish contact with sinful families, also get similarly affected by the contact of the sinful.” Arjuna said, “The whole family getting affected by various sorts of sins is damned to suffer dreadful Hell; and once one gets there, there is never any escape from there and in this way, the fallen family suffers throughout all eternity.” Arjuna added, “O Chakrapani, why have you become as hard-hearted as a stone and why do you not pay attention to all I have said? Why should I not abandon this faulty thing, knowing that the motive with which the enjoyment of the kingdom is to be expected is all transitory? O Keshav, is it a small sin already committed that I viewed all these elders with the idea that they were to be killed? I cannot commit the dreadful sin of killing my own kinsmen. I would prefer death to bearing such sorrow.” In this manner, seeing on the battle-field all his own kinsmen, Partha expressed his feelings that the kingdom was nothing more than a suffering Hell.