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I.20:
Sanjaya said, "Then, O Lord of the earth! Seeing Dhrtarastra's
party, standing marshalled and the shooting about to begin, that Pandava
(Arjuna), whose ensign was monkey, i.e., Hanuman on his flag, raising
his bow, said the following words to Krishna." I.21: Arjuna said, "Please place my chariot, O Achyuta (Krishna),
between the two armies, that I may see those who stand here prepared
for the war. On the eve of this battle, let me know with whom I am to
fight."
The focus of Bhagawad Gita is the man at work; not a man at worship
or at meditation. A person at work gets confused because of the various
mutually contradictory pulls on the mind. That results in the state
of indecision. Arjuna and all his brothers, after a considerable thought,
had decided to go to war to get back what rightfully belongs to them.
Arjuna knew that this is going to be a 'kill or die' battle with no
guarantee of victory. His life, life of all his brothers, relatives
and friends on their side was pawned in the all-embracing war. On the
enemy side too, so many of his loved life-long friends/relations have
pawned their lives. A veteran of many battles, he knew what a battle
means. Yet, he had decided that there is really no choice if he wants
to uphold justice and his duty.
But even when we take a decision after giving full thought to all the
pros & cons, as the moment to implement it approaches close, we
feel terrified at the thought of the loss, a nervous trembling of the
heart begins and almost unconsciously, the inertiatic (tamasika) instinct
overrides the judicious decision and wants to back-track. But even this
decision is not easy, nor is going to be profitable ultimately. Thus
the most painful, torturous state of indecision comes to Arjuna at this
most inconvenient moment - when the battle was about to actually begin,
the weapons have been unsheathed on both sides and are ready to strike
- where is time to think now?
Like anyone in this situation (and we all get into similar situations),
Arjuna tried to buy time! Wants to weave a rationale during this time
that will give this shameful back-tracking an appearance of moral victory…
