How lucky was Arjuna! Even from the depth of grief, joy will swell. Until the eleventh sloka of the second chapter, it is the story of the despondency of Arjuna; the effect of 'the possessions.' That is why the first step in the cure is "the exposition of Sankhya yoga, the path of knowledge, (Jnana)."
The Amrithopadesa (immortality-bestowing teaching) of Krishna begins from this eleventh sloka; in fact, the Bhagavad Geetha starts from this point. Up to this point it is the description of Arjuna's delusion born of ignorance and dullness of intellect. Krishna, acting the role of witness, allows the despondency to deepen and darken. When at last Arjuna threw down his bow and refused to fight, when he confessed that he had lost all sense of right and wrong, when he prayed that Krishna should teach him the way that will solve his problems best, then, Krishna came forward and said:
"Arjuna! How could this miserable shade of cowardice overtake you now, when you have been clear and bright all along? This is quite unbecoming to the hero you are. The word Arjuna means pure, unblemished character. Why then this grief? The battle is imminent. The clouds of war have gathered and are thundering. The foes in front are awaiting the moment when they could jump into the fray. They have heaped countless injustices and cruelties on you and now they are ready to grab the land that must come to you as of right. You have so far borne all the agony they have poured over you, without stirring even an iota away from truth. You have fulfilled all the conditions they imposed and you have passed through the years they prescribed for your exile. Your attempts to effect a compromise were futile, you could not avoid the clash of arms. We have yielded as much as we could. Now war is the only method by which the eyes of the evil-minded Duryodhana can be opened to his own iniquity."
"This war was decided on, after long deliberation. It is not a hasty resolution taken in a fit of anger. Responsible elders have weighed the pros and cons and come to the conclusion that resort to arms is inevitable. You and your brothers approved all this and appreciated the decision. You have been preparing for this battle with enthusiasm. In fact, you have been immersed in it more than others. How wrong is it for you now to turn back?"
"This war has not pounced on you in a trice. You have been collecting the wherewithal since long. Remember how you struggled and starved and lived on roots and fruits of the forest in order to win the Paasupatha Ashthra from lord Siva, how you went as far as the Loka of the lord of Gods, Indra, in order to win celestial arrows for this battle?"
"I thought that the moment of destiny for the annihilation they deserved has come for the wicked Kaurava brood; but now you have started this moaning dirge! Why this ominous note? Which Sastra lays down this attitude? Think of your duty as a member of the Kshatriya caste: to uphold Dharma, to protect justice. Yours is the wealth of courage, adventure and steadiness. But you are overpowered by this strange detachment, which is pathetically out of place."
