Bhagavad Gita 1.26
Spoken by Sanjaya · Verse 26 of 47
तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान् पार्थः पितॄनथ पितामहान्। आचार्यान् मातुलान् भ्रातॄन् पुत्रान् पौत्रान् सखींस्तथा॥
tatrāpaśyat sthitān pārthaḥ pitṝn atha pitāmahān / ācāryān mātulān bhrātṝn putrān pautrān sakhīṃs tathā
He looked — and saw everyone he has ever loved, lined up to kill or be killed.
Word by word (12)
- tatra apaśyat
- — there he saw
- sthitān
- — standing there
- pārthaḥ
- — Arjuna (son of Pritha)
- pitṝn
- — fathers / father-figures
- pitāmahān
- — grandfathers
- ācāryān
- — teachers
- mātulān
- — maternal uncles
- bhrātṝn
- — brothers
- putrān
- — sons
- pautrān
- — grandsons
- sakhīṃś ca
- — friends and companions
- tathā
- — as well / also
There — in the two armies — Arjuna saw them. His fathers and grandfather-figures. His teachers. His uncles. His brothers. His sons and grandsons. His friends. Every person who mattered to him. On both sides. Armed. Waiting.
A modern analogy
Imagine you are about to press a button that will end a conflict — but the button also affects everyone you have ever loved, some on each side. You knew this abstractly. Now you are standing there and seeing their faces. That collapse from abstraction to reality is what Arjuna just experienced. His bow is still in his hand. His mind can no longer hold what his eyes have shown him.
What it does NOT mean
Arjuna's grief that follows is sometimes called cowardice by critics. This verse makes clear what he is actually feeling: he has just seen, with perfect clarity, that this war will destroy his entire world of relationships. This is not timidity — it is full recognition of what victory will cost. His question is legitimate: what is victory worth if this is what it destroys?
Take with you
- The collision between duty and love is one of the most universal human experiences — Arjuna's collapse here is deeply human, not weak.
- This verse is why the Gita's context matters: it is not about an abstract philosophical problem but about a person seeing his family about to die.
- Before the Gita's wisdom can be received, this grief must be fully felt — there is no shortcut through it.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Then, O son of Pritha, Arjuna saw stationed there — fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and friends also. [4]
There Arjuna beheld fathers and grandfathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends. [6]
On both sides he saw his fathers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, dear familiar friends. [7]
There the son of Pritha saw stationed in both armies — fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, as well as friends. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
The paṇḍita sees equally in a learned Brahmin, cow, elephant, dog, and outcaste — sama-darśana.
Equal vision everywhere: the yogi sees the Self in all beings, and all beings within the Self — the same, everywhere.
Even the fathers-in-law and dearest friends — on both sides. No one is safely 'other.'
Arjuna calls Duryodhana evil-minded — the last moment of moral clarity before grief clouds everything.
The people who shaped him — teachers, father-figures, sons — are on the field, ready to die.
Verse 26 of 47 · back to Chapter 1