Arjuna was a great warrior. However, when he saw his relatives, teachers and friends assembled at the battlefield of Kurukshetra, he became overwhelmed with compassion. He told his friend and charioteer Sri Krishna that no good would come from killing his own kinsmen and he had no desire for the victory, kingdom or happiness resulting from such a battle. Even though his opponents would not spare him, he would not fight with them even in exchange for the three kingdoms. He said he would incur sin by killing his relatives and teachers. Arjuna’s body trembled, and his bow Gandhiva slipped from his hand. He was not able to stand and he sat down.
Seeing Arjuna’s compassion, Sri Krishna said,
“O Arjuna, do not yield to this unmanliness, this is not worthy of you. O chastiser of enemies, give up this base weakness of heart and rise up.”
Should one kill all opponents on a battlefield irrespective of who they are? Is compassion an unmanly quality?
Arjuna should have thought about his opponents before declaring war against them. Thinking about them on the battlefield after blowing the conch (a sign to start the battle) is untimely, inglorious and ignoble. It shows weakness of heart, therefore it is unmanliness or cowardise.
Should one kill mercilessly all the opponents on a battlefield?
Yes and No. The answer depends on why the battle is being fought. The Kurukshetra war was being fought for two reasons: (i) to get back the kingdom which was usurped by a game of dice (even after living in exile for 15 years, the Pandavas were not able to get back their kingdom); and (ii) to avenge for the crime of dishonouring Draupadi in the royal assembly. In such a battle, Arjuna would not have incurred any sin by killing his enemies. Sri Krishna explains this in the latter chapters of Gita.
If the battle was for expanding the territory or to loot the people of a country, then the answer would be ‘No’.
In spite of being addressed by such strong words from Sri Krishna, Arjuna was confused regarding what is right and what is wrong. Arjuna was filled with the horror of possibly committing actions which may be contrary to righteousness. Therefore he wanted Krishna’s counselling to understand what is the right action.
Ganappa 