Shloka 26
तत्रापश्यत् स्थितान् पार्थ: पितृनथ पितामहान् । आचार्यान् मातुलान् भ्रातृन् पुत्रान् पौत्रान् सखींस्तथा
tatrāpaśyat sthitān pārthaḥ pitṝn atha pitāmahān | ācāryān mātulān bhrātṝn putrān pautrān sakhīṁs tathā ||
There Arjuna beheld, standing arrayed on both sides, his fathers and grandfathers, his teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and friends. The sight gathers the whole web of kinship and obligation onto the battlefield, sharpening the ethical crisis of fighting those to whom reverence and affection are due.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between kṣatriya duty in war and the powerful claims of kinship and reverence. By listing elders, teachers, and loved ones, it sets up Arjuna’s inner conflict: righteous action must be weighed against compassion and the sanctity of familial bonds, a dilemma that becomes the doorway to the Gītā’s dharma-discourse.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna, positioned to view the armies, looks across the battlefield and recognizes among the assembled warriors his own relatives and associates—elders, teachers, uncles, brothers, descendants, and friends—standing ready for combat.