Shloka 27
Karma-Yoga, Yajña-Cakra, and the Governance of Desire (कर्मयोग–यज्ञचक्र–कामनिग्रह)
तान् समीक्ष्य स कौन्तेय: सर्वान् बन्धूनवस्थितान्
tān samīkṣya sa kaunteyaḥ sarvān bandhūn avasthitān
Sañjaya said: Having surveyed them, that son of Kuntī beheld all his kinsmen standing arrayed—those bound to him by blood and duty—now present as opposing forces on the brink of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ethical tension that precedes Arjuna’s crisis: moral judgment begins with clear seeing—recognizing that the opponents are not abstractions but one’s own kin, which intensifies questions of dharma, duty, and the cost of violence.
Sañjaya narrates to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna, positioned on the battlefield, looks across the armies and recognizes his relatives standing in formation, setting the stage for his ensuing hesitation and dialogue.