Shloka 34
Karma-Yoga, Yajña-Cakra, and the Governance of Desire (कर्मयोग–यज्ञचक्र–कामनिग्रह)
आचार्या: पितर: पुत्रास्तथैव च पितामहा: । मातुला: श्वशुरा: पौत्रा: श्याला: सम्बन्धिनस्तथा
ācāryāḥ pitaraḥ putrās tathaiva ca pitāmahāḥ | mātulāḥ śvaśurāḥ pautrāḥ śyālāḥ sambandhinas tathā ||
Isa-isang binanggit ni Arjuna ang mga taong nakatayo sa harap niya sa hanay ng kalaban—mga guro, mga ama, mga anak, at mga lolo; mga tiyuhin sa panig ng ina, mga biyenan, mga apo, mga bayaw, at iba pang mga kamag-anak. Sa pagbanggit sa mga ugnayang ito, inilalarawan niya ang digmaan hindi bilang simpleng agawan ng kapangyarihan, kundi bilang krisis ng budhi: ang tagumpay ay madudungisan ng pagwasak sa sariling angkan at ng pagguho ng tungkulin sa pamilya at lipunan.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare becomes ethically fraught when it targets one’s own network of obligations—teachers and elders to be revered, and relatives to be protected. Arjuna’s listing of kin underscores the dharmic tension between kṣatriya duty to fight and the moral cost of harming those bound to him by family and social reverence.
On the battlefield, Arjuna looks at the opposing army and recognizes that it includes his own elders, teachers, and close relatives. He verbally catalogs these relationships to convey the depth of his shock and hesitation, setting up his refusal to fight and the ensuing counsel that will address his confusion about duty and righteousness.