Chapter I · Śloka 31
Arjuna uvāca
न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे |
न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च ||
न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च ||
na ca śreyo 'nupaśyāmi hatvā sva-janam āhave |
na kāṅkṣe vijayaṃ kṛṣṇa na ca rājyaṃ sukhāni ca ||
na kāṅkṣe vijayaṃ kṛṣṇa na ca rājyaṃ sukhāni ca ||
I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in battle, O Krishna. Nor do I desire victory, a kingdom, or happiness.
Arjuna invokes śreyas — the truly good — not merely what is pleasant or profitable. His intuition is not wrong, only his application of it. The question of what is truly good is precisely what the Gita will spend eighteen chapters answering.