Chapter I · Śloka 36
Arjuna uvāca
तस्मान्नार्हा वयं हन्तुं धार्तराष्ट्रान् स्वबान्धवान् |
स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिनः स्याम माधव ||
स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिनः स्याम माधव ||
tasmān nārhā vayaṃ hantuṃ dhārtarāṣṭrān sva-bāndhavān |
sva-janaṃ hi kathaṃ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava ||
sva-janaṃ hi kathaṃ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava ||
Therefore we should not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra, our own kinsmen. How can we be happy after slaying our own people, O Madhava?
The word sukhinaḥ — happy — reveals the frame: Arjuna is still calculating in terms of personal happiness. The Gita will shift this frame entirely, asking not 'how can I be happy?' but 'what is my duty?'