Dhṛtarāṣṭra said, "O Sañjaya! What did my sons and the Pāṇḍavas do, after assembling on the holy land of Kurukṣetra, with the desire to battle with each other?"

Sañjaya said,
"When Duryodhana saw the Pāṇḍava army arranged in a military formation suitable for battle, he grew anxious and the King then went upto his teacher Droṇācārya and spoke the following words."​

"O my teacher! Behold the mighty army of the sons of Pāṇḍu, so expertly arranged by Drupada's son, your intelligent disciple."

“In their army are many skilled warriors and great bowmen equal to Arjuna and Bhīma in warfare, Yuyudhāna, Virāta, Drupada- the great warrior, Dṛṣṭaketu, Cekitāna- the valiant King of Kāsi, Purujit and Kuntibhoja, Śaibhya- the best among men, the courageous Yudhāmanyu and the powerful Uttamaujas, Abhimanyu and the Upapāṇḍavas who are all mahārathis.”

“O best of Brāhmaṇas, be informed as I speak about the army chiefs of exceptional calibre on our side. For your information, I shall now tell about them. I will name them for refreshing your memory. Yourself (Droṇa), Bhīṣma, Karṇa, the victorious Kṛpa, Aśvatthāma, Vikarṇa and Jayadratha, the son of Somadatta. There are many more experts in weaponry and the art of warfare who are determined to give up their lives for my sake.”

“Hence, our war force marshalled by Bhīṣma is inadequate, while adequate is their force, marshalled by Bhīma.”

“All of you must certainly be stationed in your respective positions, at all the entry paths to the army formation to guard them and at the same time focus primarily on surrounding and guarding Bhīṣma.”

“Then the valiant grandsire Bhīṣma, prominent among the Kuru clan, roaring like a lion, blew his conch to cause joy to Duryodhana and to encourage him. Then conches, drums, kettle drums, trumpets, tabors and horns blared forth simultaneously and the resulting sound was terrific.”

Sañjaya said,
“Upon hearing the terrific sound produced by the Kaurava army, Kṛṣṇa the husband of Lakṣmi and Arjuna the son of Pāṇḍu, stationed on their great chariot yoked by white horses blew their divine conches.”

“O King Dhṛtarāṣṭra! Sri Kṛṣṇa blew his conch Pāncajañya, Arjuna blew his conch named Devadatta, Bhīma, the performer of herculean tasks blew the great conch Paundra. King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Kunti blew his conch named Anantavijaya. Nakula and Sahadeva blew their conches Sughoṣa and Manipuṣpaka respectively. King of Kaśi- the supreme archer, Śikhaṇḍi- the mighty warrior, Dṛṣṭadyumna, Virāṭa, the invincible Sātyaki, Drupada-the sons of Draupadi, and the strong-armed Abhimanyu blew their respective conches individually.”

“The combined vibration caused by the sound of all the conches reverberated through the sky and the whole of the earth, shattering the hearts of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.”

"At that time, Arjuna who was equipped with weapons, who had Hanuman on his chariot's flag, who was all set to begin the war, picked up his Gānḍiva. O King Dhṛtarāṣṭra! on beholding your sons in the front array, he spoke these words to Sri Kṛṣṇa, “O Kṛṣṇa! Station my chariot between the two armies. I want to have a good look at all these people who are positioned in the forefront desiring to fight with us. Let the chariot remain in this position until I have a look at all those with whom I have to fight in this war arena. I wish to see those gathered here, ready to fight in order to please the evil-minded Duryodhana.”

Sañjaya said,
“O Dhṛtarāṣṭra! after Arjuna spoke thus, Kṛṣṇa stationed that best of the chariots between the two armies and in the presence of Bhīṣma, Droṇa and all the other kings assembled there HE said to Arjuna, “O Arjuna, behold these assembled Kauravas.”

“Then, Arjuna saw over there in both the armies, his relatives like fathers, grandfathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, comrades and well-wishers.”

“After seeing all his kinsmen on the battlefield, Arjuna was filled with deep compassion and said these words in despair”

Arjuna said,
"O Kṛṣṇa, seeing my kinsmen present here, eager for battle, my limbs have become weak, my mouth has dried up, my body is trembling and my hair is standing on end.”

“O Keśava! The bow Gāndiva is slipping from my hand and my skin is burning all over. I am unable to remain steady and my mind appears to be whirling. I see inauspicious omens too.”

“O Kṛṣṇa, I foresee no good in killing my own kinsmen in this battle. I desire neither victory nor empire and its pleasures.”

“O Govinda! Of what use is an empire, or enjoyments or even our lives to us. Those for whose sake the empire, enjoyment and pleasures are desired by us, stand here on this battlefield to fight with us, ready to renounce their lives and wealth.”​

“O Madhusūdana! I do not wish to kill these preceptors, fathers, sons and also grandfathers, uncles, fathers-in-law and grandsons, brothers-in law and other relatives present here, even though they approach to kill us.”

Arjuna continued,
“I am not prepared to slay them even in exchange for sovereignty over the three worlds, what to speak of this earth alone. O Janārdana! What pleasure will we derive on killing these sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.”

“Though they are assaulters, we will certainly incur sin if we kill them. Therefore, it does not befit us to kill our kinsmen, the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. O Mādhava! How can we hope to rejoice by killing our own kinsmen."

“Though Duryodhana and his supporters, whose minds are overpowered by greed for the kingdom, see no sin in destroying a clan and in performing treachery towards friends, O Janārdana! How can we, who can very well see the evil caused by the destruction of a clan not recoil from performing these two sins in this war.”​

“When the clan is destroyed, its age-old traditions perish and when traditions perish unrighteousness takes over. O Kṛṣṇa! When unrighteousness prevails, the women of the clan become impure and when women become impure the resulting progeny leads to intermixture of varṇas (the four classes in society). This mixing of classes leads the clan as well as the destroyers of the clan to hell.”

“Deprived of the ritual offerings of rice-balls and water, the spirits of ancestors fall to lower planets. Due to the evils of these clan destroyers, the age-old traditions of the clan and the class are destroyed. O Janārdana! Those whose family virtues are destroyed, have to dwell in hell for indefinite period, thus we have heard.”

"Driven by great desire for kingly pleasures, we were going to commit a very huge sin by resolving to slay our own kith and kin. Alas, such a pity! Even if the well-armed sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra slay me in an unresisting and unarmed state in this battle, that death would be better for me.”

Sañjaya said,
“Having spoken thus, overwhelmed with grief Arjuna collapsed on his chariot and cast aside his bow along with arrows on the battlefield .”