The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair

This is the breaking point. After listing every conceivable relationship, Arjuna reaches 'kṛpayā parayāviṣṭaḥ'—overwhelmed by supreme compassion. Notice: it's not fear, not strategy, not doubt about victory—it's COMPASSION. The text says 'paraya kṛpayā' (supreme/transcendent compassion), not ordinary emotion. This is crucial: Arjuna's crisis isn't cowardice, it's an overwhelming empathic recognition of interconnection. 'Viṣīdan'—lamenting, deeply sorrowful. And then he speaks to Krishna: 'Seeing my own kinsmen (svajanam), eager to fight (yuyutsum).' The tragedy sharpens: they WANT to fight, they're ready to kill and be killed, but he sees them as 'his own.' The verse teaches: the deepest moral crises come not from lack of feeling, but from feeling too deeply—from recognizing kinship where others see only opposition.