The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair

The devastating paradox lands. 'Yeṣām arthe kāṅkṣitam no rājyam'—for whose sake we desired this kingdom? To share with family, teachers, elders. 'Ta ime avasthitāḥ yuddhe prāṇāṁs tyaktvā'—those very people stand in battle, ready to abandon their lives. The circularity is inescapable: I want the kingdom to share with them. They're willing to die preventing me from getting it. If I kill them to get it, I'll have the kingdom but no one to share it with. The goal and path have become mutually exclusive. When the beneficiaries of your pursuit stand against your pursuit, the entire framework has collapsed.