To Arjuna, who is drowning in tears, Krishna begins to speak.

At the end of Chapter 1, Arjuna put down his bow and sank into the chariot. Chapter 2 begins by again depicting his mental state: overwhelmed with compassion, tears filling his eyes, unable to move due to deep sorrow.

What covers him is not fear of the enemy, but love and compassion for those close to him, and a fear of the sin that would destroy his clan. Then, Krishna, called "Madusudana" – he who destroyed Madhu – speaks to him. Not simply offering comfort, but teaching that will cut through Arjuna's confusion, begins here.

Japanese Translation from Gita Press Edition - Chapter 2, Section 1: "Krishna begins to speak to Arjuna, who is filled with tears."

In the first chapter, famous warriors from both armies are depicted, and it is described that they blew conch shells. Furthermore, as an introduction to Krishna's teachings, Arjuna's chariot was placed between the two armies.

Seeing the people close to him in both armies, a strong feeling of sadness and confusion arose in Arjuna's heart. Chapter 1 ends with Arjuna refusing to fight, laying down his weapons, and sinking into deep despair within the chariot.

In this situation, it is necessary to describe how Bhagavan Shree Krishna dealt with Arjuna and motivated him to go into battle. Therefore, Sanjaya begins Chapter 2 by describing the state of Arjuna's mind.

Sanskrit original text

सञ्जय उवाच
तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् ।
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः ॥ १ ॥

Romanization

sañjaya uvāca
taṃ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam aśrupūrṇākulekṣaṇam |
viṣīdantam idaṃ vākyam uvāca madhusūdanaḥ || 1 ||

Sanjaya said: "To Arjuna, who was overwhelmed with compassion, whose eyes were filled with tears and disarrayed, and who was immersed in grief, Shri Krishna, the destroyer of Madhu, spoke the following words." (1)

In Chapter 1, Arjuna's state of extreme despair was described in detail.

Chapter 2 begins by briefly reviewing the situation. That is, Bhagavan Shri Krishna spoke to Arjuna, who was deeply saddened and overwhelmed with weakness due to compassion for his friends and relatives, shedding many tears from his eyes, and fearing the destruction of his family and the terrible sin that would result from it.

In this section, Sanjaya refers to Bhagavan Shri Krishna as "Madusudana," meaning "the destroyer of Madhu."

He also adds "Vākyam," which means "word," and "Idam," which means "these," indicating that he is warning Dhritarashtra.

The intention was to indicate that Bhagavan Shree Krishna is the one who destroyed Madhu, a demon who had once oppressed the gods of heaven. Therefore, Krishna became known as "Madhusudana."

That very same Shri Krishna encouraged Arjuna, who was losing his will to fight and wanted to give up, with the following words, and urged him to go into battle.

In such a situation, how could Dritarashtra expect his sons to be victorious? They are like Madhu, oppressors, and the Lord's chosen mission is to destroy oppressors and persecutors.

Therefore, Sanjaya was implicitly urging this.

The sons and relatives of Dhritarashtra who have survived the ten days of terrible slaughter can still be saved if Dhritarashtra can persuade his sons to make peace with the Pandavas.