Bhagavad Gita 1.36
निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याज्जनार्दन । पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिनः ॥
nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrān naḥ kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana | pāpam evāśrayed asmān hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ ||
Translation
O Janardana, what pleasure can there be in killing the sons of Dhritarashtra? Sin alone would cling to us if we killed these aggressors.
Reflection
What permission did you give yourself today and then refuse to use?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter One
Ātatāyinaḥ. Aggressors. The traditional law allowed the killing of an ātatāyin, one who burns down houses, poisons food, comes with sword in hand. Duryodhana's side meets the definition. Arjuna names them as such and then refuses the permission the naming grants. He grants himself the right and rejects it in one breath. A person looking for a way out has often already proved why the way out exists; the proof is not the point. The refusal is the point.