Bhagavad Gita · Arjuna Vishada YogaChapter 1, Shloka 39 (1.39)

"Na paśyanti" vs "prapaśyadbhiḥ" — blindness and sight. Arjuna draws a moral line between himself and the Kauravas: they are blind with greed, we can see. And the duty of the one who sees is to turn back. Shridhara: nivṛttāv eva buddhiḥ kartavyā — "the mind should be set on nivritti (turning back) alone."

Madhusudana's doubt — "a kshatriya does not turn away from a challenge". Madhusudana sets out a strong counter-position: the scripture says "āhūto na nivarteta dyūtād api raṇād api" — "when challenged, a kshatriya does not turn back even from dice or from battle"; war is the dharma of the kshatriya, and wealth won through war is righteous. The Pandavas have been challenged to war. So how can turning back be right?

Madhusudana's answer (on Arjuna's behalf) — a deep argument from Mimamsa. One engages in an action when it is known to be a means to the good (shreya); and shreya is that which is not followed by ashreya (harm). If this were not so, then even the shyena sacrifice (a Vedic rite of black magic meant to destroy an enemy) would become dharma. Madhusudana quotes: "an action that is not tied to harm even in its fruit, and is a cause only of joy, is called dharma." Therefore — even though described in scripture, like the shyena — this war (in which there is the harm of killing kinsmen) is not right for us.

This argument shows how serious and scripturally grounded Arjuna's position can be. The Gita's answer cannot take it lightly — and it does not.

"Janārdana" — again. Arjuna again calls Krishna "Janardana" — as if seeking his agreement again and again.