Bhishma Parva — Section 1 of 2 in this original, condensed prose retelling of the eighteen-parva Mahabharata.
Seeing teachers, cousins and elders before him, Arjuna loses the will to fight. Krishna speaks about the enduring self, right action, devotion, knowledge and freedom from selfish attachment. The Bhagavad Gita does not erase the tragedy of war; it asks Arjuna to examine duty with a disciplined mind. Arjuna regains clarity and decides to act.
Read this episode in sequence with the other parvas to understand the full storyline, including its moral ambiguity and tragic consequences.