November 3, 2017: Why Krishna asked Arjuna to fight

Srimad Bhagavadgita - Second Chapter

svadharmam api cāvekṣya na vikampitum arhasi | dharmyāddhi yuddhācchreyo’nyat kṣatriyasya na vidyate 

|| 2-31||

atha cet tvam imaṃ dharmyaṃ saṅgrāmaṃ na kariṣyasi | tataḥ svadharmaṃ kīrtiṃ ca hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi 

|| 2-33 ||

Re-ordered word-by-word meaning

ca avekṣya svadharmam api  -And looking at your own rightful, inborn tendency/vocation/aptitude, too,

arhasi na vikampitum - you should not vacillate.

kṣatriyasya na hi śreyaḥ vidyate  dharmyāt yuddhāt   - For a warrior, king of men, indeed nothing more suitable, which augurs well, is known than a righteous war.

atha cet tvam na kariṣyasi  imaṃ dharmyaṃ saṅgrāmaṃ - If at all you do not engage/enter into this righteous(/prescribed for you) war,

tataḥ hitvā svadharmaṃ kīrtiṃ ca avāpsyasi pāpam - then by abandoning your truly ordained calling, and reputation as a great warrior, you will incur sin.

In the large forest of Bhagavadgita's mystical wisdom, we are often lost and don't see the common sense advice that comes early in the second chapter itself, when Krishna commences his discourse. He advises Arjuna to do what comes rightfully and naturally to him, which is the prescribed duty for a warrior: never shirk a righteous war.

Now why was the Mahabharata war righteous? Pandavas, and Kauravas, as cousins in the famed Bharata dynasty (the mother lode for all kingdoms of India), both had right to rule. Pandavas rightfully claimed a portion, after several attempts on their lives in early childhood. As a diplomatic move, they were given by the old king, Khandavaprastha ( an uninhabitable deserted ravine) which they worked and converted into a heavenly kingdom. Duryodhana, the evil cousin, couldn't tolerate their new prosperity, so invited to Yudhisthira to a game of dice (something a king is supposed to always accept!) and cheated and won. as per the terms of the wager, the Pandavas had to spend 13 years in exile. When they came back to reclaim their kingdom, they were told to go to hell or to war. This was the war that was imminent. Between Pandavas, claiming their rightful share, and Kauravas, who had usurped them. 

How can Arjuna, the foremost warrior among Pandavas, and a symbol of valour and righteousness, abandon this war? That is not at all suitable to his nature. Hence Krishna's simple advice.

Just as Nature and Creation have corrective mechanisms for ecology, human kind according to Hindu wisdom has corrective mechanisms for inequity. The people who have to safeguard righteousness when force or war is unavoidable are the warriors. This is further explained in the 18th  chapter: 18.43. Prowess, splendour, firmness, dexterity, and also not fleeing from battle, generosity, lordliness --- these are the duties of the KSHATRIYAS, born of (their own) nature.