In Chapter 1, verses 1 to 19 of the Bhagavad Gita, Sanjaya is informing Dhritarashtra about the status of the armies and the prominent warriors who have assembled. In verses 20 to 23 of Chapter 1, Arjuna requests Krishna to place his chariot in the middle of the two armies so that he can see who is present to fight against him.
Verses 24 and 25 of Chapter 1 describe how Lord Krishna positions the chariot between the two armies and instructs Arjuna to observe the kings and Kuru clan members standing in front. In verses 26 to 45 of Chapter 1, Arjuna, seeing his own relatives, sons, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and teachers ready to fight, expresses his profound sorrow and says to Krishna that he is trembling at the sight of his own people. His bow is slipping from his hand, and he is unable to stand. He does not wish to kill his relatives and feels that even if he were to gain the kingdoms of all three worlds, it would not be worth the sin of killing his kin. He questions how they can be happy by committing such sinful acts and expresses concern about the consequences, such as the destruction of family traditions, the dishonoring of women, and the resulting sinful offspring. He laments that they are committing a grave sin by being ready to kill their own relatives for selfish reasons.
In verse 46 of Chapter 1, Arjuna states that if the sons of Dhritarashtra were to kill him while he is defenseless and thus avoid the war, he would prefer to die rather than be the cause of countless widows and orphans. In verse 47, Arjuna, deeply distressed, sits down in the middle of his chariot and puts aside his bow.
This chapter contains a total of 47 verses, of which two verses (24 and 25) are spoken by Krishna. The remaining verses are spoken by Sanjaya and Arjuna.