Arjuna admits his complete confusion about the outcome of the war. He says he doesn’t know which is better: conquering them or being conquered by them. He has reached a point where even victory seems like a defeat because he wouldn’t care to live after killing his cousins. He sees the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra standing before him, and he feels that his life is tied to theirs in a way that makes their destruction synonymous with his own misery. He is caught in a double-bind where every possible choice feels like a loss. Arjuna acknowledges that his own intelligence is no longer sufficient to discern the right path. He is paralyzed by the paradox of his situation. This admission of helplessness is the final step before his total surrender to Kṛṣṇa as a student.