700 verses , 18 chapters
First word of Bhagwat Gita is Dharma, Last word in mama (mind)
Karma - The body
Bhakti - Devoting - how to channel those emotions-
Gyaan - Intellect - atma, universe
Family fluid between Pandavas and the Kauravas, 2 brother's children
Kauravas -Dhrudanan - unrelent, negotiation broken down,
no compromise
11 families helped Kauravas Drona, Bishma (represented adharma)
7 families helped Lord Krishan, Arjuna (represented darma)
Summa - Balance 25 time
Bhagwat Gita - occurs at the middle between Kauravas and Pandavas armies
When Arjuna sees all his cousins on the other side
Arjuna in mental paralysis collapse
Arjuna never lost a battle in his life
Arjuna - apple of the eyes of Dronachara
10 day of battle Bishma Fell
Bhagwat Gita was given 10 day after it started,
Dhritarashtra
Bhagwat Gita
Hanumanji present on Arjuna's chariot and heard the Bhagavad Gita alongside Arjuna
Arjuna from Lord Krishna
Sanjaya given divine eyes and hearing
King Dhritarashtra: Sanjaya relate information to him
Vash
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1, also known as Arjuna's Lament, introduces the setting of the Kurukshetra battlefield and depicts Arjuna's emotional turmoil as he faces the prospect of fighting his own family members, leading to his initial reluctance and questioning of his duty.
The chapter opens with King Dhritarashtra, blind and the leader of the Kauravas, asking Sanjaya, his advisor, to describe the events on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Arjuna, the Pandava leader, is faced with the daunting task of fighting against his own relatives, including his teachers and elders, in the Mahabharata war.
Witnessing the opposing armies, especially his own kinsmen, Arjuna is overcome with grief, doubt, and a sense of moral crisis, leading him to express his reluctance to fight.
Krishna, Arjuna's charioteer and a divine figure, patiently listens to Arjuna's lament, allowing him to express his emotions and doubts before commencing the teachings of the Gita.
The chapter introduces themes of duty (dharma), attachment, grief, doubt, and the importance of performing one's duty without attachment to the outcome.
He questions the purpose of the war, the validity of killing his own family, and the potential consequences of such actions, expressing his internal conflict and attachment to his family.
The chapter introduces themes of duty (dharma), attachment, grief, doubt, and the importance of performing one's duty without attachment to the outcome.
This chapter serves as an introduction to the Bhagavad Gita, highlighting the context and the central dilemma that Arjuna faces, which will be addressed through Krishna's teachings.
Chapter 1
Arjunaviṣāda-yoga
(The setup in which the Gītā-teaching is imparted is the epic battle of
Mahābhārata, fought between the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas. Arjuna,
the Pāṇḍava, discovers the problem of saṃsāra in the battlefield. He
surrenders to Lord Kṛṣṇa seeking a solution. Then follows the great
teaching.
If one should get the Gītā-wisdom, one should go through some
important phases in one’s life.
Firstly, one should discover the problem of saṃsāra, for which
Gītā happens to be a solution. Unless one discovers the disease, one
will not seek medicine.
Secondly, one should become possessed by a sincere longing
(tīvramumukṣā) for freedom from saṃsāra. This alone can lead to
committed and fruitful pursuit.
Thirdly, one should realize that one cannot solve this problem
independently. The maximum that one can do, as a limited human
being, is a rearrangement or a reshapement of the problem.
Finally, one should surrender to a guru seeking his guidance.
When discovers the śiṣya in one and surrenders to a guru, the ground
is prepared for the Gītā-teaching to take place.
The entire first chapter and the first part of the second chapter are
devoted to show these developments.)
The problem of saṃsāra, as shown in the first chapter, can be said
to be the problem of attachment (kṛpā or rāga), grief (śoka or viṣāda)
and delusion (moha).
When one is not happy with oneself, one has to
seek external aids. This leads to dependence and attachment. Since the
conditions of the depended factors are unpredictable, the very peace of
mind of that person is in trouble. A disturbed mind can make only
faulty judgements complicating the matters further. Thus a vicious cycle is created. This, in short, is the problem of saṃsāra.
Coming to the text, we find, in the first twenty verses, a vivid
description of the armies arrayed for battle. After a brief instruction
of Duryodhana to his commanders, Bhīṣma, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, and
1
others blow their conches, signaling the commencement of the battle (1 to 20).
At this fateful moment, Arjuna commands Lord Kṛṣṇa, his charioteer, to place the chariot in the middle of the army to scrutinize the
enemy-forces. The mischievous Lord brings the chariot in front of
Bhīṣma and Droṇa and asks Arjuna to survey the army (21 to 25).
(Till now Arjuna was convinced that his cousins are unrighteous
(23) and he, as a kṣatriya, has to fight the battle to establish righteousness.)
In a moment of weakness, Arjuna slips down from reason to relation. Instead of seeing the violators of dharma, he sees his beloved kith
and kin. Naturally, Arjuna is overpowered by attachment. Then follow
the twin offshoots of attachment viz. grief and delusion (26 to 30).
In the next five verses, we see Arjuna expressing his intense grief
which shakes him completely. This indicates the extent of his attachment.
Veiled by attachment, his discriminative power becomes inoperative and he commits a series of false judgements. Interestingly enough,
Arjuna even quotes the scriptures to support his unreasonable stand.
Thus, Arjuna gets caught up in delusion which is depicted from the
36th verse upto the end of the chapter (36 to 47).
In this way, Arjuna finds himself in the deep sea of attachment,
sorrow and delusion (rāga, śoka, moha). Arjuna sincerely wants to get
out of this problem. He thinks that solution is to drop the battle. But,
one corner of his mind is not convinced by this. At the same time, he
has not realized that the problem is too deep for him to solve independently. Hence he doesn’t surrender to Kṛṣṇa either. Thus caught up in
a dilemma, Arjuna sits back on the chariot sorrowfully.
The main topics of this chapter are:
1. Description of the armies and the preparations . . . . . . . ---------------------. . 1 to 20
2. Arjuna’s chariot being placed in the middle of the armies on his
request . . 21 to 25
3. Arjuna’s change of mind leading to attachment (rāga) ---------------------- 26 to 28
4. Arjuna’s grief (śoka) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .------------------ . . . 25 to 34
5. Arjuna’s delusion (moha -delusion, ignorance, or attachment to the world,) 35 to 47
Since Arjuna’s grief is the main topic, this chapter is aptly called
Arjunaviṣāda-yoga.
Let us what were Arjuna’s five reasons to not fight the Mahabharat war:
1. Compassion
Arjuna was full of compassion. Although a fearsome warrior yet kind-hearted. A dear friend of Krishna and a well-wisher of all. He did not want war.
Krishna had tried his best to convince Duryodhana to not compel Pandavas for the war. But the evil son of the blind king, Dhritarashtra, was adamant. So Pandavas and Kauravas had assembled at Kurukshetra. Both the armies were facing each other.
But Arjuna shuddered at the thought that he will be fighting to kill his own family members. He will be shooting arrows towards Bhisma, his great grandfather, and Dronacharya, his guru.
He remembered his childhood days when he would sit on the lap of Bhisma and the great grandfather would caress him. Bhisma loved him so much. But today he was standing opposite to him to kill him. How can he do so?
Arjuna was one of the the greatest archer. Everyone accepted it. No one could face him in the battle. Even he pleased Lord Shiva with his archery skill. And all this was possible only because of Dronacharya, the great martial teacher. Dronacharya loved Arjuna like his own son. He put in his best efforts to make Arjuna the best archer of the world.
How can Arjuna fight against his guru, who was like his father?
The hundred Kauravas were his cousins. All were not bad. For example, Vikarna was a righteous person. Many were his younger brothers.
And then there were thousands of soldiers on both the sides. What were their crimes? Why to put their lives on risk? Why should they die?
Arjuna shares his feelings with Krishna
These thoughts filled Arjuna’s heart with compassion. He lost his composure. He was torn apart internally. At this hour of crisis, he turned towards Krishna, his friend, his ever well wisher and said,
- “My whole body is trembling, my hair is standing on end, my bow Gāṇḍīva is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning.” Bhagavad Gita 1.29
- “I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I see only causes of misfortune, O Kṛṣṇa, killer of the Keśī demon.” Bhagavad Gita 1.30
- “I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle, nor can I, my dear Kṛṣṇa, desire any subsequent victory, kingdom or happiness.” Bhagavad Gita 1.31
2. Enjoyment
Arjuna further said that even if I am victorious still, I won’t be able to enjoy the kingdom. To win the war I will have to kill my own family members. The kingdom will be soaked with the blood of my family members. My adorable grandfather, Bhisma, guru Drona who is like my father, my uncles, brothers, all will be killed. In their absence even if I win still I will be a loser. Fame and fortune cannot be enjoyed alone. To enjoy it we need to share it. But if they are killed then with whom I will share my joy.
Arjuna said, “O maintainer of all living entities, I am not prepared to fight with them even in exchange for the three worlds, let alone this earth. What pleasure will we derive from killing the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra?” Bhagavad Gita 1.32-35
3. Fear of sinful reactions
Killing is a sinful activity. If we kill others, we will incur sins. Sins will lead to suffering. I understand that Duryodhana and his ilks are aggressors, they are ruffians. So what? If they are acting impiously then should we also act irreligiously. What will be the difference between them and us? If like them we engage in this ghastly war and kill the enemies then we will be committing sins. So, it will be better Krishna if I do not fight.
“O Janārdana, although these men, their hearts overtaken by greed, see no fault in killing one’s family or quarreling with friends, why should we, who can see the crime in destroying a family, engage in these acts of sin?” Bhagavad Gita 37 – 38
4. Destruction of Dynasty
When all the assembled warriors will be killed then what will happen to their family? Who will give protection to the elders of the family? Children will become orphans. Women will be unprotected. If the elders of the family are not there, then who will guide the younger generation. In absence of proper guidance dynasty will be destroyed. And destruction of the dynasty will create chaos in the society and bring great disaster.
Consequences of destruction of the dynasty (Bhagavad Gita 1.39 – Bhagavad Gia 1.43)
- With the destruction of dynasty, family tradition is destroyed.
- When family tradition is destroyed then family members start practicing irreligion.
- And when irreligion increases then women of the family become polluted.
- When women become polluted then there is unwanted progeny.
- Unwanted progeny causes hellish life for the family and for those who are responsible for destroying family tradition. These unwanted population will not follow religious tradition because of which:
- Ancestors fall down because no one is there to offer them food and water i.e. pinda daan is stopped.
- Community projects and family welfare activities also stop.
Arjuna contemplated that destruction of the dynasty will bring calamity upon all. He said, “Kṛṣṇa, maintainer of the people, I have heard by disciplic succession that those whose family traditions are destroyed dwell always in hell.” Bhagavad Gita 1.43
Arjuna did not want hellish life for anyone. And he did not want to be the cause of hellish for others. Expressing his anguish, Arjuna said, “Better for me if the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, weapons in hand, were to kill me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield.” Bhagavad Gita 1.45
5. Indecision
Arjuna gave reasons as why he did not want to fight the Mahabharat war. But still he did not know if this was the right decision. He was confused. He was not convinced by his own argument. Bewildered and undecided he turned towards Krishna and expressed the feelings of his heart, “O Krishna, I do not know what is better for me. I see that the sons of Dhritarashtra are standing before me. But whether I should conquer them or be conquered by them, I do not know.” Bhagavad Gita 2.6
Arjuna was thinking why to be part of unnecessary violence. If Duryodhana was so adamant to be the king, let he be the king. I can live by begging. But he also knew that Duryodhana was cruel. He has committed so many sins.
Commenting on this verse Srila Prabhupada writes, “All these considerations by Arjuna definitely proved that not only was he a great devotee of the Lord but he was also highly enlightened and had complete control over his mind and senses.” Bhagavad Gita 2.6 purport
Finally Arjuna takes shelter of Krishna
Standing between both the armies the fearsome warrior was feeling helpless. Arjuna had given five reasons to Krishna as why he did not want war. But still he was not sure if not fighting was the right decision. He was not able to take the right decision. Arjuna the mightiest of the warrior on the battlefield of Kurukshetra decided to take shelter of Krishna. He beseeched Krishna to become his guru and guide him, who was now his surrendered disciple.
“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” Bhagavad Gita 2.7
Arjuna’s five reasons to not fight the Mahabharat war did not convince Krishna. Krishna ultimately persuaded Arjuna to not run away from Kurukshetra. The Supreme Lord made sure that his friend and devotee fight for the right cause and establish dharma.
