Chapter One
Sri Krishna consoles and instructs Prince Arjuna as he is about to go into battle against family and friends to defend his older brother’s claim to the ancient throne of the Kurus. Thus the great scripture called Bhagavad Gita, the “Song of the Lord,” begins. Sri Krishna is Bhagavan, “the Lord,” the mysterious incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the aspect of God who fosters and preserves the universe against the forces constantly working to destroy and corrupt it. Krishna has appeared on earth as a royal prince of the house of the Yadavas; thus he combines earthly majesty with a hidden spiritual power. Most know him only as an unimportant prince, but the wise have seen him reveal his power to destroy evil and protect the good.
The battle of the Bhagavad Gita is not Krishna’s fight, however; it is Arjuna’s. Krishna is only Arjuna’s charioteer and advisor. He has promised Arjuna that he will be with him throughout the ordeal, but much as he passionately hopes for Arjuna’s victory, he has sworn to be a noncombatant in the struggle. A charioteer’s position is a lowly one compared to the status and glory of the warrior he drives, but Krishna assumes this modest role out of love for Arjuna. As charioteer, he is in a perfect position to give advice and encouragement to Arjuna without violating his promise not to join the fight himself.
To secure their claim to the throne, Arjuna and his brothers must fight not an alien army but their own cousins, who have held the kingdom for many years. Tragically, the forces against them include their own uncle, the blind king Dhritarashtra, and even the revered teachers and elders who guided Arjuna and his brothers when they were young. Arjuna, of course, wants to win the throne for his brother, who is the rightful heir to the Kuru dynasty and has endured many wrongs. But he is dismayed at the prospect of fighting his own people. Thus, on the morning the great battle is to begin, he turns to Krishna, his friend and spiritual advisor, and asks him the deeper questions about life that he has never asked before. The Bhagavad Gita is Krishna’s answer.
Other warriors who appear elsewhere in the drama are mentioned in this first chapter of the Gita. To Indians these are familiar figures from the legendary past, but to most Western readers they will be unknown and even unpronounceable names. Arjuna and his brothers are known as the Pandavas, “the sons of Pandu”: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Sahadeva, and Nakula. The other side is called the Kauravas, “the sons of Kuru.” This is somewhat misleading, for both sides of the royal family are Kurus by birth. But the Pandavas are now in the position of appearing to be the dissident faction, so they are called “sons of Pandu” to distinguish them from the larger family.
Pandu was once king of the kingdom of Hastinapura, but he retired into the forest on spiritual retreat and died young. His elder brother, Dhritarashtra, was blind since birth, so he was never named ruler, but he did share power with his brother. When Pandu died his eldest son, Yudhishthira, should have succeeded him; but because Yudhishthira was only a boy, Dhritarashtra continued on after Pandu’s death.
As time passed, however, Dhritarashtra’s attachment to his own eldest son, Duryodhana, gradually overcame him. Instead of rising to royal impartiality and allowing Yudhishthira his fair claim, the old, blind king began to connive at his son’s demand to succeed to the throne. Actually, the line of succession had grown convoluted over several generations, and it was not unthinkable that Duryodhana should rule next. But Yudhishthira’s outstanding qualities and Duryodhana’s corruption gradually decided the issue, at least from the moral point of view. For Duryodhana, the conflict could be resolved only on the battlefield.
Other warriors are mentioned briefly in chapter 1. Two particularly important figures in the Mahabharata story are Drona and Bhishma. Drona was born a brahmin, a member of the priestly caste, but in search of wealth he took up the way of the warrior and excelled in the knowledge of arms. He was the teacher, the guru, of all the royal princes in their youth, the sons of Pandu and the sons of Dhritarashtra alike. Thus it was he who taught both sides the skills of war – an irony which sharp-tongued Duryodhana points out in verse 3. Arjuna was Drona’s best pupil when it came to the bow, excelling even Drona’s own son, Ashvatthama.
Bhishma, “the grandsire” of both sides, is not actually the princes’ grandfather but a respected elder statesman. As Dhritarashtra’s advisor of many years’ standing, he considers it his duty to stand by his king and try to protect him from his weaknesses and wrong decisions.
Another figure introduced in chapter 1 is Sanjaya, who narrates the entire Gita to the blind king Dhritarashtra. Sanjaya is not present on the battlefield, but the text tells us that the sage Vyasa, the composer of the Gita, has given him divine sight so that he can see and report everything.
Chapter 1 leaves us acutely aware that we are on a battlefield, waiting for a catastrophic war to begin; but once Krishna begins his instruction, we leave the battlefield behind and enter the realms of philosophy and mystical vision. The first chapter is but a bridge to the real subjects of the Gita, and thus need not detain us too long in our study of the poem.
Yet the first chapter has caused a great deal of debate, largely because of what it has to say about the morality of war. Basically there have been two points of view, which are almost (but perhaps not completely) irreconcilable. First, there is the orthodox Hindu viewpoint that the Gita condones war for the warrior class: it is the dharma, the moral duty, of soldiers to fight in a good cause, though never for evil leaders. (It should be added that this is part of an elaborate and highly chivalrous code prescribing the just rules of war.) According to this orthodox view, the lesson of the Mahabharata (and therefore of the Gita) is that although war is evil, it is an evil that cannot be avoided – an evil both tragic and honorable for the warrior himself. War in a just cause, justly waged, is also in accord with the divine will. Because of this, in the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira and his noble brothers find their peace in the next world when they have finished their duty on earth.
The mystics’ point of view is more subtle. For them the battle is an allegory, a cosmic struggle between good and evil. Krishna has revealed himself on earth to reestablish righteousness, and he is asking Arjuna to engage in a spiritual struggle, not a worldly one. According to this interpretation, Arjuna is asked to fight not his kith and kin but his own lower self. Mahatma Gandhi, who based his daily life on the Gita from his twenties on, felt it would be impossible to live the kind of life taught in the Gita and still engage in violence. To argue that the Gita condones violence, he said, was to give importance only to its opening verses – its preface, so to speak – and ignore the scripture itself.
For some, it helps clarify this question to look upon the Gita as an Upanishad, a mystical statement from the Vedas, that was incorporated into the warrior epic of a later age. Chapter 1 of the Gita then forms a rather perilous bridge between the warrior’s world and the essential part of the Gita – Sri Krishna’s revelations of spiritual truth. –D.M.
1: The War Within
DHRITARASHTRA
1 O Sanjaya, tell me what happened at Kurukshetra, the field of dharma, where my family and the Pandavas gathered to fight.
SANJAYA
2 Having surveyed the forces of the Pandavas arrayed for battle, prince Duryodhana approached his teacher, Drona, and spoke. 3 “O my teacher, look at this mighty army of the Pandavas, assembled by your own gifted disciple, Yudhishthira. 4 There are heroic warriors and great archers who are the equals of Bhima and Arjuna: Yuyudhana, Virata, the mighty Drupada, 5 Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, the valiant king of Kashi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja,the great leader Shaibya, 6 the powerful Yudhamanyu, the valiant Uttamaujas, and the son of Subhadra, in addition to the sons of Draupadi. All these command mighty chariots.
7 “O best of brahmins, listen to the names of those who are distinguished among our own forces: 8 Bhishma, Karna, and the victorious Kripa; Ashvatthama, Vikarna, and the son of Somadatta.
9 “There are many others, too, heroes giving up their lives for my sake, all proficient in war and armed with a variety of weapons. 10 Our army is unlimited and commanded by Bhishma; theirs is small and commanded by Bhima. 11 Let everyone take his proper place and stand firm supporting Bhishma!”
12 Then the powerful Bhishma, the grandsire, oldest of all the Kurus, in order to cheer Duryodhana, roared like a lion and blew his conch horn. 13 And after Bhishma, a tremendous noise arose of conchs and cow horns and pounding on drums.
14 Then Sri Krishna and Arjuna, who were standing in a mighty chariot yoked with white horses, blew their divine conchs. 15 Sri Krishna blew the conch named Panchajanya, and Arjuna blew that called Devadatta. The mighty Bhima blew the huge conch Paundra. 16 Yudhishthira, the king, the son of Kunti, blew the conch Anantavijaya; Nakula and Sahadeva blew their conchs as well. 17 Then the king of Kashi, the leading bowman, the great warrior Shikhandi, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, the invincible Satyaki,18Drupada, all the sons of Draupadi, and the strong-armed son of Subhadra joined in, 19 and the noise tore through the heart of Duryodhana’s army. Indeed, the sound was tumultuous, echoing throughout heaven and earth.
20 Then, O Dhritarashtra, lord of the earth, having seen your son’s forces set in their places and the fighting about to begin, Arjuna spoke these words to Sri Krishna:
ARJUNA
21 O Krishna, drive my chariot between the two armies. 22 I want to see those who desire to fight with me. With whom will this battle be fought? 23 I want to see those assembled to fight for Duryodhana, those who seek to please the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra by engaging in war.
SANJAYA
24 Thus Arjuna spoke, and Sri Krishna, driving his splendid chariot between the two armies, 25 facing Bhishma and Drona and all the kings of the earth, said: “Arjuna, behold all the Kurus gathered together.”
26 And Arjuna, standing between the two armies, saw fathers and grandfathers, teachers, uncles, and brothers, sons and grandsons, 27 in-laws and friends. Seeing his kinsmen established in opposition, 28 Arjuna was overcome by sorrow. Despairing, he spoke these words:
ARJUNA
O Krishna, I see my own relations here anxious to fight, 29 and my limbs grow weak; my mouth is dry, my body shakes, and my hair is standing on end. 30 My skin burns, and the bow Gandiva has slipped from my hand. I am unable to stand; my mind seems to be whirling. 31 These signs bode evil for us. I do not see that any good can come from killing our relations in battle. 32 O Krishna, I have no desire for victory, or for a kingdom or pleasures. Of what use is a kingdom or pleasure or even life, 33 if those for whose sake we desire these things – 34 teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, uncles, in-laws, grandsons, and others with family ties – are engaging in this battle, renouncing their wealth and their lives? 35 Even if they were to kill me, I would not want to kill them, not even to become ruler of the three worlds. How much less for the earth alone?
36 O Krishna, what satisfaction could we find in killing Dhritarashtra’s sons? We would become sinners by slaying these men, even though they are evil. 37 The sons of Dhritarashtra are related to us; therefore, we should not kill them. How can we gain happiness by killing members of our own family?
38 Though they are overpowered by greed and see no evil in destroying families or injuring friends, we see these evils. 39 Why shouldn’t we turn away from this sin? 40 When a family declines, ancient traditions are destroyed. With them are lost the spiritual foundations for life, and the family loses its sense of unity. 41 Where there is no sense of unity, the women of the family become corrupt; and with the corruption of its women, society is plunged into chaos. 42 Social chaos is hell for the family and for those who have destroyed the family as well. It disrupts the process of spiritual evolution begun by our ancestors. 43 The timeless spiritual foundations of family and society would be destroyed by these terrible deeds, which violate the unity of life.
44 It is said that those whose family dharma has been destroyed dwell in hell. 45 This is a great sin! We are prepared to kill our own relations out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom. 46 Better for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, were to attack me in battle and kill me unarmed and unresisting.
SANJAYA
47 Overwhelmed by sorrow, Arjuna spoke these words. And casting away his bow and his arrows, he sat down in his chariot in the middle of the battlefield.