The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Arjuna surrendering to Bhagawan Krishna amidst the Kurukshetra battlefield, as his confusions and trauma upon seeing all his family members and friends around him are increasing beyond levels. Arjuna’s surrender comes at a time when he doesn’t know how to proceed from here on and he requests Bhagawan to accept him either as His disciple or His ardent devotee. By surrendering to Bhagawan’s divine lotus feet, Arjuna requests Him to clarify all the doubts that he has in his mind. We can also do this surrender every day in front of Bhagawan. We should always remember one thing clearly – No matter whatever effort we put in to finish any task or activity, without Bhagawan’s divine “Anugraha” nothing would get fulfilled in the proper sense. Similarly, we might not have definitive answers for many aspects in life, and hence, it becomes all the more pertinent to surrender to Bhagawan, seeking answers for all the doubts we might have. 

Moving on thus, we have to now start with Bhagawan’s reply. The shloka goes thus: 

“Sanjaya Uvaacha!

Evamuktvaa rishikesham gudaakeshah paranthapa!

Na yotsya ithi govinda muktvaa thooshnim babhoova ha!!”

Here, as usual, we’re seeing Sanjaya talking all these to King Dhritarashtra. We should never forget this sequence till the end. Now, Bhagawan Rishikesha (Bhagawan Krishna, who has complete control over all the senses) is going to talk to “Gudaakesha” (Arjuna, who has complete control over his sleep!) It is believed widely that Arjuna can be wide awake for how much ever time he wants to, without needing to rest! Thus, as Sage Vyaasa is narrating all this, he ends this shloka with a “Ha” note! This means that Arjuna, who is never afraid of anything in life, has, for the first time, tasted what fear is! Sage Vyaasa couldn’t believe that such a thing happened, and hence he expresses his surprise through the notation “Ha” at the end of this shloka. Normally, Arjuna is also referred to as “Savyasaachi” which means “Ambidextrous”. This implies that Arjuna can use the “Gaandeepa” with equal strength from both his left and right hands! This shows the power that Arjuna has, isn’t it? Normally, as we’ve seen earlier as well, holding the “Gaandeepa” bow itself is not easy for many people. If one has to even hold it in his hand, it requires enormous power. Apart from this, if one has to fight with the “Gaandeepa” with equal strength in both hands / shoulders, it is something miraculous! At numerous occasions in the past we’ve also witnessed Arjuna fighting wars singlehandedly and winning them effortlessly! If such a person has to get confused and should drop the “Gaandeepa” down on the ground, there is something really wrong with him. The problem with Arjuna here is that he is confused between what is “Dharma” and what is “Adharma”. He is of the opinion that killing all his family members / friends, etc. in the battlefield is gross “Adharma” and protecting their vested interests and agenda is “Dharma”! 

Now this is where we need Bhagawan to clarify things to Arjuna. Now here we can see one thing very clearly – If someone is instilled with fear, we know how this person gets confused and struggles to take a step forward. Arjuna is a clear example of how fear acts in a human being! No matter how powerful Arjuna might be, the factor called “fear” has brought him down to his knees, isn’t it? This is exactly what fear can do to a human being. It doesn’t really matter how powerful and accomplished we are, in front of “fear”! It can make a human being completely shut mentally and physically! This is where we’ve to be very careful and this Bhagawad Gita teaches us this apt lesson as to how we should overcome fear! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall continue this further! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Arjuna interrupting Bhagawan Krishna once again and asking a very important counter question to His important accord. As Bhagawan Krishna talks about why Arjuna should come out of his current mental state and pick up his “Gaandipa” to fight, Arjuna counters Him immediately thus, “Oh Bhagawan! Isn’t it important who one is fighting with? My Guru and my Grandfather are standing amidst the enemy section. Do you want me to kill my own Guru? Can there be any greater sin in this world than killing one’s own teacher? I know how much pain and effort my Guru has taken to train me! I know how much importance he has given for me in teaching this bow and arrow technique. Do you still want me to go hammer and tongs against him in this battle? Isn’t this highly unfair on me to do this? Moreover, all of us know the bonding I share with Bhishmachaarya. How can I even have the heart to harm a single cell in his body? Oh Bhagawan Krishna! Now I tell you – I’m withdrawing myself from this! I do not want to be responsible for this mass destruction! Moreover, I do not want to be called as a traitor who killed his own Guru for a mere kingdom! I do not want this kingdom under my possession at all!” 

Arjuna continues with his important accord thus, “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! I hereby surrender to your divine lotus feet! I fold my hands in front of you and request you only one thing – Please clarify to me as to which is “Dharma” and which is “Adharma” at this juncture. I do not have any clarity on this at the moment, and hence, I’m in such a confused state of mind. You’re asking me to fight, but upon seeing all these people in front of me, I’m not having the heart to fight against them! Is killing them in this war my “Dharma”? Or, will I be committing a gross “Adharma” by killing all of them? Please clarify! Oh Bhagawan! Please accept these words as a token of surrender! I hereby offer these words to your divine lotus feet! You may accept me as your “Sharanagata” (Ardent devotee) or a “Sishya” (Disciple) and that is your wish completely! Who am I to instruct you in this? Hence, please advise me on which would give me the clarity on what I should be doing and what I should not be doing. I will always be near you with utmost gratitude towards you!” Saying thus, Arjuna prostrates in front of Bhagawan Krishna in complete surrender. He falls on Bhagawan’s divine lotus feet, folds his hands in respect and sits in front of Him for advice. 

This surrender is applicable to all of us as well – Everyday morning we can also say this to Bhagawan as part of our daily prayers. We can tell Bhagawan thus, “Oh my dear Bhagawan! I’m surrendering myself to your divine lotus feet! I request your advice and guidance on what needs to be done by me and what is “Adharma” and “Dharma” in my actions! Please accept me as either your ardent “Bhakta” or your ardent “Sishya”!” All of us can do this starting from today! 🙂 However, it is not important enough to just do this – We should also follow what Bhagawan says! That is also equally important. It should not be like, we would ask for the sake of asking and at the end, we would do whatever we would want to do! 🙂 We should make sure that if we’re asking for Bhagawan’s advice, we follow it meticulously in our everyday life and activities. 

So for today, let us understand this very important point of Arjuna’s complete surrender to Bhagawan Krishna’s divine lotus feet and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhagawan Krishna’s hard-hitting accord with Arjuna as to why he is the first one to panic amidst the battlefield. This same Arjuna was the one who had given a sincilating reply to Yudishtra when he had panicked the similar way. However, Yudishtra understood the reality and practicality of things and he decided to do his “Dharma” of fighting the war to protect his people. However, here is the same Arjuna who is now buckling down under pressure upon seeing his entire set of relatives standing in front of him. This is where Bhagawan Krishna has to step in and give Arjuna left, right and centre. Bhagawan Krishna gives a very assertive answer first up, in order to first make Arjuna lift his head and talk something. At the moment, he looks down, weeping bitterly and is unwilling to even stand up. So Bhagawan’s first priority is now to make Arjuna stand up and lift his head. 

Thus, as Bhagawan commences His accord, He straightaway talks about mental depression and getting upset over things. Arjuna is undergoing the same situation here, and for this, Bhagawan Krishna is explaining to him that he should come out of this stressed mental state very soon. In today’s context too, this is one of the hot topics that we discuss in the fields of leadership and management. Handling stress and tough situations are the hallmark characteristics of a good leader. Bhagawan Krishna too starts with this aspect and we can see the importance that is given to stress and stress management. It is pertinent here to see that Bhagawan Krishna starts with this aspect, however, to convince Arjuna once again to take the “Gaandeepa” in hand, He had to go through 700 slokas! Convincing Arjuna wasn’t an easy task for Bhagawan Krishna, however, we’ve to understand here that if Arjuna hadn’t panicked like this, we wouldn’t have obtained the Bhagawad Gita from Bhagawan. 

Moving forward thus, Arjuna now asks a backup question by interrupting Bhagawan Krishna in the middle. Arjuna asks thus, “Oh Bhagawan! You’ve obtained the divine name “Madhusoodhana”. How did you do that? It came out of the respect that you had for your Guru and your elders, isn’t it? Similarly, what would you call me? “Bhishmasoodhana” or “Dhronasoodhana”, isn’t it? Normally, what do we do for our Guru? We pay our respect to them by offering flowers and holy water at their divine lotus feet and worship them, don’t we? But here, you are asking me to act on the contrary! My Guru Dhronachaarya is standing in front of me. Instead of asking me to pay my respects to him and to worship him, here you are asking me to take my “Gaandipa” and fight against him and kill him! How can I kill my own Guru? Isn’t this the greatest sin of all times? Even though he might be supporting a wrong cause, a Guru is a Guru! How can I even imagine this “Adharma” in my dreams? Similar in stature is my grandfather Bhishmachaarya. I’ve always seen him as my father and I’ve learnt a lot from him all these days and years. Now, he is also standing in front of me as an enemy! How on earth can I see both these people as my enemies in a battlefield? Can there be a more difficult situation for me in my life than this?” 

Saying thus, Arjuna starts weeping once again profusely, even as Bhagawan Krishna is casting a divine look at him! So for today, let us understand Arjuna’s concern clearly and for this also, Bhagawan is going to give a reply. Is it going to be hard-hitting like the earlier one, or is He going to tone down a bit because Arjuna is clearly panicking and giving up his resolve to fight? Stay tuned for the next episode to witness Bhagawan Krishna’s interesting and important accord! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna’s hard-hitting beginning to what is going to be a very important and lengthy accord to Arjuna about various aspects of “Dharma” and how to attain Him at the end. As Arjuna buckles down under his emotions, Bhagawan Krishna wants to lift him up and make him fight again. He clearly says that such buckling down under pressure is not the characteristic of a “Kshatrya” prince and he has to get up and fight the war. Actually, as we’ve seen earlier, Arjuna was expecting some consoling words from Bhagawan Krishna, but unfortunately to his bad luck, Bhagawan Krishna is in a “firing mode”! He gives Arjuna left right and centre with His hard-hitting and far-reaching words, which we’re in the process of witnessing. So let us continue from here on in today’s episode. 

Bhagawan Krishna continues His hard-hitting words to Arjuna further thus, “Oh Parantapa! (Arjuna, who is the destroyer of all enemies effortlessly!) Till this day, what did you tell me? You have said that given an opportunity, you’ll finish Duryodhana off within a few days! You’ll finish Duryodhana within a few hours! You’ll finish Duryodhana within a few minutes! What happened to all that courage and boldness? Even when Yudishtra had the doubt whether we should go ahead with this war, you were the one who consoled him by saying that people like Duryodhana should never be spared even for a minute! Oh Arjuna! I saw so much of valor and confidence in you when you gave that hard-hitting assurance to Yudishtra on the other day! But what happened to you now? Till today I was thinking that Yudishtra was faltering and buckling down under pressure when the key moment arrived. But now with your actions, you are proving to be worse than Yudishtra! In fact, Yudishtra had the doubt before the war commenced, and hence, we were able to motivate him. However, after the “Shankams” from all corners have been blown, Yudishtra has completely made up his mind to go ahead with the war. However, what is happening to you? Even after the sounds of the “Shankams” are piercing through our ears, what is making you buckle down like this? This is actually not right!”

“Klaiviamaasvagamah paartha naitattvam upapadhyate!

Kutastvaa kashmalam idam vishame samu pashcitam!!”

Saying thus, Bhagawan explains, “Oh Arjuna! Hence, please let go off your mental depression and get up and start fighting! This is so uncharacteristic of a “Kshatrya” prince and do not fall into this trap!” This is a very important message for all of us too. So what Bhagawan is saying here is that, whenever we are facing some crunch situations in life, this is the time we might start panicking and start having a lot of confusion. This is where we’ve to be mentally strong and determined, and this is exactly what Bhagawan is telling Arjuna as well. Thus, mentally depressed state is extremely dangerous for all of us to proceed with our actions. We should make sure not to enter into such a state and this is a clear trap wherein we might start faltering! 

This is a very important lesson for all leaders who may be in various domains of work and in different walks of life! As a leader, if we start panicking, our entire team starts to panic, isn’t it? Hence, isn’t the job of the leader to be mentally tough and strong? This is where Arjuna is going wrong. As a great warrior and a leader himself, shouldn’t he be very tough mentally? This is what Bhagawan Krishna is trying to drive home to Arjuna! We’re at the moment witnessing only the second “Adhyaaya”, wherein Bhagawan is trying to make Arjuna get up. But actually when does Ajruna get up once again to pick up his Gaandeepa and fight? It is only at the end of the eighteenth “Adhyaaya!” 🙂 Thus, it has taken almost seventeen “Adhyaayas” and 600-plus shlokas for Bhagawan Krishna to make Arjuna get up! If such is the case for a highly-empowered leader like Arjuna, what about all of us? So let us take this opportunity to understand the Bhagawad Gita, which should internally motivate us to do our tasks better without getting into that unwanted zone of mental depression and sadness! We shall continue this accord in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on the significance of the Bhagawad Gita. As we know that since this has directly come from Bhagawan’s mouth, this automatically assumes enormous significance. In due course, we’ve also tried to split the entire Gita into three parts – “Prathama Shadkam” (First six Adhyaayas), “Madhyama Shadkam” (Second six Adhyaayas) and “Charama Shadkam” (Last six Adhyaayas). The “Prathama Shadkam” talks in-depth about Karma Yoga and Gnyaana Yoga. What can we attain through the Karma Yoga and the Gnyaana Yoga? We can attain something called “Atma-Saakshaadkaaram”. The “Madhyama Shadkam” talks about the owner of this “Atman” and sows the seeds for the most important Bhakti Yoga, which is spoken about in-depth in the last six Adhyaayas. With this detailed introduction, we shall now commence the discussion on the second “Adhyaaya” of the Bhagawad Gita. We’ve already witnessed the first one – The “Arjuna-Vishaada Yoga”, wherein Arjuna expresses his anguish and emotional instability upon seeing all his family members, other near and dear ones standing around him, ready to have a go at each other on the battlefield. 

Now moving on, we shall get into what Bhagawan has to reply to Arjuna. The shloka begins thus: 

“Sanjaya Uvaacha: 

Tam tathaa krupaya vrishtam ashva purna kulekshanam!

Visheedantam idam vaakyam uvaacha madhusudhanaha!!”

As we’re already witnessing as part of this discussion, it is Sanjaya who is narrating all these to King Dhritarashtra. Hence, Sanjaya sees Arjuna crying and as he is doing so, he expects Bhagawan to wipe his tears and talk to him with a lot of compassion and love. In fact, even in our daily lives we encounter this situation – If we’re so depressed or sad, we expect someone to pat our shoulders and lift us up from the sadness, isn’t it? Or, there is another way to tackle such people who are sad – Give them a nice beating on their back and make them get up on their own! Now this might be a harsh way of treating a person who is weeping with sadness, but this is exactly what Bhagawan Krishna decides to do here! 🙂 Upon seeing Arjuna weeping in the midst of a battlefield with lakhs of people standing around, Bhagawan decides that there’s no place for compassion and love here, and thus, adopts the harsh route straightaway! Bhagawan Krishna asks thus, 

“Kutah tvaa kashmalam idam vishametam upaschitham!

Anaadyajushta asvaryam akeertiparam arjuna!!”

Here, Bhagawan Krishna straightaway asks a hard-hitting question to Arjuna thus, “Oh Arjuna! How come out of all the people standing here, you are going through such sadness and mental depression? You belong to the “Kshatrya” clan and for people who come from this clan, this is something that I’ve never seen! For the stable and strong mind that you have and I’ve seen till now, will this sadness be a fit? Oh Arjuna! Elders and ancestors of the “Kshatrya” clan will never accept such behaviour from a great warrior like you!” Here, the word “Kashmalam” indicates Arjuna’s unusually depressed state of mind and Bhagawan is trying to question Arjuna as to what makes him get into this state so easily upon just a mere look at all of them standing in front of him! 

So for today, let us understand up to this point and today, we’ve seen a real hard-hitting statement that Bhagawan is making to Arjuna. In the next episode, we shall continue this further and see how harder Bhagawan is going to hit Arjuna with His divine words! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the essence of what Bhagawan Krishna says as part of the Bhagawad Gita, which is considered to be one of the most holiest texts of our Sanaatana Dharma. As we’ve witnessed earlier, the Bhagawad Gita consists of extremely important life lessons for all of us. Even though Arjuna was at the centre of everything what was happening at Kurukshetra and even though the text is structured as a dialogue between Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna, whatever is discussed here is applicable to all of us as well. In fact, as we’ve been mentioning time and again, Bhagawan Krishna was looking for an avenue to gift this Gita to the entire world, and He used Arjuna as His perfect launchpad for the same. Moreover, since these words of wisdom directly come from Bhagawan’s mouth, this text assumes enormous significance. Of course, understanding Bhagawan’s words directly might be quite a difficult task for all of us as normal human beings, we should also read through the commentaries of various Mahatmas such as Adi Shankara Bhagawad Paada, Ramanujachaarya, Madhvachaarya and the others along with this discussion. These Mahatmas have analyzed the Gita in-depth and have given us the essence of it in simple language which all of us can understand easily. Hence, we’re now in the context wherein Arjuna is feeling shocked when he sees Bhishmachaarya, Guru Dhronachaarya, and the entire lot of family members standing opposite to each other to fight a disastrous war! His fear and emotions run high and as a result, Arjuna decides that he is not going to fight this war at all! We’ve seen this in detail in the first “Adhyaaya” of the Bhagawad Gita – The “Arjuna-Vishaada Yoga”. Now as Arjuna has expressed his unwillingness to fight this battle, it is now up to Bhagawan Krishna to respond! The stage is set now for the important accord from Bhagawan Krishna’s mouth! 

Now as we move inside, we’ve to have another round of discussion on how the Gita is structured. As mentioned earlier, it has three components – “Prathama Shadkam” (First six Adhyaayas), “Madhyama Shadkam” (Second six Adhyaayas) and “Charama Shadkam” (Last six Adhyaayas). The “Prathama Shadkam” talks in-depth about Karma Yoga and Gnyaana Yoga. What can we attain through the Karma Yoga and the Gnyaana Yoga? We can attain something called “Atma-Saakshaadkaaram”. This is nothing but the complete knowledge of what the “Atman” is. If we’re meticulously following both these Yogas, we will obtain the complete picture of our “Atman”. The “Madhyama Shadkam” talks about the owner of this “Atman”. Now who is the owner of all our “Atmans”? He is none other than the “Paramatman” Himself, who is none other than Bhagawan Krishna Himself! Thus, the “Madhyama Shadkam” talks about the various ways through which one can come closer to the “Paramatman” and one of the most important ways that Bhagawan is talking about here is the Bhakti Yoga. 

As Bhagawan completes His narrative of these two “Shadkams”, for a moment, Arjuna thinks that the entire Gita has come to an end! However he is wrong! For instance, many of us climb the Tirupati / Tirumala hills by foot, don’t we? After reaching a certain point, there will be places wherein we can sit and relax. However, can we conclude that we’ve already reached the Tirumala temple by just sitting at one of these break-points? Similarly here also, Arjuna asks a similar question towards the end of the twelfth “Adhyaaya” and Bhagawan Krishna strikes him down by saying that he has crossed only one half of the path! 🙂 He thus explains here that the most important way through which one can attain Him, is through the Bhakti Yoga! 

Thus, we can split the entire set of the first twelve Adhyaayas like this – First six Adhyaayas talk about the Karma Yoga and the Gnyaana Yoga, through which we can understand what our Atman really is, and thereby attain “Atma-Saakshaadkaaram”. With this, we’ve climbed half the staircase. Now the remaining half is where Bhagawan talks about Bhakti Yoga in detail, through which we can attain Bhagawan directly! Thus, keeping this in mind, we shall now commence our discussion on the second “Adhyaaya” and here is where Bhagawan is actually going to commence His detailed accord. So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall directly proceed with what Bhagawan Krishna has to say to Arjuna and to all of us! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the conclusion of the first “Adhyaaya” of the Bhagawad Gita – The “Arjuna Vishaada Yoga”. Here we’ve seen Bhagawan Krishna taking Arjuna in between the two camps, and makes Arjuna look around to take an overview. As Bhagawan Krishna takes Arjuna in between, He strategically parks the chariot right in front of Bhishmachaarya and Guru Dhronachaarya, which triggers Arjuna’s emotions! He starts trembling with fear and sadness that if this war is going to proceed as per plan, he will be solely responsible for the killing of all his family members standing around him on either side! “How can I be responsible for the destruction of my entire clan? If all these people are dead, who will take our “Nitya-Karma” forward? All the generations of people are standing here at the verge of destruction! If this happens, all of us would be entering the treacherous “Naraka Lokha”, won’t we? Moreover, what am I going to gain by ruling a kingdom after killing all these people standing here? Whom will I go for advice? Whom will I be able to entail as my kith and kin after this war?” These are the questions that Arjuna is asking Bhagawan Krishna as he puts down his powerful “Gaandeepa”, declaring that he is not going to fight this battle! 

Moving on thus, we are now going to witness Bhagawan’s important answer to all of Arjuna’s questions. In fact, this is where we’re going to actually commence the divine Bhagawad Gita. Now if we’ve to summarize the crux of what Bhagawan is going to tell here, it is very simple – If one has to attain the highest “Moksha”, he / she has to surrender to none other than Bhagawan Narayana (Bhagawan Krishna). For this, Bhagawan talks about three different “Yogas” through which we can reach Him – The “Karma Yoga”, “Gnyaana Yoga” and the “Bhakti Yoga”. The crux is very simple – We have to keep doing our duty “Karma” with the adequate knowledge (“Gnyaanam”) and awareness about Bhagawan, thereby, transforming our actions into devotion (“Bhakti”) towards Bhagawan and offering all our actions to His divine lotus feet! This is what we’re going to witness in detail for the next seventeen chapters of the Bhagawad Gita. 

Now as we move on further, we can split the entire eighteen chapters of the Bhagawad Gita into three divisions – First six, middle six and the final six. Readers should be extremely attentive to details from here on, as we’re going to discuss very important points starting today. If we miss the continuity here, it becomes difficult for us to catch up. If we aren’t able to understand this current “Adhyaaya” properly, we will be clueless as to what Bhagawan is talking in the subsequent “Adhyaaya”. Hence, my humble request to all readers is to take down notes as and when you read through each and every episode here. As these are Bhagawan’s words directly, understanding them will be quite a challenge for all of us. In fact, as we may be knowing, this Bhagawad Gita text is one that has been researched heavily all over the world by eminent scholars for hundreds and thousands of years now! Still, not many people have been able to get to the depth of what Bhagawan has spoken about! However, what we are trying to do here is to get a glimpse of what Bhagawan has said. Of course, we should not stop with this alone. We should read a lot of other commentaries written by eminent “Mahatmas” like Bhagawan Adi Shankara, Ramanujachaarya, Madhvachaarya, etc. wherein, they have taken each and every shloka of the Gita and have performed a detailed analysis on them! If “Mahatmas” talk about the Gita, they will interpret it in a simple language which ordinary people like us can understand. However, the original Gita is directly from Bhagawan Himself, isn’t it? Hence, the language will be a bit tough, but we shall make a conscious effort to decipher and understand what Bhagawan is trying to explain. Of course, this can only be possible with His divine “Anugraha” and hence, for today, let us pray to Bhagawan Krishna for His divine “Anugraha” before we commence our detailed understanding on the Bhagawad Gita text! Stay tuned for the commencement of an interesting accord from Bhagawan Krishna from the next episode onwards! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Arjuna losing his composure and buckling down under his emotions upon seeing all his relatives and friends around him on either sides of the Kurukshetra battlefield. As Arjuna gets carried away by his emotions, his powerful “Gandipa” bow automatically falls down from his hands, as his shoulders start to tremble. His tongue runs out of words and is not able to talk about anything. Tears start continuously rolling down from his eyes as he starts weeping profusely. Even though Arjuna was the one earlier who assured Yudishtra that going ahead with this war is the wise thing to do, this same Arjuna starts to panic upon seeing everyone around! Now Arjuna asks Bhagawan Krishna as to why should he even fight this battle and kill everyone present there. What is the use of ruling a kingdom without a single family member alive? What if he is completely held accountable for the “massacre” of his entire set of family members on the pretext of a war? How will the world see Arjuna post this massacre? Won’t Arjuna be known in the future for all the bad reasons of destroying his own family for his own selfish needs of ruling a kingdom and to enjoy all the luxuries associated with it? These are the questions that are running in Arjuna’s mind as he is asking them one by one to Bhagawan Krishna. 

“Yetan na hantum icchaami ghnatopi madhusudhana!

Api trilokhya raajasya ye tah kim na mahi krute!!”

Saying thus through the above shloka, Arjuna finally declares at the end of his mini accord that even if all these people stand around him in the opposite direction, he will not take his bow and fight them. Let them come and fight against him! Let them come and cut him into pieces! But Arjuna is going to be determined to resist everything and even be prepared to sacrifice his life for them! 

As Arjuna laments like this, Bhagawan Krishna is silently listening and laughing within Himself! This is the same situation in which many of us are as well in today’s life! We do so many things for so many people! We do so many things to make people happy! However, we never do these so many things towards Bhagawan, who is just a mute spectator, seeing all what we’re doing! However, when people turn against us, we get extremely upset and start panicking! This is when we’ll start coming towards Bhagawan, isn’t it? This is exactly the same thing that Arjuna is doing here as well – Till this point, he has been working towards so many people, but little did he know that he has to do his duty with dedication towards Bhagawan. Now when all his people have ditched him and are standing in front of him to fight him down, Arjuna is lamenting to Bhagawan Krishna! 

Moving on further, Arjuna laments more thus, “Oh Krishna! If I end up destroying all these people, I’ll be destroying my whole family! Hence, the “Dharma” that is associated with our family will abruptly come to an end! After these people, who will carry forward our “Kula-Dharma”, which has been exercised for so many generations now? All the women in our family will become widows! Isn’t this a ghastly situation to even see with our own two eyes? In this battlefield as lakhs of people die, how would we know whose son or father or grandfather has died here? On what basis will the next generation do the “Pitru-Dharma” towards all the departed souls? Thus, if the requisite “Dharma” is not done properly towards the “Pitru-Devatas”, they would fall upside down into this earth again, won’t they? Oh Keshava! I do not want to be a party to this blunder to my family! Should all of us go to the treacherous “Naraka Lokha” by committing such a sinful act and a heinous crime?” 

Lamenting thus, Arjuna starts weeping bitterly! His “Gaandeepa” bow automatically falls from his hands and tears start rolling down his eyes like a river! Arjuna falls down thus, onto the middle level of the chariot from the top, even as Bhagawan Krishna is still looking at Arjuna with a beaming smile! With this, we come to the end of the first “Adhyaaya” called “Arjuna Vishaada Yoga”, wherein we’ve seen how Arjuna laments to Bhagawan Krishna with all his worries staked up inside him! So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall commence Bhagawan Krishna’s extremely important reply to the lamenting of Arjuna! Stay tuned for an important accord! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Arjuna’s emotions changing as he sees a sea of his family members standing on either sides of the battlefield, ready to have a go at each other! Especially upon seeing the two senior-most people of the family – Bhishmachaarya and Guru Dhronachaarya, Arjuna starts getting jittery and his entire body starts shaking with fear! With this, Arjuna asks Bhagawan Krishna as to what is the real achievement that he is going to obtain upon killing all these people in this so-called war? Normally in a battle, we would have one side which is full of our people and the other side is usually an enemy. However, in this case, family members and close aides are on both sides, isn’t it? This is where Arjuna starts to lose his calm and composure to fight the war. 

Moving on thus, Arjuna continues with his accord to Bhagawan Krishna – “Oh Bhagawan! I feel that my body is failing me upon seeing everyone around! I’m feeling that my tongue is failing me! Words aren’t coming out of my mouth! My hands are getting weaker by the minute and I fear that my “Gaandipa” is slowly falling off my hands! My shoulders are giving up! My eyes are getting sore! I’m no longer able to hold this “Gaandipa” in my hands anymore! Oh Bhagawan Krishna! I don’t think I’ll be able to fight this war! Come! Let’s call this off and go back to our respective places!” I cannot be responsible for the killing of so many people! Without anyone after this war, whom am I going to talk to? I would feel extremely lonely without any of these people in the future! Atleast I should have a few of them to call as “relatives” and “friends” isn’t it? If all these people are killed, isn’t this a massacre? What will the entire world talk of me tomorrow? The subsequent generations will say that Arjuna is solely responsible for this entire massacre of his own family members to fulfil a selfish need of conquering Hastinapura!” 

“Na cha shaknon vyavastaa tum bhramatee ma me manaha!

Nakaankshe vijayam krishna na cha raajyam sukhaa ni cha!!”

Now this is a very important shloka here. Arjuna says decisively to Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Keshava! My body and mind are failing me! I’m not even able to stand properly in this battlefield! I do not want victory over my own family members! I’m ready to sacrifice the kingdom and all the luxuries that come with it! I do not want to be a reason for the demise of all these people! I do not want a kingdom which entails the massacre of so many thousands of people gathered here! Moreover, Oh Bhagawan Krishna! I’m taking as much effort as  Kshatrya prince for the welfare of my people, isn’t it? However, if my own people are standing opposite to me, what is the purpose of winning this war against my near and dear ones? If at all I win over all of them and if I end up killing all or many of them, with whom am I going to rejoice this victory? There is going to be nobody in this entire kingdom! Hastinapura will be a lonely place and just a piece of barren land without any of these people! Hence, what am I going to achieve by conquering an empty piece of land sans people?” 

We should understand one thing clearly here – Readers might recollect that before the armies marched towards the battlefield, Yudishtra had the same doubt – Yudishtra had asked the same question to Bhagawan Krishna as to whether he should really go for this battle and should it really take place. His concern was not victory / defeat, but upon killing so many people, what is he really going to achieve in life as a king! At this point in time, Arjuna had come down heavily on Yudishtra by saying that Duryodhana has a lot of repayments to do, for all whatever happened on that fateful day at Hastinapura courtroom. Arjuna was talking so angrily and he was emotionally charged up beyond limits and was extremely determined to take on Duryodhana on the battlefield! However, we’re seeing this same Arjuna beginning to crumble and buckling down pressure! It was the same Arjuna a few days ago who vehemently challenged Duryodhana to come and fight him down, but today, this is the same Arjuna who is declaring that he doesn’t want a fight and he doesn’t want a kingdom at all! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion further in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna taking Arjuna right in the middle of both the armies in the Kurukshetra battlefield. Moreover, it is not in front of Duryodhana or Ducchaashana that Bhagawan Krishna is parking the chariot – It is exactly in front of Bhishmachaarya and Guru Dhronachaarya! Had Arjuna seen Duryodhana and his brothers first up, he would have probably taken his arrows and his “Gaandeepa” would have been in full force right from the word “Go”! However, Bhagawan Krishna is very smart! He has a clear agenda in His mind – To gift the divine Bhagawad Gita to the entire world, isn’t it? How does He do that? If the chariot is in front of Duryodhana, the world will not get the Gita. However, if the chariot is parked in front of Bhishmachaarya, Arjuna’s emotions would change and with this, Bhagawan can gift the Gita to the entire world, through Arjuna! From this, we can see how the divine power (“Deiva Sankalpa”) works! 

Moving on further thus, as Arjuna sees Bhishmachaarya and Guru Dhronachaarya, things start changing in him! He starts shaking with fear and tears start rolling down his eyes! 

“Bhishma Dhrona pramukataaha sarveshaancha maheekshitaam!

Uvaacha paartha pashyethaam samavethaam kuru nidhim!!” 

As fear looms within Arjuna, Bhagawan Krishna tells him thus, “Oh Arjuna! Oh Partha! Now we’re at the centre of the battlefield. Look at who all have come to fight you down! All of them assembled in front of you are the greats of the Kuru Kula! Please have a look around and this will help you to strategize your subsequent moves better!”

“Tatra apasaschitaam paarthaha pitrunnatah pitaa mahaan!

Aachaaryaan maatulaan braathrun puthraan pouthraan sakhimstathaah!!”

As Bhagawan Krishna says thus, Arjuna looks around – Only to find his own sons, brothers, father-in-laws, grandfathers, great grandfathers, etc. standing around him! His entire family has assembled there opposite each other, ready to go for the kill! As Arjuna sees thus, he thinks within himself – “Oh wow! Normally in a battle, we would see one side full of your loved ones, and on the other side, you will see all your enemies! But here, this battle is something grossly different! I’m seeing my loved ones, near and dear ones on both sides! In fact, this entire Kurukshetra battlefield is full of only my loved ones everywhere! What is happening here? Are we doing the right thing by going for this war?” 

Thinking thus, Arjuna talks back to Bhagawan Krishna – “Oh Keshav! Are we doing the right thing of fighting this war? Upon seeing all these people, I’m starting to sweat! My body is beginning to feel uncomfortable! I’ve fought so many wars in the past as you know! However, I’ve never felt this kind of a strange feeling within me. My intuition indicates to me that if this war happens, it is going to be a great disaster and that too, I would be at the centre of all of it! Oh Bhagawan Krishna! My body is starting to tremble with fear! I’m starting to feel uneasy! Sweat is pouring all over me and I’m feeling tired and sad! Afterall, these people are my own relatives! My sons are there! My in-laws are there! My grandfather Bhishmachaarya is there in front of me! My Guru is also standing along with him! In fact, my entire family is in front of me! Am I going to kill all these people in the name of this war? If I really succeed in this, what am I going to gain?” 

Saying thus, Arjuna starts weeping bitterly! Tears roll down his eyes and his powerful “Gaandeepa” bow falls down from his hands automatically! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion in the next episode as well! Stay tuned!