An Introduction to Srimad-Bhagavad Gita

~ Sri_Krishna_Saras
This comparitively small kingdom ruled by such a far-sighted economist and administrator as Yudhishtira, soon became a prosperous unit, self sufficient in all their needs. With a plentiful Of cattle and good harvest people prospered. Krishna became a close friend Of the royal family and advised Yudhishtira in every department Of his administration. Arjuna soon grew to be the dearest friend Of Krishna. they were both seen constantly together in close companionship. Duryodhan and his brothers were also among the distinguished guests at the coronation ceremony Yudhishtira as a King of Indraprastha. Yudhishtira glory kindled again the flames Of jealousy in Duryodhana's breast. He decided to bring dishonour to and down fall of his cousin's popularity and fair name, by any means whatsoever, fair and foul. For his diabolical plans, Duryodhana found his uncle--- one of his mother's cousins--- Sakuni, a notorious sharper in dice-pay, a fit and reliable friend; nor respected any; to him fair play was anathema (a detested person); for all his goodness, Yudhishtira has one great weakness--- playing dice and once he entered the game, his gallant nature prompted him to be reckless in his stakes. Duryodhana knew this and he decided to invite his cousin to play a game of dice. Dhritarashtra was soon persuaded to give his consent and the royal brothers from Indraprastha were invited. The Pandava arrived--- the game started. Of course Sakuni was to play the specially loaded dice for Duryodhana. Game after game, the visiting team, naturally, lost. Each loss whetted Yudhishtira's zest for the game and he became more and more reckless in his stakes. He staked his kingdom, brothers, wife--- all, but the loaded dice, played by the heartless sharper, always won! Duryodhana's joy knew no bounds. He ordered one Of his younger brothers, Dussasana, to bring Draupadi to the court and to insult her publicly; she was now his, as the the Pandavas has lost her to him in the game. The shameless brute, intoxicated with his ill-gotten victory, did not hesitate to order that Draupadi be stripped naked in public. Dussasana tugged at Draupadi's sari and kept on tugging. But the sari miraculously proved endless. A mountain Of cloth was collected. Dussasana perspired. draupadi's prayers were answered and by the grace of the Lord Krishna she remained draped as before. All the elders in the court were horrified at this unexpected turn of events. Everybody felt that it was a high-handed excess; but, when one is drunk with power, no reason can influence the animal in such a victor. Dhritarashtra, the blind royal father, trembled with fear; he knew deep within him that women outraged can effectively curse and bring immediate disaster to the royal family. The grand old blind king called Draupadi to his side and requested her to ask of him three boons, as atonement for the Outrage committed by his Sons. With her first boon, She demanded freedom for Yudhishtira; with the second, freedom for the rest Of the Pandavas brothers together with their weapons. These were granted. When Dhritarashtra asked , "What about the third boon?" she paused 17-Sri Krishna Saras
and replied, "'The Pandavas once freed, can look after themselves--- they need no help from anyone." Finding his plans unsuccessful, Duryodhana again persuaded his father to permit him to invite Yudhishtira oncemore for a game Of dice. Dhritarashtra yielded; the old father was helpless in yielding to his eldest son--- that was his weakness and the cause of his sorrows and ultimate doom. Yudhishtira was invited to play again. He accepted as it was a point of honour to Dharmaputra. This time the stake was that he who loses will leave his kingdom and go into the forest to live there as a recluse (One who lives in solitude/ hermit) life for twelve years, at the end of which the losing party will live incognito for one year in some city or town. If they were recognised during the thirteenth year, they would again have to go for a twelve-year sojourn in the forests. This was accepted; the game progressed. Yudhishtira lost! The Pandava brothers, righteous as they were, got ready to go to the forest. They took leave Of the elders and when they came to Dhritarashtra, he said, "Children! when you come back after the thirteenth year successfully living all the the terms, you shall walk into your kingdom as you came out of it today to play the dice." The promise was that there should be no hitch to their regaining their kingdom and for the thirteen years which the Pandava were to remain in exile, Duryodhana was to administer Indraprastha as a trustee only. The Pandava brothers spent their twelve years Of life in th forests, practising austerities, spending their time among the ascetics and generally living a Life Divine. Krishna and Arjuna had, during these years spent together many a day and night discussing matters religious and spiritual. They discussed life world, God and Soul. Very intersesting philosophical passages occur in Mahabharata dealing with a period of the Pandavas' life. The thirteen year arrived and it was spent in the palace of the King of Virata, where the five brothers and Draupadi worked as domestics. At long last, the stipulated time was over. Duryodhana was making frantic efforts to discover the Pandavas during this last year Of their exile--- to that he could condemn them again for another twelve years--- but all his plans proved futile. The Pandavas returned claiming their kingdom back. The royal father's words at the time of their departure was their only sanction and guarantee; but - Duryodhana had enjoyed the empire without a rival for so long that his lusty and greedy nature would not yield and part with land. He has made powerful alliances with all their neighbouring kings; the exchequer was his; the army was his to command. Drona and Bhishma were insisting that Yudhishtira must be given back his kingdom; Krishna pleaded for reconciliation but Duryodhana would not yield. According to him, he had won the kingdom by the rules of Dharma and Yudhishtira, Who lost it in dice, had no right now to demand it back. "NO. Not even shall I give them five houses, nay, not even one house - why not even enough land to carry on the tip Of a needle!" 18-Sri Krishna Saras
Thus, war become inevitable. Feverish preparations soon started. The Pandavas also sent out their appeal to their friends and well-wishers. Many answered their call for help in a just war. Krishna was approached by both Arjuna and Duryodhana. Krishna said, "Since you both demand my help, I divide myself like this my army and all my weapons for one and myself unarmed for the other." He asked Duryodhana what choice he would make. Duryodhana, of course, chose to have the forces; Arjuna was happy to have Krishna as his charioteer. Before the war, Dhritarashtra sent a hesitant healf-hearted Sanjaya to Arjuna with a secret message full Of psychological implication and diabolical auto- suggestions which were calculated to undermine his morale. And actually it did.... The very same words are troubling out of his mouth in the second chapter of the Geeta as his arguments against fighting this war!! When well-aimed and intelligently used, perhaps, psychological weapons are more powerful and deadly then even the modern nuclear weapon. Just at the outset Of the war, when the preparations were made frantically by both the parties, Yudhishtira had an emotional break-down and felt stricken by his conscience; but Krishna ran to him and explained how hard He had tried to avoid the war; but it was irresistable and that destiny must be fulfilled. Dharmaputra was assured that none would ever accuse him Of being the agressor because it was a war Of righteousness. Hearing this Yudhisthira took heart and thereafter never during the war showed any sign of losing his morale. Bhishma, the grandsire, Drona, the Brahmin teacher of military art of all the royal boys, Karna, the half-brother Of Arjuna, were all in the Kaurava forces. Bhishma and Drona, wise and far-sighted, as they were, must have felt what would be the final outcome Of this fratricidal war. They were helpless as they were in the services of Dhritarashtra for so long. "to be true to the salt one has eaten" was a great rule of conduct which the loyal Hindu always respeted. Karna had a chivalrous rivalry with Arjuna, who was an equally great hero; it was the rivalry of two equally great archers! One world was too small a place for such two great men Of such might, ambitions and prowess!! On the fateful day, both the armies assembled. Bhishma commanded the Kaurava forces and Dhrishtadyumna, son of Draupada-king of Panchala, Pandavas own brother-in-law was the commander-in-Chief of their forces. No doubt, Duryodhana's army was overwhelming in its number, equipment and supplies- the Pandavas' forces were less in number, meagre in war-materials and fewer in number in the available heroes and notable men-of-war; yet...the Pandavas could fight with inspiration, while the Kauravas had to bear a heavy conscience and plan their moves with a guilty conscience. As the armies stood in battle array --- the Kauravas in the Bird (eagle)-design and the Pandavas in Wheel-design---Arjuna, thrilled to the tip Of his fingers with his impatience to start the game Of war, asked Krishna to drive his chariot around 19-Sri Krishna Saras
and stop it for a while in between the two armies, so that he might inspect their strength and observe who were the champions in his enemy lines. He reviewed. He saw. He was bewildered. The voice Of Sanjaya, conveying the message Of Dhritarashtra, was faitfhlly clamouring in his brain! Uncles, brothers, relations, friends, teachers, and Grandsire Bhishma himself--- all stood arrayed in the enemy lines. To kill them all was the duty if Arjuna wanted the kingdom and the joys of ruling over it Glory and power, joys of wealth and riches, all smeared with the blood of the dear and near, the revered and the respected, the adored and the loved ones!! The challenge was too much for Arjuna. He broke down. He was in tears. His bow, Gandeeva, slipped off from his dejected hands! Trembling in his limbs, pale and haggard (showing the wearing effects of overwork/ care/ suffering) in his looks, he started at Krishna--- a psychological wreck, a man of ruined morale! he started protesting---in broken words---blabbering. He talked on the ignominies Of war. He repeated all the arguments Of all pacifists. He quoted Dharma Shastras and at last he declared, "It is better to eat by begging alms than rule over the kingdom after killing all these men in battle." Krishna saw the state Of delusion in which Arjuna was. As a truce and able psychologist, Krishna read the confusion in Arjuna's heart, diagnosed its causes and decided that immediately he must be whipped to activity by sharp words that will really go home. A psychological surgery was needed and He used the sharpest of knives: "Oh! Arjuna, this cowardly nervousness in the face of the crisis is not fit for an Aryan and is an impediment to your welfare hereafter", etc. S S oc - erapy, oug Su en nsu a an ev en e ec . ar ed again noisy blabberings. The Lord allowed him to exhaust himself and theri tarted His more thorough treatment of the shattered mental constitution of Arjun rough His Divine Song, Sreemad Bhagavad Geeta. No better setting could hav een given fi hiloso h if hic ind Religion is easier and simpler to live and practise in secluded forests; it can be considered even a luxury if it were to be lived only in the Santum of a church or a temple; but a philosophy that has no bearing on life has no pith/ core. Here in the Geeta, Hinduism is in action--- the dynamism of the wisdom of the seers brought to bear upon a crisis in one Single individual's life! How the entire history Of the country was made by the successful rehabilitation Of one erring, deluded hero, was amplified in the Mahabharata. That which could then revive a normal man, Arjuna, from his derangements into an integrated whole being, can be made use Of even now in reviving everyone who is in the state of Arjuna. What Krishna taught Arjuna--- perhaps with a look or a few words--- has been given to us by V yasa, in the Geeta Of seven-hundred stanzas, Out in the mouth Of Sanjaya. 20-Sri Krishna Saras
At the outset of the war, Vyasa offered the born-blind Dhritarashtra a divine power of vision---so that he might satisfy personally his desire to see the war with his own eyes, but the Old royal-father, who instinctively dreaded the outcome Of the unjust war, refused to accept the kind Offer, but wanted to get reports Of wlhat was happening on the war-front. Hence Vyasa gave Sanjaya both the powers of seeing and hearing all that was happening in Kurukshetra, even while sitting in the palace at Hastinapuram. Sanjaya's sympathies were evidently on the side Of the Pandavas. He was evidently feeling very guilty for having had to play as an unwilling cat's-paw, in the old king's mean plot for undermining Arjuna's nerves and fire. No greater soul of nobler sympathies could we ever get for reporting the Geeta to posterity than Sanjaya---"our own special correspondent". HOW far the Geeta had been effective in the case Of Arjuna was evidently clear from his own admission, "My delusion have dropped, I now remember my true nature" (in chapter 18-73). The heroic actions that followed clearly showed that Arjuna had been cured Of all his emotional derangements (A state Of mental disturbance and disorientation) from which he had been suffering--- we might say all his life-time. From childhood onwards, he had been smarting under the injustices and wrongs he had had to put up with perhaps, he was bitterly jealous Of Duryodhana's palpable success even though his means were low and unfair. These repressed emotions released a volume of energy, which Arjuna could not direct into proper channels at this critical hour and hence his confusions, grief and even cowardice. Once Krishna set Arjuna's psychological equipment right, through the wisdom Of Geeta, he, the indomitable (impossible to subdue) hero, sprang to his feet, bow in hand and thereafter he was death to all; he was annihilation to the outnumbering Kaurava forces. After eighteen days of unceasing warfare, Duryodhan was laid low by Bhima's club; Drona was killed by Dhristadyumna, who in turn was killed by Drona's son. Draupadi lost all her five children; both sides lay waste in Death's own courtyard! The flames died down to embers (a hot glowing or smouldering fragment of wood or coal left from a fire); the fight of arrows stopped in panting weariness. Kings lay dead among the dying animals, between broken chariots, among broken limbs and headless trunks! Vultures hovered round impatiently hungry; perhaps never before had they a feast Of such pure royal flesh and blood. The heart- tearing wailings Of the survivors--- mothers, wives, children, aged fathers and grand-fathers---rent the skies. They miserably waded through human blood and torn flesh and bones, searching for their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers-- - all cursing the ambitious warmongers who brought about such total havoc to society... Gandhari, mother Of the Kaurava brothers, came forward to embrace her dead children. She heard Krishna's approaching feet. With the burning fire Of mother's bleeding heart, she cursed: "Krishna, you stood by and saw the entire family being 21-Sri Krishna Saras
killed. It was all due to Thy indifference. You too shall, similarly, become the slayer of your own kinsmen. As the women now weep here in Kurukshetra, your own womanfolk shall weep in desolation--- and you too shall perish by foul means, in wilderness, in thirty six years from now!" Krishna replied: "May all these be blessings of thine, O! Gandhari, for thus helping me to find a way out. The Vrishnis have become so powerful that they must now end by fighting among themselves. I too must quit" my temporary mission is now over!" Thereafter Krishna gave her a discourse, hearing which the bereaved mother's inner eye opened to see the whole incident in its perspective. She was consoled and she realised that Royal boys, born of Royal parents, could have no better end than the war-field fighting for power and wealth. Yudhishtira was crowned as King. Dhritarashtra and Gändhari retired to the forests to spend rest Of their life in retirement and prayers. For thirty six years, the Eldest Of the Pandavas ruled the kingdom true to his name, Dharmaputra. Never was North India so happy and so prosperous, so justly ruled and so faithfully served in all aspects of her cultural aspiration. The time has come for Gandhari's curse to be fulfilled. Civil war broke Out in Dwaraka. As able-bodied men died, Lord Krishna sent a message to Pandavas to come and take charge Of the womenfolk He himself knew that His time had come to fold up his Maya-made manifestation. He retired and lay down under a tree with mind gathered and fixed upon His Sahaja Nature--- as the Infinite, Eternal Self of all. A hunter saw the Lord's red heels, and mistaking them for a deer lying curled up in rest, shot his arrow.... When he came near he realised the mistake he had made... He wailed, and penitently (repentantly) asked for forgiveness. The Lord consoled him with a smile of blessedness. Even when He and His Leela assumes a form to reestablish Dharma from time to time. He strictly follows the rules of game. There must be a cause for ending His embodiment. He ascended back to His Infinite Nature. Thus, Lord Krishna of Brindavanam, the beloved of Gopis, the Hero of Mathura and Annihilator of Killer of Jarasandha, the archetect of Dwaraka, the friend of Arjuna, the central figure in the Mahabharata war--- after finishing His game Of hastening the doom Of the bad and the redemption Of the good; His game Of declaring to the world that He can love as Love alone can, and yet can ever remain completely and divinely detached. His game Of making kingdoms and giving them away to the rightful to rule over and enjoy; His game Of being in everything and yet identifying with nothing. ...He dissolved His manifestation and made an exit from this stage of live and to enter the Life Eternal Beyond! When Arjuna reached Dwaraka, he found there a scene Of utter devastation and misery. He gathered all the desolate women and started for his capital. On the way, some decoits pounced upon the party and carried away many women. Arjuna 22-Sri Krishna Saras
found that he had not even the strength to weild his mighty bow Gandeeva! He realised that with Krishna's departure his strength and might also had vanished. The five brothers decided to retire. They set Arjuna's grandson, Parikshit, on the throne and leaving the kingdom under his care, the brothers along with Draupadi started towards the Himalayas. As they went, one by one the brothers fell on the way to breathe their last. Yudhishtira plodded along with Draupadi and a stray dog both whom accompanied him faithfully, all along. At last Draupadi also fell to join her forefathers. Yudhishtira was alone now ascending the peaks beyond Badrinath, when celestial Angels brought a Divine Chariot for him to take him bodily to Heaven. Dogs were not allowed to get into celestial chariot!...much less could they go to heaven bodily!... The embodiment of righteousness Yudhishtira unhesitatingly said, "All right, then, I too do not want to the enjoyment Of heaven if I have to discard it for a faithful friend--- be it a dumb animal, a dog. At this, the dog assumed its real form; it was Lord Death--- Dharma Raja Himself--- wanting to test Dharma Nishta Of Yudhishtira. He went to Heaven, where he met all his brothers and many of his relations. 23-Sri Krishna Saras

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The author is a senior citizen, an Engineer, post-graduated in Sanskrit after retirement. The main idea behind this blog, is to compile and digitise the various subjects, particularly the Sanskrit literature & hymns. For easy reading of Sanskrit lyrics, the Fonts are well spaced, words separated from one another. Hence the meaning of the Sanskrit texts can easily be grasped. As the entire write-up is digitised, it can be referred at any time, through mobile, tablet and laptop computers. The author is thankful and grateful to all Eminent people, Scholars and others, who have provided various valuable information in books, articles, write-up and also images etc. both on-line & print medium. These informations enabled the author to compile, add, edit and modify and present in different format. The author hopes that this exercise and efforts will enable the readers, to comprehend the the subject matter, in proper perspective. The publications are only for self satisfaction and with no commercial intent. Blessings and love to all readers.

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