Introduction

Bhagavad Gītā is an ancient text that was spoken by Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa to His friend Arjuna more than 5000 years ago. They both belonged to a society that adhered to the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, a system based on social duties prescribed by the Vedas and Smṛtis. Thus, some of the terminology used here may seem archaic and unfamiliar to the modern mind. The knowledge and instructions given, however, being of a universal nature, are highly relevant even today.

Bhagavad Gītā is not an independent book. It forms a small part of Mahābhārata, the greatest epic of the world. The latter was written by sage Veda Vyāsa primarily for people who were considered ineligible to study the Vedas. To study the Vedas in former times, it was a requirement that one had to belong to the first three social classes (the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas) of the varṇāśrama society. Mahābhārata contains the same essential knowledge as found in the Vedas but in a simplified manner through the use of elaborate stories. It narrates the history of the famous dynasties of India. There were two major dynasties, namely, the Sun dynasty and the Moon dynasty. In Bhagavad Gītā, the focus is on two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, who appeared in the Moon dynasty.

The Kauravas were the one hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who was blind since birth. Duryodhana was his eldest son. The Pāṇḍavas were the five sons of Pāṇḍu, who died while they were still very young. Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Pāṇḍu were brothers. Pāṇḍu had been the king of Hastināpura, the capital city of the Kaurava kingdom, but after his untimely death, his blind brother assumed the throne. Duryodhana did not want his cousin Yudhiṣṭhira, the eldest of the Pāṇḍava brothers and the legal heir, to inherit the kingdom. He tried to kill the Pāṇḍavas in different ways, but they survived by the grace of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

At a later point, when Yudhiṣṭhira grew up to be a young man, Dhṛtarāṣṭra gave him a small part of the kingdom, and thus Yudhiṣṭhira became a king. He was a highly righteous and moral king who became very famous and opulent. His brothers and subjects loved him dearly. When Duryodhana saw this opulence and popularity, he became extremely envious of Yudhiṣṭhira. He convinced his father, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, to invite Yudhiṣṭhira to a gambling match with the Kauravas. Yudhiṣṭhira, being very respectful and obedient to his uncle, consented. Duryodhana employed the assistance of his maternal uncle, Śakuni, who was an expert in gambling, to cheat Yudhiṣṭhira and win over his kingdom. Duryodhana later agreed to return the kingdom to Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers on the condition that they spend twelve years in the forest and then one year incognito.

After fulfilling the condition successfully, the Pāṇḍavas demanded their kingdom from Duryodhana, in accordance with his promise, but Duryodhana refused to return even an inch of land. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa tried to negotiate a truce between the cousins, but Duryodhana was adamant. He proudly declared that the Pāṇḍavas could take their share only by defeating him in war. Thus, war was inevitable unless the Pāṇḍavas agreed to return to the forest. Being kṣatriyas, or warriors, the Pāṇḍavas considered it their duty to fight for the cause of justice. They sought permission from their mother, Kuntī, and accepted the challenge. Both the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas then prepared themselves for the war.

Before the war began, sage Vyāsa spoke to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the blind king of Hastināpura for whom he had great affection. He told him, “I foresee that the war and massacre of the kṣatriyas are inevitable. If you want to witness the scene on the battlefield, I can endow you with divine vision, so you can behold the war from the place where you are sitting.” Dhṛtarāṣṭra replied, “I have been blind all my life. I don’t want to see my own kith and kin being killed now. But I would like to hear the details of the battle.” Sage Vyāsa replied, “I will endow Sañjaya, your secretary and advisor, with divine vision by which he will know, hear, and see not only the incidents of the battlefield, but also the thoughts of the warriors. He will narrate them to you.” Sage Vyāsa then bestowed divine vision upon Sañjaya.

The war began on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra at the appointed hour. Sañjaya was there. On the tenth day, Bhīṣma, the commander of the Kauravas and granduncle of both the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, was badly wounded by arrows and fell to the ground. Sañjaya then left Kurukṣetra to convey the news to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who was in Hastināpura. Hearing the news, Dhṛtarāṣṭra was filled with great sorrow and started weeping. He then requested Sañjaya to recount to him every detail of the war. This narration begins in the thirteenth chapter of the Bhīṣma-parva, a section of Mahābhārata, and continues up to the twenty-fourth chapter. In the beginning of the twenty-fifth chapter, Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to narrate the war from its very inception. This inquiry is the opening verse of the Gītā.