Bhagavad Gita: A Journey from the Body to the Soul

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Dedication

What Others Say

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Yoga of the Grief of Arjuna.

Chapter 2. The Yoga of Knowledge - Sankhya Yoga.

Chapter 3. The Yoga of Action - Karma Yoga.

Chapter 4. The Yoga of Renunciation of Action in Knowledge – Jnana Yoga.

Chapter 5. The Yoga of Renunciation of Action.

Chapter 6. The Yoga of Meditation – Dhyan Yoga.

Chapter 7. The Yoga of Wisdom and Realization.

Chapter 8. The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman.

Chapter 9. The Yoga of Kingly Knowledge and Kingly Secret.

Chapter 10. The Yoga of Divine Glories.

Chapter 11. The Yoga of the Cosmic Vision.

Chapter 12. The Yoga of Devotion – Bhakti Yoga

Chapter 13. The Yoga of Discrimination between the Kshetra and the Kshetrajna.

Chapter 14. The Yoga of the Discrimination of the Three Gunas.

Chapter 15. The Yoga of the Supreme Spirit.

Chapter 16. The Yoga of the Division between Divine and Demoniacal Natures.

Chapter 17. The Yoga of the Division of the Threefold Faith.

Chapter 18. The Yoga of Liberation through Renunciation.

About the Author

BHAGAVAD GITA

A JOURNEY FROM THE BODY TO THE SOUL

AWAKENING

Wake up, O Traveler, at the stroke of a new dawn

Flood your Being with the Light of Divine Knowledge

Illumine and transform the darkness

Time is of essence; Get up, O Traveler.

MAHESH B. SHARMA

The Author is a retired professor from Columbus

State University, Columbus, Georgia, U.S.A. He retired

in 1997 as Associate Professor of Chemistry after 28

years of service. He still continues to work for the

University on a part-time basis.

Acknowledgments

Grateful acknowledgment for the material used and quoted from the following publications:

1.   Bhagavad Gita, by C. Rajagopalachari, 1997, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, India.

2.   Bhagavad Gita, by N.V. Thadani, 1933, Bharat Publishing House, Karachi, (presently) Pakistan.

3.   The Bhagavad Gita, 1954, 7th edition, Gita Press, Gorakhpur, India

4.   The Bhagvadgita, by M.K. Gandhi, 1991, Orient Paperbacks, New Delhi, India.

5.   The Bhagavad Gita, by Paramahansa Yogananda, 2001, Self-Realization Fellowship, California, U.S.A. .

6.   The Bhagavad Gita, by Ramesh S. Balsekar, Zen Publications, Bombay, India.

7.   The Bhagavadgita, by S. Radhakrishnan, 5th Impression, HarperCollins Publishers, printed in India by Gopsons Papers Pvt. Ltd., Noida, India.

8.   The Bhagavad Gita, by Stephen Mitchell, 2000, Harmony Books, New York, U.S.A.

9.   Bhagavad Gita, translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, 1951, New American Library, New York and Scarborough, Ontario.

10.   Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, 4th printing, 1992, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, CA, U.S.A.

11.   Bhagavad Gita and Modern Life, by K.M. Munshi, 1988, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, India.

12.   Hinduism Doctrine and Way of Life, by C. Rajagopalachari, 1989, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, India.

13.   The Holy Geeta, by Swami Chinmayananda, The Book Centre Pvt. Ltd, Bombay, India.

14.   Srimad Bhagavadgita, by Jayadayal Goyandka, 1986, Gita Press, Gorakhpur, India.

15.   Srimad Bhagavad Gita, by Swami Jyotirmayananda, 1986, Yoga Reasearch Foundation, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.

16.   Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, by Swami Paramananda, 5th edition, Sri Ramakrishna Math Printing Press, Mylap0ore, Madras, India.

17.   Srimad Bhagavad Gita, by Swami Swarupananda, 1993, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, India.

Dedication

Humbly dedicated to all

who perform Selfless Work

(Nishkamya Karma)

What Others Say

When I read the Bhagavad Gita and reflect about how God created this Universe, everything else seems so superfluous.

—-Albert Einstein

The Bhagavad Gita calls on humanity to dedicate body, mind, and soul to pure duty and not to become mental voluptuaries of the mercy of random desires and undisciplined impulses.

—-M.K. Gandhi

The Bhagavad Gita is the most systematic of spiritual evolution of enduring value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all humanity.

—-Aldous Huxley

The secret of Karma Yoga, which is to perform actions without any fruitive desires, is taught by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.

—-Swami Vivekananda

The marvel of the Bhagavad Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life’s wisdom, which enables philosophy to blossom into religion

—-Herman Hesse

Preface

I have seen that I had not seen before

A dream of joy, a longing of the soul;

A vision of the dawn of sweetest love.

The philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita is so deep that words do not have the power to describe its glory. The Gita has a unique literary beauty which is inspiring, elevating, sublime, and soul-stirring. It conveys profound wisdom in its teachings.

My aim has been to simplify the contents and make them more readable. In this endeavor, I am indebted to the numerous publications on the Bhagavad Gita listed in the Acknowledgements section. I have read these publications many times and enormously benefited from them. I am grateful for the material used and quoted from these publications.

The Bhagavad Gita is primarily concerned with Brahman, the ultimate Reality. When Krishna addresses Arjuna, he sometimes speaks as an individual, but often as God Himself:

"For I am Brahman

Within the body,

Life immortal

That shall not perish:

I am Truth

And the Joy forever."

The Gita has noble philosophy, art, and literature. The reading of the Gita purifies the mind and actions, and life begins to get substance and meaning. When its verses are recited again and again, the Light which burns within us becomes visible and egoism falls away. During the last 10 years, I have intensely devoted myself in compiling this manuscript. It has been a very rewarding and enriching experience for me, at times emotional. Further, I have reviewed and revised this material many times. However, I beg to be forgiven for any errors which may have remained in spite of this.

MBS

August 24, 2004

Introduction

King Bharata ruled ancient India around the period 3000 B.C. His descendents were the Pandavas and Kauravas, cousins who were involved in a bitter fratricidal dispute over the kingdom. This led to the Kurukshetra war, which engulfed all of India. All the kings and princes had to choose sides and take part in the war. The history of that period is the subject of the great epic, the Mahabharata. The Bhagavad Gita, which forms a part of the Mahabharata, is a sacred dialogue between Krishna, who was an earthly prince and a divine incarnation of God Vishnu, and Arjuna, the Pandava prince and a disciple of Krishna.

The authorship of the Mahabharata, and also of the Bhagavad Gita, is assigned to the highly wise and illumined Sage Vyasa. The actual story of the Mahabharata begins three generations before the time of the Kurukshetra war. The Gita is a comprehensive spiritual guide of Hinduism, which includes the essence of the 4 Vedas, the 108 Upanishads, and all the other systems of Hindu philosophy. It therefore incorporates infinite wisdom in 700 verses.

On the eve of the battle of Kurukshetra, Arjuna suddenly realized that this war between cousins would involve all the close relatives and others all over India. A tremendous amount of tragedy and loss of life would take place. Arjuna was totally confused, not knowing what to do? He turned to his guide and charioteer, Krishna, for wisdom. When Krishna advised the faltering Arjuna on the battlefield, He had something more sublime in mind. Perform action, O Arjuna, being steadfast in Yoga, abandoning attachment and balanced in success and failure. Evenness of mind is called Yoga. This dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna in 700 verses forms the subject matter of the Bhagavad Gita. The thoughts expressed by Krishna are so deep that every time we read them, they reveal new truths, and remain fresh and new. Millions of Hindus and others, for centuries have found comfort in this great book. Mahatma Gandhi said that when disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavad Gita. I find a verse here and a verse there, I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies – and my life has been full of external tragedies – and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. The constant reading of the Gita has filled my life with prayer. Further, he said that we should understand the meaning of the words in the Gita, not merely to satisfy our curiosity but with the aim of putting its teaching into practice.

The Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas represents a war between the forces of good and evil taking place within us in our daily life. It should be noted that the First Chapter of the Gita is an introduction of Arjuna’s family members. However, the Gita really begins with Chapter 2, Verse 7, where Arjuna’s question to Krishna becomes yours and Krishna’s reply seems to be directed at you. From this point onwards, the verses in all the chapters produce some resonating effect on the mind.

The colophon given at the end of every chapter of the Gita reveals its glory and majesty. Om Tat Sat are the names of God. The essence of the Upanishads is embodied in it. It is stated as the Science of Brahman because it leads to the perception of Supreme Truth and Reality. It is a Scripture of Yoga because it reveals the secret of Karma Yoga. It records the conversation between Shri Krishna and His great devotee Arjuna, and every chapter contains the description of Yoga, which leads to God-Realization.

Chapter 1. The Yoga of the Grief of Arjuna.

Dhrtarashtra said:

Verse 1. Tell me, O Sanjaya: Assembled on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, which is also the center of religious activity, desirous to fight, what did my sons (the Kauravas) and the sons of (my brother) Pandu (the Pandavas) do?

The battlefield of Kurukshetra is a sacred place from the time of the Vedas. Sanjaya is the charioteer of the blind King Dhrtarashtra, who reports to him the events of the war. By the mercy of Sage Vyasa, Sanjaya who was sitting with the king, was able to see and hear the events of the war and report to the king. Vyasa endows him with divine vision. Sanjaya means, literally, completely victorious; one who has conquered himself.

The physical battle is only an occasion for describing the battle within our human body, where a moral struggle is taking place in our hearts daily. In the entire Gita, this is the only verse where King Dhrtarashtra speaks. The rest of the Gita is Sanjaya’s report to Dhrtarashtra on the happenings on the war in Kurukshetra.

Sanjaya said:

Verse 2. At that time King Duryodhana, seeing the Pandava forces in battle array, approached his teacher Dronacharya and spoke these words:

Since Duryodhana was the oldest of the one hundred sons of the blind King Dhrtarashtra, he was also recognized as king. Even though the Pandava army was small in number, Duryodhana seemed frightened, and therefore goes to his teacher Dronacharya. Dronacharya was a great teacher of military force, who taught the art of war to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. However, during the battle he sided with the Kauravas.

From this verse onwards, we have the report of Sanjaya to King Dhrtarashtra upon what he saw and heard on the war-front at Kurukshetra.

Verse 3. Behold, O Teacher, this mighty army of the sons of Pandu (the Pandavas), arrayed for battle under the command of the son of Drupada, your gifted pupil.

Here, Duryodhana is praising the Pandava army. The son of Drupada, Dhrishtadyumna, is the Supreme-Commander of the Pandava army. Dronacharya trained him. So Duryodhana is telling his teacher that your own pupil is fighting against you, on the side of the Pandavas. It is indicative of the fear Duryodhana has over the final outcome of the war.

In the following three verses, Duryodhana now proceeds to mention the names of the principal warriors on the Pandava side.

Verse 4. Here (in this army of the Pandavas) are heroes, mighty archers, equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna — the great warriors Yuyudhana, Virata, Drupada.

Duryodhana mentions the names of the great warriors and compares them with the strengths of Bhima and Arjuna.

Verse 5. The valiant Drstaketu, Chekitana, and the king of Kasi; the best of men, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Saibya.

Verse 6. The strong Yudhamanyu, and the brave Uttamaujas, the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu), and the (five) sons of Darupadi, all of whom are great chariot warriors.

After citing the names of the chief warriors in the Pandava army, Duryodhana now proceeds to request his teacher Dronacharya to know the names of the principal warriors in his own army.

Verse 7. Here, also, O best of the Brahmins, are the names of the principal warriors on our side, the leaders of my army. These I mention for your information.

Duryodhana now repeats the names of the distinguished heroes in his own army.

Verse 8. Yourself (Dronacharya) and Bhishma and Karna and Krpa, the ever victorious in battle, Asvatthama and Vikarna and Jayadratha, the son of Somadatta.

Duryodhana (the leader of the Kauravas), mentions the names of the exceptional heroes in the battle on the Kaurava side, all of whom have proved ever victorious. Bhishma is the grandfather, the old-sage warrior, who brought up Dhrtarashtra and his brother, Pandu.

Verse 9. And many other heroes also, well skilled in the art of war, and equipped with many kinds of weapons, are here, determined to lay down their lives for my sake.

Duryodhana here displays his vanity by mentioning that many great heroes are ready to lay down their lives for my sake.

After praising the great warriors on his side, he next proceeds to compare the two armies, and declares that his own army is superior to that of the Pandavas.

Verse 10. This army of ours defended by Bhishma is unlimited, but their army, defended by Bhima, is limited.

Duryodhana is comparing the strengths of the two armies. He thinks that his army, which is protected by Grandfather Bhishma, is immeasurable, while the Pandava army, protected by Bhima, is limited.

Verse 11. Being stationed in your proper places in the divisions of the army, guard Bhishma in particular on all sides.

Duryodhana exorts his generals to guard Bhishma from every direction. Even though Bhishma was a great warrior and possessed the power to protect himself, Duryodhana in particular wanted to protect him from Sikhandi. Sikhandi was born a female and became a male through sex-transformation. A great warrior like Bhishma would not face him in battle, according to the canons followed by a Kshatriya fighter.

Sanjaya now proceeds to describe the subsequent events on the field of battle.

Verse 12. That powerful, the grand old man of the race, Bhishma, in order to cheer Duryodhana, now sounded aloud a lion-roar and blew his conch.

This act by Bhishma, amounted to an act of aggression. Therefore, it was the Kaurava side, which took the aggressor’s part. With this lion-roar, the Mahabharata war was actually started. The Kauravas had thereby become the aggressors.

Verse 13. Then following Bhishma, conchs and ketttle-drums, bugles, trumpets, and horns were sounded suddenly (from the Kaurava side), and the noise was tremendous.

Each of the Kaurava commanders sounded the battle cry, following Bhishma’s announcement of the commencement of the battle. Up to this point, Sanjaya is describing the fighters on the Kaurava side. In the next five verses, he proceeds to describe the happenings on the Pandava side.

Verse 14. Then, also Madhava (Krishna) and Pandava (Arjuna), stationed in their magnificent chariot drawn by white horses, blew their divine conchs with furious noise.

White represents the color of peace and serenity. Therefore, Krishna and Arjuna are conveying a message of peace by riding in a chariot yoked with white horses. In Hindu and Buddhist

Literatures, the chariot represents a psychophysical vehicle. The horses are the senses, the reins their controls, and the charioteer or the guide is the Spirit or our Self or the Atman. Krishna, the charioteer is the Spirit in us.

Verse 15. Hrishikesha (Krishna) blew the conch named Panchajanya, Dhananjaya (Arjuna) blew the conch named Devadatta, and Vrkodara (Bhima), the doer of terrible deeds, his great conch Paundra.

The blowing of these conchshells is indicative of readiness for battle. The first conch on the Pandava side was blown by Krishna, who was acting as the charioteer, while on the Kaurava side the first conch was blown by Bhishma, who was the commander of the Kaurava side. Krishna was given a unique honor by the Pandavas.

Verse 16. King Yudhistira, son of Kunti, blew his conch named Anantvijaya, while Nakula and Sahadeva, their Sughosa and Manipushpaka, respectively.

Of the 5 sons of Pandu, Yudhistira, Bhima, and Arjuna were born of his first wife Kunti, and Nakula and Sahadeva, of Madri, the second wife. So, Yudhistira was the eldest of the five Pandava brothers.

Verse 17. The expert archer, king of Kashi, and the great charriot-warrior Sikhandi, Dhrstadyumna, and Virata, and the invincible hero Satyaki.

Verse 18. O Lord of Earth (King Dhrtarashtra), King Drupada and the sons of Draupadi and the mighty-armed son of Subhadra, each blew his own conch respectively.

Sanjaya is informing the king that his close relatives and the kings from all over, would be killed in this war because of his unwise policy. Sanjaya next proceeds to describe the effect produced by the sound of the conches.

Verse 19. And the terrific noise echoing throughout heaven and the earth, rent the hearts of Dhrtarashtra’s sons and party.

These are hints that the Pandava army is superior to the Kaurava army. The hearts of the Kaurava heroes were shattered by the sounds vibrated by the Pandava’s party.

Verse 20. Then, O Lord of Earth (King Dhrtarashtra), seeing the sons of Dhrtarashtra arrayed and ready to discharge their weapons, Arjuna, whose ensign was the monkey Hanuman, raising his bow.

The battle was about to begin and the crisis throws Arjuna into great anguish. He suddenly realizes that the great ideals, for which he always stood, will now have to be abandoned. The ensign monkey signifies alertness.

Verse 21. Spoke the following words to Krishna:

Arjuna said:

Place my chariot, O Achyuta (Krishna), between the two armies.

Arjuna is commanding his charioteer (Krishna) to drive the chariot and place it between the two armies. Here Sanjaya is trying to point out to the king that God himself was acting as Arjuna’s charioteer (guide) and the victory for the Pandavas was assured.

Verse 22. So that I may see those assembled here for war; on this eve of battle, with whom I have to fight.

Arjuna had no desire to fight with his cousins and other relatives, but he was forced to come onto the battlefield because of the obstinacy of Duryodhana. Arjuna sees all his relatives and friends, with whom one cannot easily bring oneself to kill. Up to this point Arjuna was unaffected by any type of mental hysteria, but now a sudden change is overtaking him. He was now personally coming to grips with the dreadful business of war.

Verse 23. For I desire to see those who are assembled here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhrtarashtra (Duryodhana), by taking his side on the battlefield.

Arjuna is impatient to see who dared him in fight.

Sanjay said:

Verse 24. O Bharata (O mighty Lord of the Bharata race, King Dhrtarashtra), commanded thus by Gudakesha (Arjuna), Hrishikesha (Krishna) drove that best of chariots between the two armies.

Verse 25. Facing Bhishma, Drona, and all the rulers of the earth, and then spoke thus: Behold, O Partha (Arjuna), all the Kauravas gathered here together.

These are the only words that Krishna has spoken in the entire First Chapter and these represent the sparks that set fire to the spirits of the great hero, Arjuna. Gita is the Song of Truth sung by the Immortal (Krishna) to the mortal (Arjuna), the representative of mankind.

Verse 26. Then Partha (Arjuna) saw stationed there in both the armies, grandfathers, fathers-in-law, and uncles, brothers, and cousins, his own sons and their sons and grandsons, and comrades, teachers, and other friends as well.

On the battlefield Arjuna could see all his relatives and friends. Sanjaya now describes what Arjuna did after observing the warriors in the two armies.

Verse 27. Then he, the son of Kunti (Arjuna), seeing all those kinsmen stationed in their ranks, spoke thus sorrowfully, overwhelmed with extreme compassion.

This sight brought to Arjuna’s mind the full realization of the tragedies of a fratricidal war. A feeling of desperation came to his mind. He developed symptoms of neurotic behavior, which are typical of a mental patient. Many commentators refer to this as the Arjuna-disease and the Bhagavad Gita gives an efficient method, called the Krishna-cure, to treat this disease.

Arjuna said:

Verse 28. Seeing, O Krishna, these my kinsmen gathered here desirous to fight, my limbs fail me, and my mouth is parched.

Compassion overpowered Arjuna. He lost self-control, which is the first step into the abyss of ignorance and mental confusion, also referred to as anxiety-state-neurosis.

Verse 29. I tremble all over and the hairs of my body stand on their end. The bow Gandiva slips from my hand and my skin burns.

The Gandiva bow possessed by Arjuna was a celestial weapon of the size of a palm tree. It was gold plated and possessed the power of hundred thousand weapons.

Verse 30. Neither, O Keshava (Krishna), can I stand upright. My hand is in a whirl, and I see evil omens.

Arjuna’s words make us think that he is oppressed by doubt. This type of sadness is generally the experience of people who aspire for the vision of grandeur and reality. These are symptoms of Arjuna’s mental disease. His mind is unsteady, agitated, and chaotic. He has become superstitious and portends failures. What we see is a picture of his mental confusion and the failure of his discrimination.

Verse 31. Neither, O Krishna, do I see any good in killing these my own people in battle. I desire neither victory nor kingdom, nor yet happiness.

Arjuna thinks that by killing his own kinsmen there would be no happiness in his life, and therefore he is not willing to fight. Arjuna’s sole opportunity for gaining the kingdom, which he had inherited, lies in fighting with his cousins and brothers. He sees evil omens in a display of mental weakness and instability. He is in a state of mental confusion and mental grief. The cure for this disease is the theme of the Gita.

Verse 32. Of what use is kingdom for us? Of what use are pleasures and even life, if these O Govinda (Krishna):

In moments of great sorrow, we are tempted to adopt the method of renunciation. Arjuna is saying that victory, happiness, kingdom, etc. are all temporary and do not last for ever. He visualizes that this slaughter will bring him mental agony and torture.

Verse 33. They, for whose sake we desire kingdom, enjoyment, and pleasures, themselves stand here for battle, having renounced life and wealth — teachers, uncles, sons, and also grandfathers, granduncles.

Happiness is to be shared with near and dear ones, but when all the close relatives are dead, what use will be happiness?

Verse 34. Maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other relatives.

Arjuna continues his arguments against the advisability of such a civil war between two factions of the same royal family. He is justifying his cowardly retreat from the call of duty. He wants the moral support of his friend and charioteer, Krishna, but the endorsement and sanction are not forthcoming from Krishna.

Verse 35. Even though these were to kill me, O Madhusudana (Krishna), I do not want to kill them, not even for the dominion over the three worlds, how much less for the sake of the earth.

Arjuna’s deep affection for the family and community is exhibited here. He has sunk into darkness and ignorance. The three worlds refer to the Vedic idea of earth, heaven, and atmosphere.

Verse 36. What joy indeed could be ours, O Janardana (Krishna), from slaying these sons of Dhrtarashtra? Sin alone will accrue by slaying these evil-doers.

Arjuna is being guided by social conventions and customary morality. His former teachers, from whom he got guidance in life, have now to be slain.

Verse 37. Therefore we ought not to kill our relatives, the sons of Dhrtarashtra. For how could we, O Madhava (Krishna), obtain happiness by killing our own people.

Arjuna is coming to a dangerous conclusion that he should not kill the aggressors nor face their challenge. Krishna is still listening silently. Arjuna has been reduced to a sad mental and physical plight and is justifying not entering the war.

Verse 38. Though these, with understanding overpowered with greed, see no evil in the destruction of families, and no sin in hostility to friends.

Verse 39. Why should we, O Janardana (Krishna), who clearly see the sin involved in the destruction of families, not refrain from this sin?

Arjuna’s argument is that his relatives (the Kauravas), who are the aggressors, cannot see the destruction of the entire social structure by this war, but we are able to clearly see the wrong in the killing of families. Arjuna can clearly foresee the chaos in this fratricidal war. However, active resistance to evil is the central idea in the doctrine expounded by Krishna in the Gita.

Verse 40. On the destruction of a family, the age-long family traditions of that family disappear. On the destruction of spirituality, sin further takes hold of the whole of the family.

Adharma (unrighteousness) has a bad effect on the women. Each time, Arjuna is trying to put forth arguments to support his wrong philosophy.

Verse 41. On the predominance of unrighteousness, O Krishna, the women of the family become impure, and the women corrupted, there ensues, O Varshneya (Krishna), intermixture of castes.

Caste in those days was conceived as an intelligent division of the available manpower in the community on the basis of intellectual and mental capacities of the individual. However, the meaning of caste has been perverted gradually over the years and represents an ugly decadence as far as the Hindu way of living is concerned.

Those who were intellectuals and had a passion for research and study, were classified as Brahmins. Those who had political ambitions and took upon themselves the risk of saving the country from aggressors were called the Kshatriyas. Those who were into trade and agriculture were the Vaishyas, and those who did not fall into any of the above categories were called the Sudras, whose duties were service and labor. So a reference to intermixture of castes could mean that an engineer cannot be in charge of a hospital operation theater. Similarly a doctor cannot be in charge of a hydroelectric scheme.

Verse 42. The intermixture of castes, indeed, leads the destroyer of the family to hell, as also the family itself. Their ancestors fall deprived of the offerings of food and water.

This refers to the well-known Shraddha ceremony of the Hindus, the main principle of which consists in sending helpful thoughts to the dead relations, accompanied with offerings. This is to secure their good wishes. The belief is that the deceased ancestors require these offerings for their welfare. To squander away the culture, so laboriously built up through generations, is to insult the labors of our ancestors.

Verse 43. By these misdeeds of the destroyers of the family, bringing about an intermixture of castes, the eternal religious rites of the family and caste are destroyed.

When we destroy the ideals enshrined in the immemorial traditions, we only bring chaos into the world. Arjuna bemoans that because of the civil war, the traditions of the family will all be lost. He seems to be totally against war and offers pacifist arguments against it.

Verse 44. We have heard, O Janardana (Krishna), that dwelling in hell is inevitable for an indefinite period of time, for those men in whose families religious practices have been destroyed.

Here Arjuna is relying on heresy, giving an impression that he has no wisdom of his own. He bases his arguments not on his personal experience but on what he has heard.

Verse 45. Alas, we are resolved to commit a great sin, in that we are prepared to slay our own people, from our greed for the pleasures of the kingdom.

Arjuna is prepared to be slain. Let them kill me. This is his egoism and emotional blackmail.

Verse 46. If the sons of Dhrtarashtra, holding weapons in hand, were to kill me in battle, while I remain unresisting and unarmed, that would be better for me.

On the very edge of battle, Arjuna loses heart and all worldly considerations persuade him to abstain from the battle. However, Arjuna still has to listen to the voice of the teacher who declares that he should lead a life in which his acts will not have their root in desire, and that there is such a thing as nishkama karma or desireless action.

Sanjaya said:

Verse 47. Having spoken thus in the midst of the battlefield, Arjuna dropped his bow and arrows, and sat down on the seat of the chariot, with his mind overwhelmed with sorrow.

The distress of Arjuna is a recurring predicament in human beings. The conflicting forces of the world agitate man. The fight takes place every moment in the soul of man. Arjuna is passing through great spiritual tension. The battlefield can be taken to be the human being.

This concluding verse of the chapter contains the words of Sanjaya in which he gave a running commentary on what