Chapter 1 – Overview

Total 46 verses, preparation for Krishna to speak His message.

In the original Mahabharata written by Srila Vyasa Deva, and the Mahabharata we get today—the chapters do not have any title. So different chapters are given different titles. So here are different ways of referring to different nomenclature and different names are used in the Parva, and the chapter. Mahabharat is so vast that accessing its message is often complex in terms of referring to its message.

So Acharyas based on their presentation and focus have named different chapters differently.

So Krishna is not speaking as now one chapter is over, and I am starting another chapter. It is a normal conversation. So it is a live conversation which is then contextualized and to create some reference points for categorization some reference points are made by Srila Vyasa Deva. And chapters are named by Gita commentators as per their focus of their commentary.

1-26 observing the armies

1-13 preparation of war

14- 20 signs of victory

21-26 Krishna as Bhakta-Vatsala by obeying Arjuna over there

27-46 Arjuna’s lamentation (28 – 46) (some Acharya used the word Arjun Vishad Yoga)

Arjuna gives the following four reasons why he will not fight.

We can see how even mode of goodness can be an obstruction in Bhakti as Krishna says, go beyond three modes. How do modes affect us? We also give similar reasons for not doing Bhakti which includes:

√27-30 compassion

31-35 enjoyment

36-38 fear of sinful reactions

39-43 destruction of family tradition.

BG 2.6 Indecision

Soul (Thanks Krishna I am not Mind)

Soul has spiritual mission

In between is the mind which also has an eye that has subtle vision. Mind’s vision is not restricted. E.g. someone staring from behind.

Mind power can be trapped by yoga sadhana. It can see long distance things; contrary to the restricted vision at the physical domain. Sanjaya was able to see the entire battlefield in his mind.

Bg 1.1

Gita 01.01- The transcendental manifests in the geographical

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca

dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre

samavetā yuyutsavaḥ

māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva

kim akurvata sañjaya

Word for word:

dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ uvāca — King Dhṛtarāṣṭra said; dharma-kṣetre — in the place of pilgrimage; kuru-kṣetre — in the place named Kurukṣetra; samavetāḥ — assembled; yuyutsavaḥ — desiring to fight; māmakāḥ — my party (sons); pāṇḍavāḥ — the sons of Pāṇḍu; ca — and; eva — certainly; kim — what; akurvata — did they do; sañjaya — O Sañjaya.

Translation:

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: O Sañjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pāṇḍu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukṣetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?

Different Generations in Mahabharata

Current Generation

1. Pandava, Kaurava

Generation Above Pandavas

2. Dhritarashtra {siblings Pandu and Vidura, all of them were sons of Srila Vyasdeva}

3. Vichitravirya – chitrangada (both the sons passed away without begetting any offspring; they were sons ofShantanu & Satyavati}.

Bhishma {was the son of Shantanu and Ganga Mai, they gave birth to 8 sons. 7 died and 8th was Bhishma.

4. Shantanu & Satyavati Bhishma.

(Prior to marriage with Shantanu; Parasara Muni pleased by Satyavati’s services blessed her with son, Vyasadeva {same generation as Bhishma})

Conversation between Krishna and Arjuna | Conversation between Dhritarashtra and Sanjaya

BG 1.1 was the only verse spoken by Dhritarashtra to Sanjay and it was seminal. As semen produces children, similarly the first verse served as a seminal question that led to full-fledged narration of Gita, by Sanjay to Dhritarashtra.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca, dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks, what does he says?

dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre at the place of dharma; which was the sacred place? Kuru-kṣetre, it is the place where battle was going to take place.

Along with above there is another point where transcendence is manifested in geographical boundaries and that is the characteristic of Gita wisdom at large. The spiritual becomes manifested in material to raise us to the spiritual level.

Dharma is something which is transcendental which is our very eternal nature. As Dharma of fire is heat and light, and of water is liquidity, it is a set of activities which takes us to our spiritual nature. Since we as souls are transcendental; our dharma is also transcendental. So Dharma is not religion, dharma is our essential nature which is to love and serve (GOD – Krishna). It remains the same; even if we are Hindus, Muslims, Christians or non-believers. This essential nature is not always known to people or it is not consciously comprehended by people; so dharma refers to that nature.

So the transcendental knowledge which is not restricted to any set of people is manifested at a particular geographical place, dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre, the transcendental is being manifested in the geographical.

Dhritarashtra may not be speaking knowing all these things, but when Lord performs his pastime, people do things unaware of how it is going to assist in Lord’s pastime.

So knowledge of Dharma that was about to manifest at Kuru-ksetra and the place of delivery will gain far greater fame, now with respect to its past fame because knowledge of Dharma will be spoken over there.

samavetā yuyutsavaḥ, samavetā – assembled, yuyutsavaḥ – to fight

māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva, māmakāḥ – my sons and pāṇḍavas.

Biased view. Generally people have affection towards others, based on their relationship. Here, Dhritarashtra having more affection towards his son is natural but having antipathy towards his nephew, the Pandavas, is unnatural. And it is all the more undesirable: unworthy of a person who is in the king’s position. Because the king is expected to be like father for all the citizens, what to speak of one’s own nephew, and what to speak of nephew’s whose father is passed away, so Dhritarashtra is expected to act like father but māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva, so this partiality is caused by excessive bodily attachment that too when Pandavas were so much respectful towards him and on the other hand Duryodhana was always manipulating him. This he realized after the war and at that time he felt very regretful of what he had done earlier.

kim akurvata sañjaya, O sanjay what did they do? This question is self-answering or self-defeating since he has said earlier that they have come there to fight the war. yuyutsavaḥ and kim akurvata are almost contradictory or redundant. For instance, people who went to a restaurant and sat down to eat and meanwhile somebody asks the question, what did they do? It is meaningless, as it is obvious that they would have eaten.

Now, why did somebody ask a question like this? Because they might have suspected that there is something wrong about that place which may cause the normal course of action to be hampered. For example if someone knows that terrorists planted a bomb under the table of the restaurant and then there are people who go and sit on that table, then naturally one may ask the question, “Hey! what happened, when they sat down to eat?” So it is least expected for someone to be dining at such a place. In such a case, it is naturally apprehensive for someone to question, what happened? Did the bomb explode?

So they have gone for eating, but there are factors over there which may change the expected course of action. So Dhritarashtra is suspecting a similar sabotage of the action and that sabotaging can happen because the battlefield is on dharma –ksetra. He knows that might have got influenced by the vibration of that place and might have decided to reconcile. At one level he doesn’t want the war because he knows that his son’s being sinful will be destroyed, as the sages and Lord Krishna himself have repeatedly forewarned. Dhritarashtra is wondering if his sons have regained their conscience on Dharma-ksetra and have considered suspending the war conforming to a peace agreement. On the other hand he is hoping that somehow the Kauravas will win, and he will remain as the king.

He thought, as the Kauravas had much more forces on their side, than the pandavas; therefore, it was more likely for their side to win. Hence, Dhritarashtra partly desired the war to go on. So he was kind of trapped between denying the inevitable and desiring the impossible. So Dhritarashtra asks, “kim akurvata.”

The place of dharma didn’t affect duryodhana because he was adharmic, beyond redemption. If the personal presence of the person who makes all places holy that is Krishna, that person’s personal presence and persuasion didn’t change Duryodhana’s heart, then it was very likely for the change of his heart, just going to a holy place like Kurukshetra. From this angle Dhritarashtra’s inquiry was not substantial. But it is also true that events don’t always happen as expected. Although both Pandava’s and Kaurava’s came to the battlefield but, Arjuna’s consciousness was affected,not Duryodhana’s. Overwhelmed by emotions Arjuna refused to fight. As a result, Bhagavad Gita was spoken. So “kim akurvata”, what happened? Sanjay will start narrating from next verse onwards.

So this verse essentially states:

“At the holy place kur-ksetra with the troops assembled for fighting mine and pandavas son what did they do, Sanjaya?”

Before the war, when Lord showed His Virat Rupa in Kuru assembly Dhritarashtra wanted to see that vision, and he was allowed to see that.

Before the war Vyasa Deva came, who was grandfather of Kaurava and Pandavas.

Dhritarashtra told Vyasa Deva, he doesn’t want war, and at the same time he cannot control his son. Vyasa deva proposed to bless him with the vision to see. But Dhritarashtra denied. He said, “I have not seen my sons and now I don’t want to see them dying.” So Sanjay, his secretary, got the vision.

Dhritarashtra was torn between hoping for the impossible (my sons will win) and fearing the inevitable (he knew that Duryodhana was sinful and he would be doomed).

There is much in the universe which science is not able to find out:

Understanding how complex the universe is, brings a sense of humility. Hence people say that this is all impossible. It is all mythological. Anything that contradicts the current concept of science is immediately called imaginary or mythological. However, such dismissal of things which are incomprehensible is a sign of ignorance if not arrogance. And it is completely contrary to the spirit that has led to human progress. Rather than dismissing which is impossible to comprehend, we try to extend our understanding, to bring what is impossible into the realm of possibility. What seems impossible could be possible.

Powers of the mind are remarkable and science has started discovering them lately. There are so many powers. For example there is something called as steering experiment, which is if someone is seating and somebody else is looking at him from behind it happened that you turn in that direction and find that actually someone was looking at you…this happens more in some people to the extent of 90%. How this exactly happens is not comprehensible in the current context of science, but it happens. From the spiritual perspective it is understood that the soul has spiritual vision that is covered but externally we have physical vision that is functioning through eyes. In between is the mind and the mind also has its senses. The mind also has its eye. Sometimes we refer indirectly to the mind’s eye, but that is a representation of what we see within our minds eye. And the nature of the vision is subtle in nature.Normally speaking our vision is through physical eyes but the mind is much subtler than the gross eye. Mind is not restricted by time and space, as the gross body is restricted. And that is why the mind can perceive things which are far away beyond the perception of the gross eye. That is how Sanjay was able to view the battlefield remotely. By yoga Sadhana, one attains mystic powers like Prapti Siddhi, wherein the mind’s power can be harnessed. And if mind power is taped, the person can see things which are distant and can traverse effortlessly and obtain those things.

Similarly the mind can be granted the power by the blessing of great souls like Vyasdev in this case. It implies that God’s power descends onto the soul, then by mind’s capacity that power can be extended; and that is how a person obtains mystic powers through yogic sadhana. There is a science behind this and that science may not be defined exactly in terms of modern material science.

The word science is not monopolized by its modern material version. Science refers to the systematic study of knowledge and the way subtle body and gross body are analyzed in the vedic scripture, it is quite systematic, detailed and exhaustive. So the vision conferred upon Sanjaya, enabled him to see not just one part of the battlefield, but he could see everything and everywhere in the battlefield which is a remarkable aspect of his vision.

Dhritarashtra asked, Kim Akurvat BG 1.1 what happened, after both the sides assembled for fighting? It is logical that, when everyone sat for prasadam what would have happened. it is obvious everyone would have honored the prasadam. But, Dritharasthra was doubtful. Because Kurukshetra was a dharma kshetra and its effect could have caused different results. Ex: the atmosphere of the temple has an effect on its visitors. Visitors may not be attracted towards deity, but they feel there is some mystic power which is calming, healing, energizing. Ultimately, it is the presence of God directly or invoked by great sages, that engenders veneration for the divine in their hearts. So certain areas in this world, where the Lord’s presence is invoked or His direct presence is there, are considered to be holy places.

Kurukshetra is referred in many scriptures as a dharma kshetra.

Great sages performed austerities there.

Kings performed sacrifices there in the past.

Parasuram after killing wicked Kshatriyas performed atonement, syamanta panchak in kuru-ksetra area.

Dhritarashtra was thinking that the place may affect his son and they may decide not to fight. Dhritarashtra knew that the sacred vibration will favor those who are pious and the Pandavas were pious, but theKauravas were impious. Although externally Dhritarashtra was saying, “I don’t want the war,but at the same time I can’t convince my son.”

Politically: Dhritarashtra was the king and if he would have wanted he could have stopped Duryodhana. When Sri Krishna came as peace ambassador, as shanti Duta: Dhritarashtra told Him, “O Yadava! Please don’t blame me for the battle because I am helpless.” At that time Sri Krishna turned towards Drona and Bhishma and told them, you have seen that the emperor of the world declares himself as helpless, how can the emperor of the world be helpless, so that helplessness happens because of his attachments.

Attachment can make powerful powerless. How? Because they have power but when they are attached to someone or something they cannot make right decisions. They just cannot figure out what is right and what is wrong. And whatever they are attached to, whatever is pleasing to that person, they will be attached to that.

Dhritarashtra externally pretends his helpless state to stop Duryodhana, and at the same time internally he had the desire, “though, I could not become the king, at least my son become the king.”He is having the attachment; so actually he doesn’t want the battle to stop and he is hoping will the battle stop or will it go on?

Kshetra is a place for cultivation like rice, wheat etc. Similarly Dharma Khetra is a place or field where Dharma is cultivated. In a rice field, rice is cultivated, and if other things grow it will be weeded out. Similarly in Dharma Kshetra what will be cultivated is Dharma and Adharmic is like the weeds which in due course will be uprooted and thrown away. So Dhritarashtra understands from within that his sons are like the adharmic weeds, and fears they might be uprooted; they may be destroyed, and that is why Dhritarashtra is asking, “what happened?”

māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva, shows the partitioned mindset of Dhritarashtra. As a king, he is supposed to be equal to all the citizens. As an elder member in a family he is supposed to be equal to all younger members in the family. But he is thinking in terms of “Mamakah” the battle between my Sons and the sons of Pandu. The conflict between the cousins is exacerbated due to such parochial vision of Dhritarashtra, as he failed to see all descendants of Kuru dynasty as one family.

kim akurvata sañjaya will be answered in 18.78 last verse, in essence it will be answered, wherever there is Krishna and wherever there is Arjuna there will be victory.

Bg 18.78

yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo

yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ

tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir

dhruvā nītir matir mama

Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.

Learning from Dhritarashtra’s example: attachment (to his son and the crown) made a powerful- powerless. He told Krishna that he cannot stop Duryodhana.

Dhritarashtra feared in Dharmakshetre his son would lose the battle because of the effect of Dharma Kshetra. He did not seeKaurava and Pandava as one united family.

BG 1.2 & 1.3 Duryodhana is referred to as King, as he approaches Dhrona Acharya, instead of the commander Bhishma. Because he wanted to point out the weakness of Dronacharya, as he had trained Dhristadyumna. (Drona thought that as a brahmana he should distribute knowledge to all including his enemy). Also here by reminding him about his enemy, he was inciting Dronacharya’s anger. Duryodhana was also reminding Dhrona about his cause, not only Duryodhana’s cause.