Krishna and Arjuna on the Battlefield

The Bhagavad Gita is the most famous of all Vedantic texts - a seven-hundred-verse dialogue between a warrior on the verge of battle and his charioteer, who is also God. It is not an Upanisad, but it is the distillation of Upanisadic wisdom into a form that speaks to every human being: the moment of crisis, the collapse of certainty, and the voice that calls us to see beyond our fear.

The Two Armies

The armies of the Kauravas and the Pandavas faced each other on the field of Kuruksetra. On one side stood the hundred sons of Dhrtarashtra, led by the blind king’s eldest son Duryodhana. On the other side stood the five Pandava brothers - Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva - with their allies.

The battle was not merely a contest for a kingdom. It was a collision of dharma and adharma, of righteousness and its opposite. The Pandavas had been cheated of their inheritance, exiled, and humiliated. Now they had returned to claim what was rightfully theirs.

Arjuna, the greatest archer of the age, stood in his chariot between the two armies. His charioteer was Krishna - not merely a prince of the Vrishni clan, but the lord of the universe himself, the incarnation of Brahman, who had taken human form to restore dharma.

Arjuna said to Krishna:

“Drive my chariot between the two armies, so that I may see those who stand ready to fight.” (BG 1.21-22)

Krishna drove the chariot to the centre of the battlefield. Arjuna looked out and saw his teachers, his elders, his cousins, his friends - arrayed on both sides, ready to kill and be killed.

His bow, the Gandiva, fell from his hands.

The Collapse

Arjuna’s legs gave way. He sat down in the chariot, overwhelmed by grief.

“Krishna, when I see my own people standing here, eager to fight, my limbs give way, my mouth dries up, my body trembles, and my hair stands on end.” (BG 1.28-29)

He looked at the faces of the men he loved. There was Bhishma, his grandfather, the elder who had raised him. There was Dronacarya, his teacher, who had taught him everything he knew about archery. There was Karna, his elder brother by birth, unknown to him.

“I do not see any good in killing my own family in battle. I do not desire victory, Krishna, nor a kingdom, nor pleasures. What use is a kingdom or even life itself to me, if those for whom I seek them are standing here ready to die?” (BG 1.31-33)

Arjuna threw down his bow and declared:

“I will not fight.” (BG 2.9)

The greatest warrior of the age, the man who had never lost a battle, sat weeping in his chariot, refusing to raise his bow.

The Answer Begins

Krishna looked at Arjuna. He could have praised his compassion. He could have honoured his reluctance to kill. Instead, he smiled and began to teach.

“You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, and yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.” (BG 2.11)

Why? Because the Self is immortal:

“There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these kings. And there will never be a time when we cease to exist.” (BG 2.12)

“The Self is not born, nor does it die. It has not come into being, nor will it cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, everlasting, and ancient. It is not slain when the body is slain.” (BG 2.20)

Krishna’s first teaching was not about duty or dharma - it was about the Self. Arjuna’s grief was caused by the mistaken belief that killing these bodies would be the end of those who inhabited them. But the Self cannot be killed. It does not perish in the fire, is not moistened by water, is not dried by the wind. It is eternal, unchanging, and beyond all harm.

“As a person casts off worn-out garments and puts on new ones, so the embodied Self casts off worn-out bodies and enters new ones.” (BG 2.22)

Arjuna was not being asked to destroy his loved ones - he was being asked to participate in the natural cycle of birth and death, in which the Self is never touched.

“Therefore, fight, Arjuna.” (BG 2.18)

The Teaching Deepens

But Krishna did not stop with the immortality of the Self. He went on to teach Arjuna the entire path of Vedantic wisdom.

He taught him about action and its fruits:

“You have a right to action alone, never to its fruits. Do not let the fruit of action be your motive, and do not be attached to inaction.” (BG 2.47)

He taught him about the higher and lower natures:

“Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, and ego - these are the eight divisions of my lower nature. But beyond this is my higher nature, the life-principle by which this universe is sustained.” (BG 7.4-5)

He taught him about the lord who dwells in all beings:

“I am the Self, Arjuna, seated in the heart of all beings. I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings.” (BG 10.20)

He taught him about the field and the knower of the field:

“This body, Arjuna, is called the field. The one who knows this body is called the knower of the field. Know Me as the knower of the field in all bodies.” (BG 13.1-2)

He taught him about the three purusas:

“There are two persons in this world: the perishable and the imperishable. The perishable is all beings; the imperishable is the changeless. But beyond both is the Supreme Person, called the Supreme Self, who pervades the three worlds and sustains them.” (BG 15.16-17)

The Vision

And finally, Krishna revealed himself. He gave Arjuna divine sight and showed him his cosmic form - the Visvarupa, the universal form of God, containing all worlds, all beings, all time.

Arjuna saw the universe in the body of his charioteer. He saw all the armies - on both sides - being consumed by the mouths of Krishna, entering his body like rivers entering the ocean. He saw that the battle had already been won, that the warriors were already dead, that he was merely an instrument in a cosmic drama written before time began.

Terrified, Arjuna cried out:

“I see the gods in your body, O God! I see hosts of beings! I see Brahma on his lotus seat, and all the sages and celestial serpents! I see you touching the sky, blazing with colour, with mouths agape and eyes blazing. Seeing your fearful form, the worlds tremble - and so do I.” (BG 11.15-20, paraphrase)

Krishna said:

“I am time, the destroyer of worlds, grown mature to annihilate all beings here. Even without you, all these warriors arrayed in opposing armies shall cease to exist. Therefore, arise and win glory. Conquer your foes and enjoy a prosperous kingdom. They are already slain by me. Be merely the instrument, Arjuna.” (BG 11.32-33)

Arjuna’s Surrender

Arjuna, having seen the cosmic form of God, surrendered completely:

“Tell me what is good for me, Krishna. I am your disciple, I have taken refuge in you. Instruct me.” (BG 2.7, 18.73, paraphrase)

Krishna’s final instruction was simple:

“Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me. Thus, having disciplined yourself and making Me your supreme goal, you shall come to Me.” (BG 9.34)

“Abandon all forms of dharma and take refuge in Me alone. I will liberate you from all sin. Do not grieve.” (BG 18.66)

Arjuna picked up his bow. The battle began.

The Teaching

The Bhagavad Gita teaches the Vedantic truths in the most practical setting imaginable - a man on the edge of battle, facing the hardest decision of his life. Its core teachings include:

1. The Self is immortal. No one is truly killed; no one truly dies. The body changes, but the Self remains eternal. Understanding this removes the fear of death.

2. Act without attachment to results. Do what is right because it is right, not because of what you will gain. This is the path of karma yoga.

3. God dwells in all beings. The lord of the universe is present in every heart. To see difference between beings is ignorance; to see the one Self in all is wisdom.

4. The universe is God’s body. All worlds, all beings, all time - all are contained in the one reality. The visible universe is a fraction of the infinite.

5. Surrender is the final step. After all teaching, after all practice, after all effort - the final act is surrender. Let go of everything and rest in the Self.

Further study: The Self that Krishna taught as immortal and birthless is explored on the Atman page. The field and the knower of the field connect to the analysis of Adhyasa. The higher and lower natures of Krishna are discussed on the Maya page. Brahman as the ultimate ground of all reality is examined on the Brahman page.

Source citations: Bhagavad Gita. Key citations: BG 1.28-47 (Arjuna’s despair), BG 2.11-30 (the immortal Self), BG 2.47 (action without attachment), BG 7.4-5 (higher and lower natures), BG 10.20 (the Self in all beings), BG 11.15-33 (the cosmic vision), BG 13.1-2 (the field and the knower), BG 15.16-17 (the three purusas), BG 18.66 (final surrender). Translations consulted: Swami Gambhirananda, Swami Nikhilananda, Swami Sivananda.