If you want to understand any book well, you should understand its beginning well. That beginning of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita is the first chapter 'Arjuna Vishad Yoga' - 'Arjuna's Sorrow'.
The armies of Kauravas and Pandavas are standing face to face on the battlefield and suddenly Arjuna refuses to fight.
What a terrible idea! As if there were the final of a match and the match winner player of the team is quitting the game !
Many still do not agree with this act of Arjuna. Some think that Arjuna is avoiding his duty. Some think that Arjuna is speaking the language of non-violence. Some have called Arjuna a coward. Some think that Arjuna was blinded by love for his relatives. But was Arjuna really in such a state? Not at all. Then why do people say this? The only reason for this can be that they do not read the Arjuna Vishada Yoga chapter properly.
Take one of your favorite sad songs. Remember how the poet describes his sorrow in that song.
See how the great sage Vyasa describes Arjuna's sorrow:
दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् ॥ अ.१, श्लो.२८ ॥
Drshtva, imm’, swajanam’, Krishna, yuyutsum’, samupsthitam’||28||
सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति ।
वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते ॥ अ.१, श्लो.२९ ॥
Seedanti, mm, gaatraani, mukham’, ch, parishushyati,
VepathuH, ch, shareere, me, romharshH, ch, jaayte ||29||
गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात्त्वक्चैव परिदह्यते ।
न च शक्नोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मनः ॥ अ.१, श्लो. ३०॥
Gaandeevam’, stranste, hastaat’, tvak’, ch, ev, paridahyate,
Na, ch, shaknomi, avasthaatum’, bhramti, iv, ch, me, man: ||30||
Arjuna says:
Oh Krishna! Seeing my kinsmen eager for war standing before me like this, my senses are failing me, my mouth is going dry.
My body is trembling, my body is tingling, my bow is slipping from my hand and my skin is burning.
I cannot stand, my mind is as if deluded. Kesava, these symptoms are looking bad.
A poet may be saddened by the memory of his beloved, someone may be saddened by the separation from his mother. But Arjuna's sorrow is not personal. He is worried about the enemy's clan as well as his own. He is worried about the decline of religion.
Even Indra, the king of the gods, was impressed by Arjuna's religious thoughts. Once, when Arjuna went to heaven, he was saddened by the memory of his family. Thinking that Arjuna's heart was set on Menaka, Indra sent Menaka to Arjuna. But Arjuna sent her back, saying that she was the mother of his clan.
Now you might say, "The preparations for the war had been going on for so long, why didn't Arjun understand all these things?" This question is also logical. No matter how much we prepare for something, the final idea comes to us only when we face the actual event.
What did Arjuna see that made him feel this way?
तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः पितॄनथ पितामहान् ।आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातॄन्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा ॥ अ. १, श्लो. २६ ॥
Tatr, apashyat’, sthitaan’, PaarthH, Pitrn’, ath, pitaamahaan’,
Aachaaryaan’, maatulaan’, bhraatrn’, putraan’, pautraan’, sakheen’, Tatha ||26||
श्वशुरान्सुहृदश्चैव सेनयोरुभयोरपि ।
तान्समीक्ष्य स कौन्तेयः सर्वान्बन्धूनवस्थितान् ॥ अ. १, श्लो. २७ ॥
Shvashuraan’, suhridH, ch, ev, senyoH, ubhyoH, api,
Taan’, samikshya, saH, kaunteyH, sarvaan’, bandhoon’, avasthitaan’||27||
Arjuna saw his uncles, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, in-laws and well-wishers standing in the armies of both sides.
Seeing all these brothers standing together for the battle, Arjuna's heart was filled with compassion.
He explained his situation and the possible consequences of this battle in detail to Krishna.
1. In this war, the entire clan is ready for war. By killing them, we are destroying our own clan.
2. After the destruction of the clan, the eternal clan dharma will be destroyed and the entire clan will be afflicted with unrighteousness.
3. Since the clan is afflicted with unrighteousness, the women of the clan will become impure.
4. Since the women are impure, the process of caste-mixing will take place and such hybridity will create a hellish life.
5. In such a clan, rituals such as pind udak etc. will stop and due to this the ancestors of the clan will fall.
6. Due to such defects, the eternal caste-dharma and clan dharma will be destroyed.
7. In a clan in which clan dharma has been destroyed, the people of such a clan will definitely live in hell.
There is definitely truth in the questions raised by Arjuna. These doubts are also based on the scriptures.
These doubts of Arjuna and the explanation given by Lord Krishna took the Mahabharata of one lakh verses to a unique height with the seven hundred verses of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. Otherwise, the Mahabharata would have been known only as a battle between brothers for the kingdom. We are all indebted to Arjuna.
Now, here is another point. In the Mahabharata, there is Yudhishthira who constantly contemplates on Dharma. During this war, no doubt arose in his mind.
Then, when the time came for the war, why did these questions arise in Arjuna's mind? Some say that Lord Krishna deliberately created illusion in Arjuna so that the world could receive this divine knowledge.
The relationship between Arjuna and Lord Krishna was one of friendship. In the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna repeatedly says, "You are my dearest friend, therefore I am giving you this closest knowledge."
Arjuna could have these thoughts only when he was close to such a best friend. Pleased with Arjuna's bravery, Lord Shiva himself gave Arjuna his most powerful weapon, the Pashupatastra. He who has such a powerful weapon capable of destroying the world, has no question of fearing anyone.
Who caused Shri Krishna's entry into the Indian war? Because of Arjuna. While Duryodhana was happy to have Shri Krishna's army, Arjuna was pleased that Shri Krishna had come to his side. Shri Krishna also did his job well and brought back the match winner. If Shri Krishna had not been in the Indian war, the outcome of the war would have been different. The world would not have received the gift of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita.
The great saint of Maharashtra, Dnyaneshwar, wrote a book on the Bhagavad Gita called "Bhavarthdeepika". This book is better known as Dnyaneshwari. In the first chapter of Dnyaneshwari, Dnyaneshwar Maharaj says:
अहो अर्जुनाचिये पांती । जे परिसण्या योग्य होती । तिहीं कृपा करूनि संतीं । अवधान द्यावें ॥ अ. १, ओ.६२ ॥
Aho Arjunāchiyē pāntī |
Je parisanyā yogya hotī |
Tihīṁ krupā karūni santīṁ |
Avadhān dyāvēṁ |
O saints, your qualification is to sit in the ranks of Arjuna. However, you should be kind to me and pay attention to this commentary of mine (on the Srimad Bhagavad Gita).
So the right way to understand the Bhagavad Gita is to imbibe the qualification of Arjuna. How can we attain this qualification? Arjuna himself explained it. He said to Lord Krishna:
कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभाव:
पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेता: |
यच्छ्रेय: स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे
शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् || अ.२, श्लो. ७||
kārpaṇya-doṣhopahata-svabhāvaḥ
pṛichchhāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-chetāḥ
yach-chhreyaḥ syānniśhchitaṁ brūhi tanme
śhiṣhyaste ’haṁ śhādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam
My mind has become weak. My mind is confused about religion. I am your disciple and have come to your shelter. Please tell me definitely what will be beneficial for me.
When we surrender to Lord Krishna like Arjuna, then there is no doubt that Lord Krishna will explain the Bhagavad Gita to us.
🌺 🙏|| Shrīkr̥ṣṇārpaṇam astu ||🌺🙏
© Dr Hemant Junnarkar
All rights reserved
(On 7th December 2025, the brothers and sisters of the Swadhyay Parivar, led by Venerable Pandurang Shastri Athawale, organized a small home gathering on the Bhagavad Gita. My dear friends Jatin and Shailesh invited me to this gathering. I am deeply grateful to them for this. After listening to the thoughts expressed by children, elders and women on the Bhagavad Gita in this gathering, my knowledge increased a lot. With the blessings of Venerable Pandurang Shastri, the thoughts I expressed in this gathering are given above.)
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