ANNOUNCEMENT - Introduction - CHAPTER ONE

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ANNOUNCEMENT

 

Dear respected Vaisnavas, Vaisnavis and friends,

 

You are kindly invited to to the News Group 'SONG OF GOD' for a

one-month publication of the 700 MAIN VERSES of the Indian classic SRI SRIMAD

BHAGAVAD-GITA spoken by SRI KRISHNA on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, India

5,000 years ago.

 

Daily issues of approximately 22 main verses will be sent out to members

beginning today, February 15, until March 18 - Gaura Purnima.

 

Members of the group may incidentally request for the authorized commentaries on

particular verses given by SRILA VISVANATHA CAKRAVARTI THAKURA and SRI SRIMAD

B.V. NARAYANA GOSVAMI.

 

May the unparallelled words of God inspire you in this unfathomable dark Age of

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Below you will find the following sections:

 

INTRODUCTION (part one)

 

PRELLUDE TO THE MAHABHRATA WAR

 

CHAPTER ONE - OBSERVING THE ARMIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

Srimad Bhagavad-gita is a part of Sri Mahabharata, whose author is Srimad

Bhagavata-avatara, jagadguru Sri Srimad Krsna Dvaipayana Veda-Vyasa.

Bhagavad-gita contains eighteen chapters, which comprise Chapters Twenty-five

to Forty-two of the Bhisma-parva of Sri Mahabharata. The speaker of

Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavan Sri Krsna Himself, directed His words at Arjuna, His

eternal associate and dear friend. In this way, He blessed the whole of

humanity with these extremely valuable and essential instructions, so that

conditioned souls can cross the ocean of birth and death, and attain service to

His lotus feet. Conditioned souls are gripped by the delusion of maya, whereas

Arjuna, being Sri Krsna's eternal associate, is free from delusion. However, in

order to deliver the conditioned souls, Sri Krsna caused Arjuna to act as if he

was deluded, and to ask questions from the viewpoint of the deluded jivas

[individual spirit soul dwelling in each living entity]. While Sri Bhagavan was

answering Arjuna's questions, He dispelled all sorts of doubts, and conclusively

explained the proper sequence of systematic practice by which the jivas can

become free from the bewilderment of the material energy.

 

Srimad Bhagavad-gita is also called Gitopanisad. It is the most important

Upanisad in Vedic philosophy, for it contains the essence of all Vedic

knowledge. If one constantly studies this sastra, accepting the shelter of the

lotus feet of guru, sadhu and Vaisnavas, he will easily be able to discern its

inner intentions. As a result, he will cross the oceasn of birth and death in a

simple and natural way, attain para bhakti unto the lotus feet of Sri Krsna, and

become qualified to receive Krsna prema. There is no doubt about this.

 

We see in India nowadays that great philosophers, those who are knowledgeable,

and people of all sects respect this king of sastras and have faith in it. Many

famous politicians and thoughful people of all countries throughout the world

have proclaimed the glories of Bhagavad-gita.

 

[ ... ] Part two will later be published.

 

 

 

 

PRELUDE TO THE MAHABHARATA WAR

 

Maharaja Santanu was a famous and influential emperor in the Kuru dynasty. He

was also very chivalrous and dharmic. His wife, Ganga-devi, gave birth to a son

name Bhisma, who was a portion (amsa) of the eighth Vasu. However, she

disappeared after the birth of the child due to some particular circumstances.

Later, while Maharaja Santanu was on a hunting expedition, he saw an

incomparably beautiful princess named Satyavati at the home of Dasaraja, the

King of the Nisadas. This princess had actually been born of the semen of

Uparicara Vasu from the womb of a fish, and the King of Nisada had nourished

and nurtured her as if she were his own daughter.

 

Maharaja Santanu asked the king for permission to marry Princess Satyavati, and

Nisadaraja consented on the condition that the child born from her womb would

be the sole heir to Santanu's kingdom. Maharaja Santanu, however, did not

accept this condition and returned to his capital. When Prince Bhisma heard

about this, he wanted to fulfil his father's desire, so he took a great vow to

remain a lifelong brahmacari [celibate], to ensure that Satyavati's son would

indeed succeed the kingdom. Santanu was thus able to marry Satyavati, and in

return gave Bhisma the boon that he could die according to his own desire.

Satyavati bore Maharaja Santanu two sons, who were called Citrangada and

Vicitravirya.

 

After Maharaja Santanu's death, Bhisma made Citrangada successor to the throne,

but upon the untimely death of Citrangada, the throne was given to

Vicitravirya. Vicitravirya, who had two wives called Ambika and Ambalika, also

died young without fathering any children. Mother Satyavati was doubly

distressed, because the death of her sons left the dynasty with no heir. She

summoned her first son, Maharsi Vedavyasa, simply by remembering him. To

protect the dynasty, on her instruction, and with Grandfather Bhisma's

approval, Vedavyasa begot sons by Vicitravirya's wives. Ambika bore

Dhrtarastra, Ambalika bore Pandu, and the saintly Viduraji was born from the

womb of Vicitravirya's maidservant.

 

Dhrtarastra was blind from birth, so his younger brother Pandu was made king.

Maharaja Pandu was a chivalrous and influential emperor, and was endowed with

all good qualities. He had five sons, of whom Yudhisthira was the eldest.

Dhrtarastra had one hundred sons, amongst whom Duryodhana was the eldest. By

the influence of time, King Pandu died while all the princes were quite young,

so Grandfather Bhisma enthroned Dhrtarastra, and made him responsible for

protecting the kingdom until the princes grew older.

 

When the five Pandavas and the sons of Dhrtarastra headed by Duryodhana grew up,

there was a great conflict concerning the succession to the royal throne. King

Dhrtarastra favoured his sons, and wanted Duryodhana to be king by fair means

or foul. However, the highly dharmic grandsire Bhisma could not allow this

because of the pressure from other respected personalities and citizens.

Duryodhana, who was born from the amsa of Kali, was extremely wicked and

adharmic by nature, and he wanted to have the kingdom himself, without any

opposition. To this end, he made various conspiracies to kill the Pandavas,

with the secret consent of King Dhrtarastra.

 

Despite repeated requests by Maharsi Veda-Vyasa, grandsire Bhisma, guru

Dronacarya, the saintly Vidura and others, Dhrtarastra did not give the

Pandavas their due half of the kingdom. However, for external show he crowned

Prince Yudhisthira as king of half the kingdom. He then sent him to the

newly-constructed Varanavat city, where Duryodhana planned to kill all the

Pandavas by setting fire to the newly-built palace there. Dhrtarastra approved

of this heinous plan but, by the will of Bhagavan, the Pandavas were somehow

saved.

 

In due course of time, the Pandavas married Draupadi. When Duryodhana discovered

that they were still alive, he consulted with his father again, and invited them

to Hastinapura. On the order of Grandsire Bhisma and other elders, and at the

request of the subjects, the Pandavas were given sovereignty of

Khandavaprastha, (Indraprastha). There, with the assistance of Sri Krsna and

the asura named Maya, the Pandavas constructed a wonderful palace and city.

Within a short time they conquered all the mighty kings of India, and performed

a great Rajasuya yajna.

 

King Dhrtarastra and Duryodhana became extremely jealous of the Pandavas as a

result of this yajna, and conspired to defeat them in a gambling match. They

took the Pandavas' entire kingdom, and forced them to undergo twelve years of

exile, and then to live incognito for a further year. Even after this prolonged

ordeal, Dhrtarastra and Duryodhana did not restore the kingdom to the Pandavas.

Sri Krsna Himself went to Hastinapura as an ambassador of the Pandavas, and

conveyed their request that Duryodhana should at least give them five villages.

However, Duryodhana remained obstinate and uncompromising, and told Krsna that,

what to speak of five villages, he would not give the Pandavas enough land to

hold the tip of a needle, unless they defeated him in battle.

 

Bhagavan Sri Krsna appeared in order to establish dharma [occupational duty], to

protect the sadhus [seekers after the truth] and to annihilate the asuras [the

ungodly opponents]. In the course of the Mahabharata battle, He used Arjuna and

Bhima as instruments to assist Him in His plan to relieve the enormous burden

that was weighing upon the earth.

 

 

 

[Chapter Summary by Sri Srimad B.V. Narayana Maharaja:]

 

Chapter One - Observing the Armies [summary]

 

Bhagavad-gita consists of eighteen chapters, each culminating in the message of

bhakti. Arjuna behaved on the battlefield as if he were immersed in

lamentation. Krsna then explained that the jiva's [living entity's] eternal

atma-dharma [the original, natural inclination or duty of the spirit soul] has

nothing to do with the dharma [the natural inclinations or duties] of body,

dynasty and caste, although those who falsely identify the body as the real

self canot understand this. As long as the jiva [spirit soul] remains bound by

maya and misidentifies his body as his self, he is forced to undergo the

miseries of lamentation, delusion, fear and so on. It is therefore imperative

that he accepts the shelter of a tattva-vit guru.

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE - OBSERVING THE ARMIES

 

 

Sloka 1

dhrtarastra uvacadharma-ksetre kuruksetre / samaveta yuyutsavahmamakah pandavas

caiva / kim akurvata sanjaya

 

Dhrtarastra said: O Sanjaya, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do, having

assembled at the sacred land of Kuruksetra, desiring to fight?

 

Sloka 2

sanjaya uvaca

drstva tu pandavanikam / vyudham duryodhanas tadaacaryam upasangamya / raja vacanam abravit

 

Sanjaya said: O king, after surveying the Pandava army arrayed in military

formation. Duryodhana then approached Dronacarya and spoke the following words.

 

Sloka 3

pasyaitam pandu-putranam / acarya mahatim camumvyudham drupada-putrena / tava sisyena dhimata

 

O Acarya! Behold this great army of the Pandavas, arranged in a military phalanx

by your intelligent disciple Dhrstadyumna, son of Drupada.

 

Slokas 4-6

atra sura mahesvasa / bhimarjuna-sama yudhiyuyudhano viratas ca / drupadas ca maha-rathah

 

dhrstaketus cekitanah / kasirajas ca viryavanpurujit kuntibhojas ca / saibyas ca nara-pungavah

 

yudhamanyus ca vikranta / uttamaujas ca viryavansaubhadro draupadeyas ca / carva eva maha-rathah

 

Present in this army are mighty bowmen, equal in combat to Arjuna and Bhima,

such as Satyaki, King Virata and the great warrior Drupada. Also present are

Dhrstaketu and Cekitana, heroic Kasiraja, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, the most valiant

Saibya, and other noble men such as the victorious Yudhamanyu, the powerful

Uttamauja, Abhimanyu, as well as Pratibindhya and the other sons of Draupadi.

All of these are maharathis.

 

Sloka 7

asmakantu visista ye / tan nibodha dvijottamanayaka mama sainyasya / samjnrtham tan bravimi te

 

O Dvija-uttama, best of the brahmanas, for your information I am also mentioning

the names of those outstanding warriors along with the commanders of my army.

 

Slokas 8-9

bhavan bhismas ca karnas ca / krpas ca samitinjayahasvatthama vikarnas ca / saumadattir jayadrathah

 

anye ca bahavah sura / mad-arthe tyakta-jivitahnana-sastra-praharanah / sarve yuddha-visaradah

 

In my army there are heroes like your good self (Dronacarya), Grandsire Bhisma,

Karna, Krpacarya, Asvatthama, Vikarna, Bhurisrava, the son of Somadatta and

Jayadratha, the King of Sindhu, all of whom are ever-victorious in battle.

There are many other heroes who are prepared to give up their lives for my

sake. All are equipped with varieties of astra-sastra and are expert in

warfare.

 

Sloka 10

aparyaptam tad asmakam / balam bhismabhiraksitamparyaptam tv idam etesam / balam bhimabhiraksitam

 

Our forces, though protected by Bhisma, are not sufficient. On the other hand

the army of the Pandavas, under the careful protection of Bhima, is fully

competent.

 

Sloka 11

ayanesu ca sarvesu / yatha-bhagam avasthitahbhismam evabhiraksantu / bhavantah sarva eva hi

 

Therefore you must all remain in your strategically assigned positions at the

entry points and give protection to Grandsire Bhisma in every respect.

 

Sloka 12

tasya sanjanayam harsam / kuru-vrddhah pitamahahsimha-nadam vinadyoccaih /

sankham dadhmau pratapavan

 

Then Grandsire Bhisma, the valiant elder of the Kuru dynasty, loudly blew his

conch-shell making a sound like the roar of a lion and thus delighted the heart

of Duryodhana.

 

Sloka 13

tatah sankhas ca bheryas ca / panavanaka-gomukhahsahasaivabhyahamyanta / sa sabdas tumulo'bhavat

 

Thereafter, conch-shells, kettledrums, small drums, mrdangas, horns, trumpets

and various other instruments were suddenly sounded, creating a tumultuous,

fearsome sound.

 

Sloka 14

tatah svetair hayair yukte / mahati syandane sthitaumadhavah pandavas caiva /

divyau sankhau pradadhmatuh

 

Then Sri Krsna and Arjuna, stationed on a great chariot drawn by white horses,

blew their divine conch-shells.

 

Sloka 15

pancajanyam hrsikeso / devadattam dhananjayapaundram dadhmau maha-sankham / bhima-karma vrkodarah

 

Hrsikesa Sri Krsna blew His conch-shell known as Pancajanya; Dhananjaya blew his

conch known as Devadatta; and Bhima, the performer of Herculean tasks, blew his

great conch known as Paundra.

 

Sloka 16

anantavijayam raja / kunti-putro yudhisthirahnakulah sahadevas ca / sughosa-manipuspakau

 

Maharaja Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew the conch named Anantavijaya;

Nakula blew the Sughosa conch and Sahadeva blew the conch known as Manipuspaka.

 

Slokas 17-18

kasyas ca paramesvasah / sikhandi ca maha-rathahdhrtadyumno viratas ca / satyakis caparajitah

 

drupado draupadeyas ca / sarvasah prthivi-patesaubhadras ca maha-bahuh / sankhan

dadhmuh prthak prthak

 

O King of the earth, Dhrtarastra! That great archer the King of Kasi, the

maharathi Sikhandi, Drstadyumna and the King of Virata, the unconquerable

Satyaki, King Drupada, the sons of Draupadi and Abhinanyu, the son the

Subhadra, then loudly resounded their respective conch-shells on all sides.

 

Sloka 19

sa ghoso dhartarastranam / hrdayani vyadarayatnabhas ca prthivincaiva / tumulo 'bhyanunadayan

 

Reverberating between earth and sky, the tumultuous sound of those conches

shattered the hearts of the sons of Dhrtarastra.

 

Sloka 20

atha vyavasthitan drstva / dhartarastran kapi-dhvajahpravrtte sastra-sampate /

dhanur udyamya pandavahhrsikesam tada vakyam / idam aha mahi-pate

 

O King, after seeing your sons in military array, Kapi-dhvaja, Arjuna, raised

his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows. He then spoke the following words to

Sri Hrsikesa.

 

Slokas 21-23

arjuna uvaca

senayor ubhayor madhye / ratham sthapaya me 'cyuta

 

yavad etan nirikse 'ham / yoddhu-kaman avasthitankair maya saha yoddhavayam / asmin rana-samudyame

 

yotsyamanan avekse 'ham / ya ete 'tra samagatahdhartarastrasya durbuddher / yuddhe priya-cikirsavah

 

Arjuna said: O Acyuta [O infallible one]! Please place my chariot between the

two armies so I may observe all who desire to fight in this great battle. I

want to see all those warriors, the well-wishers of the evil-minded son of

Dhrtarastra, who have assembled here.

 

 

 

- TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW -