Chapter 1: Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra
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Description
Two armies, those of the Pandavas and the Kauravas, face each other on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra. Many signs indicate victory for the Pandavas. Dhrtarashtra, the Pandavas’ uncle and the Kauravas’ father, doubts the possibility of his sons’ victory and asks Sanjaya, his secretary, to describe the scene on the battlefield. Arjuna, one of five Pandava brothers, undergoes a crisis just before the fight. He is overwhelmed by compassion for his family members and teachers, whom he is supposed to kill. After submitting before Krishna many noble and moral reasons why he wishes not to fight, Arjuna casts aside his weapons, overwhelmed with grief. Arjuna’s reluctance to fight indicates his kind heart; such a person is fit to receive transcendental knowledge. The Bhagavad-gita is universally renowned as the essence of India’s spiritual wisdom. Spoken by Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to His intimate devotee Arjuna, the Gita’s seven hundred verses provide a definitive guide to the science of self-realization. The Gita contains knowledge of five basic truths: God, the individual soul, the material world, action in this world, and time. It lucidly explains the nature of consciousness and the universe, answering questions posed by philosophers for centuries, such as “What is the meaning of life?” and “Where do we go after death?” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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