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Background of Mahabharatha:
Mahabharata is a great epic in the Hindu religion. It is considered as a sacred
book by Hindus. ‘Bhagavad Gita’ is a part of Mahabharata. The main story of
Mahabharata is about the two groups of cousin brothers known as the Kauravas
and the Pandavas.
Mahabharata teaches us many lessons through different stories and characters in

it. Kauravas are a hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra.
Pandavas are five sons of King Pandu. Pandavas are honest, dutiful and skilful.
The Kauravas are jealous of them since their childhood. One day, Kauravas use
a trick to deceive the Pandavas and invite them to play a game.
Yudhishthira, the eldest brother of Pandavas loses all his wealth in the game.
After this, he challenges again and loses himself, his four brothers and their
wife- Draupadi.
The Kauravas insulted Draupadi the Pandava’s Queen in front of everyone.

Draupadi prays to Lord Krishna and he saves her. Lord Krishna makes the Saree
of Draupadi endless and everyone gets shocked with this miracle. Kaurava gets
tired and stops the wrong act.
After this event, Pandavas spend thirteen years in exile and life disguise for last
one year. At the end of their exile, they try to negotiate a return to Indraprastha.
Pandavas become extremely angry and announce a war against the Kauravas.
They say that this war will end the wrongdoings in the world and create a new
world which is good.
Conclusion: Mahabharata teaches us the lesson of truth, peace and

rightfulness. From the character of Bhishma we learn about patriotism and from
Draupadi we learn to fight for our rights. From the character of Kauravas and
Shakuni we learn that jealousy and revenge ruins everything. Mahabharata
shows us that goodness always wins.
Arjuna Vishada Yoga:

Bhagavad Gita starts with Arjuna vishada yoga. It starts with
Drutharashtra(father of kauravas) asking Sanjaya( who got a boon from
Vedavyas to see kurukshetra war from any place)
what pandavas and kauravas doing in kurukshetra(war
field). Sanjaya starts explaining both armies. Everyone in the war field
has blown their shank and are ready to start the war.
Then Arjuna asked lord Krishna to take the chariot in between the two
armies so that he can view kaurava army. Lord Krishna has taken the
chariot in between both the armies and stopped the chariot and asked
Arjuna to look at Bhishma , Dronacharya and other important kings.
Then Arjuna saw his grandfather (Bhishma) ,

guru(Dronacharya),brothers , friends, sons(brother sons),relatives
standing in kaurava army. Seeing all this people, Arjuna was struck by
grief and started speaking to lord Krishna.
Arjuna : Hey Krishna after seeing my people Iam unable to think, my

mouth is getting dried, I am unable to stand, my gandiva(bow) is
slipping from my hand.
Keshava(lord Krishna) Iam unable to understand what good is going to

happen by killing our own people.
Hey Krishna, I don’t want victory, I don’t want kingdom, I don’t want
luxuries. There is no use in enjoying these things after killing our own
people.
We have committed a big sin by getting ready to kill our own people for
the sake of kingdom. I will leave my weapon, even if the kauravas kill
me it will do good to me.
After saying all this Arjuna fell down in his seat and started crying. With
this Arjuna vishada yoga has been completed.
Arjuna Vishada Yoga:

Arjuna’s anguish and confusion - symbolism of
Arjuna’s chariot:
Each part of the illustration—depicting Arjuna (whose mind is "obstinate and

very strong") and his encounter with Krishna—is a symbol for something else.
Arjuna, who has not-yet seen Krishna's Universal Form, does not realize that:
 The chariot represents the human body.
 The five horses are the five senses—tasting, seeing, hearing, smelling
and touching.
 The chariot’s reins, which the charioteer uses to drive his vehicle,
symbolize the human mind.
 The driver represents human intelligence while the passenger
symbolizes a person’s spirit/soul.
Even though Arjuna has not-yet witnessed Krishna's Universal Form—
because Krishna has not-yet revealed it to Arjuna—the reluctant warrior
follows the charioteer's advice.
Sankhya Yoga: The Bhagavad Gita, where it is explained as the path
of correctly discerning the principles or tattva of existence.
In this chapter, Arjun reiterates to Shree Krishna that he is unable to
cope with his current situation, where he has to kill his elders and
teachers. He refuses to take part in such a battle and requests Shree
Krishna to be his spiritual teacher and guide him on the proper path of
action. Then the Supreme Lord starts imparting divine knowledge to
Arjun. He begins with the immortal-nature of the soul, which is eternal
and imperishable. Death only destroys the physical body, but the soul
continues its journey. Just as a person discards his old clothes and
adorns new ones, the soul keeps changing bodies from one lifetime to
another.
The Lord then reminds Arjun that his social responsibility as a warrior is
to fight for upholding righteousness. He explains that performing one’s
social duty is a virtuous act that can take him to the celestial abodes,
while dereliction only leads to infamy and humiliation.
At first, Shree Krishna tries to motivate Arjun at a mundane level. Then

he moves deeper and starts explaining to Arjun the Science of Work. He
asks Arjun to perform his deeds without any attachment to their fruits.
This science of working without desire for rewards is called the yog of
the intellect or buddhi-yog. He further advises that the intellect should
be used to control the desire for rewards from work. By working with
such intent, the bondage-creating karmas get transformed into bondage-
breaking karmas and a state beyond sorrows can be attained.
Arjun is curious to know more about those who are situated in divine
consciousness. Shree Krishna, therefore, describes how persons who
have attained transcendence are free from attachment, fear, and anger.
They are undisturbed and equipoised in every situation. With their
senses subdued, they keep their minds always absorbed in God. He also
explains the progression of afflictions of the mind—such as greed, anger,
lust, etc. and advises how these can be overcome.
Conclusion:
Thus, we can see that the Samkhya Yoga of the Bhagavadgita has many
parallels with the original Samkhya philosophy of Kapila. In the
subsequent chapter, we will also find that with regard to the practice of
detachment, dispassion, sameness, concentration, cultivation of sattva,
self-purification, meditation, stabilizing the mind in the Self, and self
absorption, etc., the Yoga philosophy of Krishna bears close resemblance
to similar ideas that are present in Patanjali’s Yogasutras.
Sankhya Yoga- Being established in

wisdom qualities of a sthita prajna:
Shree Krishna continues with his answers to Arjuna’s question about the
characteristics of sthita prajna – the enlightened souls – and how their
enlightenment manifests in their day-to-day behaviour. where Shree Krishna says,
“one whose mind remains undisturbed amidst misery, who does not crave for
happiness or pleasure, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a
sage, a man of steady wisdom.”
As Shree Krishna says, a sthita prajna is free from all attachment, fear and anger
and never craves for either happiness or pleasure. Thus, a sthita prajna is called a
sage, a man of unwavering wisdom.

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Mahabharata teaches us many lessons through different stories and characters in

The Kauravas insulted Draupadi the Pandava’s Queen in front of everyone.

Conclusion: Mahabharata teaches us the lesson of truth, peace and

Arjuna Vishada Yoga:

Then Arjuna saw his grandfather (Bhishma) ,

Arjuna : Hey Krishna after seeing my people Iam unable to think, my

Keshava(lord Krishna) Iam unable to understand what good is going to

Arjuna Vishada Yoga:

Each part of the illustration—depicting Arjuna (whose mind is "obstinate and

At first, Shree Krishna tries to motivate Arjun at a mundane level. Then

Sankhya Yoga- Being established in

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