Literary Analysis

Dr. Dugger

English 2030-39

February 29, 2016

A Close Reading of The Bhagavad-Gita

Chapter One, Verses 31-36

31 ‘All inauspicious are the signs

that I see, O Handsome-Haired One!

I foresee no good resulting

from slaughtering my kin in war!

32 ‘I have no wish for victory,

nor for kingship and its pleasures!

O Krishna, what good is kingship?

What good even life and pleasure?

33 ‘Those for whose sake we desire

kingship, pleasures and enjoyments,

are now drawn up in battle lines,

their lives and riches now abandoned:

34 ‘fathers, grandfathers; sons, grandsons;

my mother’s brothers and the men

who taught me in my youth; brothers-

and fathers-in-law; kinsmen all!

35 ‘Though they are prepared to slay us,

I do not wish to murder them,

not even to rule the three worlds –

how much less one earthly kingdom?

36 ‘What joy for us in murdering

Dhritarashra’s sons, O Krishna?

for if we killed these murderers,

evil like theirs would cling to us!

In chapter one, leading up to the selected passage, two armies have been assembled for war to decide who will succeed Dhrtarastra, the current king. The two factions are the 100 brothers of the Kauravas, led by Duryodhana and the five half-brothers of the Pandavas, the eldest of which is Yudhisthira. Both families have equal right to the kingdom, and the Pandavas suggest a peaceful solution that would be fair to all involved. Duryodhana refuses to compromise and exiles the Pandavas for 13 years. When the Pandavas return, Duryodhana still will not recognize their claim, and the only solution for the Pandavas is to go to war (Puchner 727). This war could be described as a civil war because both armies have been amassed from the same state, therefore both sides are friends and relatives of the other. Arjuna, brother of Yudhisthira and leader of the Pandavas’ army, faces a horrible dilemma. He is torn between fighting for what is right, a share of the kingdom, and killing his fellow countrymen and family members. The author states that Arjuna “- felt for them great compassion, / as well as great despair…” and describes a physical revulsion to fighting (28). Accompanying Arjuna is Krishna, the avatar (a God in human form) of Visnu, described as “the god who primarily preserves the moral order of the universe” (Puchner 727). The selected passage is Arjuna telling Krishna why he must not go to war.

Arjuna has discarded his bow and is telling Krishna why he refuses to fight. He begins with “All inauspicious are the signs / that I see, O Handsome-Haired One! / I foresee no good resulting / from slaughtering my kin in war!” (31). Arjuna is saying that all of the signs are pointing to failure. There can be no positive outcome from the destruction of his family members in armed conflict. He addresses Krishna as “Handsome-Haired One” because he is “often depicted with long, flowing hair” (31, Puchner 730). Arjuna continues, “I have no wish for victory, / nor for kingship and its pleasures! / O Krishna, what good is kingship? / What good even life and pleasure?” (32). This is to say that Arjuna has no desire to rule, and to gain riches that being a ruler include, if it requires him to kill his family members to do it. He even goes so far as to include that even to live and have happiness is not worth killing family for. He goes on to say “Those for whose sake we desire / kingship, pleasures and enjoyments, / are now drawn up in battle lines, / their lives and riches now abandoned:” (33). The statement being made here is that the very people Arjuna would wish to be ruler over, the people whose lives he could help to improve and enrich, are the same people who are facing him as the opposing army. Those very people have forfeited everything they own, to include their lives, to fight for a tyrant. Most likely, not by choice. Arjuna goes on to list the nature of the men assembled in the Kauravas army as “fathers, grandfathers; sons, grandsons; / my mother’s brothers and the men / who taught me in my youth; brothers- / and fathers-in-law; kinsmen all!” (34). Again, this speaks to the notion that all of the assembled combatants that Arjuna and his army are preparing to face are not just friends, teachers, and random citizens but his actual relatives and in-laws. Arjuna is stressing the fact that being a monarch is not worth spilling the blood of his relatives and neighbors.

The remaining two verses are where Arjuna begins to describe why it would be wrong to forge ahead with the war. Arjuna states, “Though they are prepared to slay us, / I do not wish to murder them,” meaning that regardless of whether they intend to kill him or not, he still views their deaths as murder (35). He cannot reconcile the idea of killing people he sees as innocent for his own personal gain. He goes on to say “not even to rule the three worlds- / how much less one earthly kingdom?” (35). By this, Arjuna asserts that winning this war would not even be worth ruling “the three worlds”, meaning the three realms of Hindu belief (the physical realm, or Bhuloka, the subtle realm, or Antarloka, and the causal realm, or Sivaloka), let alone the “earthly kingdom” he stands to gain (35, “Triloka: The Three Worlds”). Arjuna concludes by saying “What joy for us in murdering / Dhritarashtra’s sons, O Krishna? / for if we killed these murderers, / evil like theirs would cling to us!” (36). This introduces the real trouble that Arjuna is facing. He is asking Krishna what happiness can be gained by killing the 100 brothers of the Kauravas, regardless of how wrong they are. He states that even though they are murderers, if he kills them in war, he is committing sin. Arjuna is afraid that killing his relatives, friends, and neighbors will injure his soul and effect him in the afterlife. Arjuna eventually wraps up his list of concerns with Krishna, and in despair, “- collapsed into his chariot, / his bow and arrows clattering, / and his mind overcome with grief.” (47).

This passage is critical to The Bhagavad-Gita because it establishes the tone for the entire work. Arjuna is concerned that killing so many of his relatives and friends for his own personal gain is wrong. He believes that regardless of whether he tried in every way possible to come to a peaceful solution or not, war would still requires him to slaughter people he holds dear. He feels this so strongly, in fact, that he would rather die himself than kill the opposing army to gain his kingship. Krishna reminds Arjuna that he not only is justified in the killing, but he also has a moral imperative. Krishna explains that Arjuna has a certain responsibility as a warrior to maintain the balance of right and wrong. Much of the Hindu religion is ensconced in that notion of balance. What Duryodhana is doing, holding on to the entire kingdom and not relinquishing the entitled lands to the Pandavas, is not adhering to that balance. Krishna also goes on to explain that Arjuna, by killing those people in battle, is merely killing their mortal shell. He is not eliminating their life force. In chapter two, regarding this life force, Krishna asserts that “ - [the life force] will not pass from existence; / ancient, unborn, eternally existing, / it does not die when the body perishes.” (20). Krishna is able to wear down Arjuna’s resolve and, after inspiring him with a vision of his actual divine appearance, convinces him to take up arms. The Bhagavad-Gita, written sometime around 800 B.C.E., is an early example demonstrating the very human struggle between what is technically right and what is right in the hearts of men. Quite often, The Bhagavad-Gita is misinterpreted as a means to justify violence to accomplish one’s goals (Puchner 729). However, the text clearly states violence is only justified when all means are exhausted to find a peaceful solution to a given conflict, and can only be carried out by a highly trained warrior who is in full control of himself (Puchner 729).

Works Cited

“The Bhagavad-Gita.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume I. Ed. Martin Puchner. Third ed. New York: Norton, 2013. Print. 726-745.

Puchner, Martin, ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume I. Third ed. New York: Norton, 2013.

“Triloka: The Three Worlds.” Hinduismtoday.com. May 1995. Web. 21 Feb 2016.