Selected songs from The Bhagwad Geeta. 1

The Song of the Bhagwad

Chapter 1

Here on the plains of Kurushetra
The sons of man arrayed
To fight to the finish
A fearsome battle
For the kingdom and truth
Of Hastinapur

A combat between two great armies
Of one and the same family
The sons of Dhritrashtra-
And of his deceased brother Pandu-


To his nephews the blind King Drithrastra
Wished no apparent ill will
But to them, neither throne
nor kingdom,
Would he give.


Brave-heart, Arjuna
Third son of Pandu
Did not want to fight
His teachers and his guru
Cousins, Fathers-in-law and brothers-in law,
Uncles and friends
With whom he grew

"For what use is a kingdom
Taken through war and death
Upon the very kith and kin
One wishes to share his kingdom with?"

"Is it not the duty of the right - minded?
To desist in doing that
Which the ignorant and foul- minded
greed for?
Is it not better to live on alms?
Than to fight and kill
Ones' own family
O Keshava?"


"My hands shake and quiver
My legs shiver
My mind is restless
And mouth feels parched
the great Gandive falls to my feet
no good do I foresee
from this fierce combat "


Thus the mighty slayer of foes
Laid down his bows
"I shall not fight"
He said quietly

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Chapter 2

To him thus overcome with agony
Lord Krishna spoke calmly
"From wherefore has this weakness beset you
at this time, O Arjuna?
This weakness, this numbness of the mind
Does not become you, son of Kunti!"

"How can I fight to kill?
Beloved Pitamah
Or respected guru Drona?

"To enjoy wealth and pleasures
Drenched with the blood of my brothers
I do not desire, O Keshava!

"Doubts assail me further
For which is the better course
To fight or to surrender?

"We know not who will win
nor who will loose?
Is there any guarantee
that we will be blessed with victory?"

His mind in two directions thus pulled
Perplexed and confused
The strong-armed Arjuna
To the Lord implored -

"Tell me, O Madhusudana,
Which is definitely the favorable
path for me?"



The all- knowing Lord then spoke thus:

"O Arjuna, you talk like the learned
yet grieve like the ignorant
The learned grieve neither for the departed
nor for the living

"Know that
those who stand before you
are immortal souls

"Never was there a time when
You, these kings, and I did not exist
Nor will there be a time when they will cease to exist

"Just as the newborn
Enters childhood, youth and old age
So also, the living soul grows old

"As heat and cold are transitory
Happiness and sorrow
are also momentary

"Because he who is not disturbed in sadness
nor overly excited in gladness
is even minded
and worthy of salvation

"Indestructible
is only the soul
which pervades this entire universe
all else is perishable
so also this body
is temporary

O Arjuna!

"This soul neither takes birth nor does it ever die
Because it is ancient, forever and divine
And does not die when the body dies


Just as men change old clothes
the soul sheds old bodies
to take new ones

The sword cannot cut this soul
Nor the fire burn it
"Water cannot wet it nor do the winds dry it
Because this soul is immortal
Non-physical
Indivisible
Eternal
Unshakeable
and one that exists for ever

"Therefore o Arjuna!
Know the soul to be as such
And do not weep
For it is incorrect to grieve for that which never ends

And even if you consider this soul
to be one which takes birth and dies,
then also, you must not grieve

For that which is born must die
and that which dies must be reborn

"O Arjuna!
All living beings were invisible before birth
and after death,
they become invisible again
only in the middle are they manifested
as embodied beings
therefore why grieve for the inevitable?

"You should not fear also
You, a Kshatriya by religion
And birth
but Kshatriyas is afraid of nothing

"If you do not fight this righteous battle
that has come your way
and for which you are not reproachable

Your enemies will mock you
Saying many unspeakable things
To taint your name
for all time to come

For a warrior such as you,
such ill fame
is worse than death itself

"Therefore, do not desist at this critical moment
stand upright
and fight
with determination

"O Arjuna, do not consider
who will win and who will loose
see both these results as equal
gain and loss, victory and defeat
as the same
And you will incur no sin

"And know that, even without you
These great warriors are already
slayed by me
Therefore, shirk not from your duty
Win and enjoy the fruits of a kingdom
Or die in a righteous battle
To fulfill your responsibility
Thus, you will attain
Salvation
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