Big Book of Ancient Gabanian Fables

Book XXXV: The War

The Kauravas have eleven divisions to stand against the seven of the Pandavas. The two armies are described as two oceans, crashing against each other. Briefly it's described as a "beautiful sight" (CN 125-6). Kunti tells the narrator Vyasa (in play): "You find too much beauty in men's death. Blood decorates your poem, and the cries of the dying are your music."

Bad omens appear prior to battle as thousands of carrion birds gather "crying in glee" (KD 539). Karna prophesies that his side will lose, that this is nothing but "a great sacrifice of arms" with Krishna as high priest.

Both sides agree to abide by certain rules of war: no fighting humans with celestial weapons, no fighting at night, do not strike someone who's retreating or unarmed, or on the back or legs. All these rules will eventually be broken.

Just as the battle is about to start, Arjuna falters at the sight of his relatives and teachers, now his sworn enemies. He breaks down and refuses to fight. "How can any good come from killing one's own relatives? What value is victory if all our friends and loved ones are killed? ... We will be overcome by sin if we slay such aggressors. Our proper duty is surely to forgive them. Even if they have lost sight of dharma due to greed, we ourselves should not forget dharma in the same way." (KD 544-5)

Arjuna fears that acting out his own dharma as warrior will conflict with universal dharma: how can killing family members be good, and not disrupt the social order? Herein lies an unresolved conflict in Hinduism between universal dharma and svadharma (an individual's duty according to caste and station in life). A warrior must kill to fulfill his duty, whereas a brahmin must avoid harming any living creature. Even demons have their own castes and svadharma, which may run counter to human morality. One person's dharma may be another's sin. This doctrine distinguishes Hindu thought from religions such as Judeo-Christianity and Islam which teach universal or absolute moral codes.

His charioteer Krishna addresses him as they pause in the no-man's land between the two armies. This passage is the celebrated Bhagavad Gita, the guide to firm and resolute action.

Unlike many epic heroes, at this point Arjuna thinks before he acts. Arjuna hesitates before such killing, wanting to retreat from life and responsibility (tension between dharma and moksha), but Krishna tells him as a warrior it's his dharma to fight. The real conflict today is with the self on the "battlefield of the soul.Don't worry about death, which is only one small step in the great and endless cycle of life. One neither kills or is killed. The soul merely casts off old bodies and enters new ones, just as a person changes garments. Death is only illusion (maya).How does a warrior perform his duty without doing wrong, polluting himself with the blood of his enemies? The secret is detachment: do your duty without concern for the personal consequences. "Victory and defeat, pleasure and pain are all the same. Act, but don't reflect on the fruits of the act. Forget desire, seek detachment." (play)We must always do what is right without desiring success or fearing defeat. "Work without desire for the results, and thus without entangling yourself in karmic reactions." (KD 550) Krishna tells Arjuna that good deeds will not get one to heaven if the desire for heaven is the sole motivation for good deeds. Desire is responsible for rebirth; if any desire remains when we die, we must return to another life.Likewise, Yudhishthira told Draupadi during the exile that he performs dharma not for reward but because it is what a good person does; after the battle he has a similar crisis when he temporarily refuses to rule, despairing at all the carnage he has caused."Actions performed under the direct guidance of the Supreme Lord or His representative are called akarma. This type of activity produces neither good nor bad reactions. Just as a soldier may kill under the command of his superior officer and not be held responsible for murder, though if he kills on his own accord he is liable for punishment, similarly, a Krishna-conscious person acts under the Lord's direction and not for his own sake." (BG as it is: online)"Such a person takes no delight in sensual pleasures. He is ever satisfied within himself. No miseries can disturb him, nor any kind of material happiness. He is without attachment, fear and anger, and remains always aloof to the dualities of the world. ... His mind is fixed upon the Supreme and he is always peaceful." (KD 551)There are two paths to liberation: renunciation (moksha) and performing one's duty without desire. Since no one can truly renounce all action in life (this is a pretense of asceticism), it is better to work without attachment (KD 551). Some scholars think that the Bhagavad Gita was composed to combat a religious challenge from Jainism and Buddhism which arose in the 6th century BC, both teaching salvation through renouncing the world, the former by asceticism, the latter by monastic life (Kinsley 31).Krishna explains that the knowledge he imparts is ancient, just as he told it millions of years ago. Arjuna asks, "How can I accept this? It appears that you were born in this world only recently." Krishna explains, birth too is an illusion, as men are born countless times. But in Krishna's case, he comes into every age: "Whenever righteousness (dharma) becomes lax, O Arjuna, and injustice (adharma) arises, then I send myself forth to protect the good and bring evildoers to destruction. For the secure establishment of dharma, I come into being age after age. ... I was born to destroy the destroyers."Krishna then reveals his divine, universal nature to Arjuna in a magnificent vision of a multitude of gods, stretching out to infinity. Resolved now to perform his duty to his lord, Arjuna leads his troops into battle.For more information, see