The White Hindu
We are doing a scripture study together: reading along through some scriptures and discussing the passages. This is the first post on The Bhagavad Gita. I selected this particular translation because it includes the original Sanskrit, a transliteration into English characters, a literal translation into English, and a poetic translation into English for every verse along with footnotes.
From the Winthrop Sargeant translation of The Gita 
Verse 1)
Dhiritarashtra spoke:
When they were in the field of virtue, in the field of the Kurus,
Assembled together, desiring to fight,
What did my army and that of the sons of Pandu do, Sanjaya?
Verse 2)
Sanjaya spoke:
Seeing indeed the army if the sons of Pandu arrayed,
King Duryodhana, approaching Master (Drona) spoke these words:
Verse 3)
Behold O Master, this great army
Of the sons of Pandu
Arrayed by the son of Drupada,
Wise by your instruction.
Probably the first thing we need to do is address some of the back story to this moment. The Gita is a portion out of a much (much) larger work called The Mahabharata. It is to this day the longest story ever written in the world.
The battle that is about to take place is the start of a war that ushers the world into the final age, the dark end times, The Kali Yuga, which we are in now.
The characters:
Dhiritarashtra – He is in this story the current king of the Kurus (this battlefield of kurukshetra is a real place in India). He was born blind and in the rules of that time a blind man could not become king. So his younger brother, Pandu, was installed as the king originally. But Pandu got a curse put on him that he would die if he ever made love to either of his two wives. Thinking he could never have children and pass on the kingdom, he retreated to the mountains to live as an ascetic and gave the kingdom to Dhiritarashtra.
Sons of Pandu– However, while in the wilderness, Pandu found out that one of his wives, Kunti, knew a magic word by which she could call upon a God and have a child by Him. (She does not explain to him how she knows that it works, but the truth is that she tried it as a teenager and abandoned her child, Karna, son of the Sun God Surya).
Pandu has her use this magic to give him sons. Between she and Madri they bare five sons who are known as the Pandava. They are the heroes of the story.
Yudhisthira is the son of Dharma, God of justice and truth
Bhima is the son of Wayu, the God of the wind (which make Bima extremely strong)
Arjuna is the son of Indra, King of the Gods and a warrior. Arjuna is the best archer in the world (unless you ask his unknowing-half-brother Karna)
Nakula and Sahadeva are twins born from the twin Gods and their beauty is legendary.
During this time Dhiritarashtra and his wife Gandhari also have sons. They have 100 sons, lead by Duryodhana, who is spiteful, arrogant, and greedy. Gandhari is told that he brings destruction to the human race but she won’t hear of killing her first born. According to Sargeant, the translation of Duryodhana’s name means “dirty fighter.”
When the Pandavas return to the kingdom, it begins a domino effect of problems as the succession is in complete confusion. Everyone knows that Yudishtira should inherit the kingdom, is the rightful heir, and is just and good. But Duryodhana cannot accept this and manipulates his parents into keeping him in power.
Now a war has finally come between the Pandava brothers and their 100 cousins, the Kaurava.
Sanjaya – An adviser and guide to the blind king, he tells Dhiritarashtra what is happening during the battle as they watch from afar.
Drona – Drona is a great warrier who has suffered karmically because he was born to be a brahmin. He taught all the cousins, both the Kauravas and the Pandavas, together and tried to raise them to work together, but they never stopped fighting even as children. Though he believes the Pandavas are in the right, he is trapped by loyalty and obligation to Duryodhana and the Kauravas. Though he is an old man, he is fighting in this war and is a formidable enemy for the Pandavas to overcome.
Son of Draupada– Draupada is a nearby king who is loyal to the Pandavas. His daughter, Draupadi, is married to all five Pandava brothers. His son, Dhrishtadyumna was born to kill Drona. Draupada and Drona have a long standing feud and Draupada’s son has been brought up all his life to kill Drona. He is now one of the generals helping to lead the Pandava army.
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It’s interesting that we start this story from the perspective of the “bad guys.” Or at least the side that is in the wrong in this war. Duryodhana is pointing out to his own teacher that Drona’s other students are arrayed in an army against him. Is he rubbing it in Drona’s face? I guess we’ll have to keep reading.
The “field of virtue” is actually the “field of dharma” in the Sanskrit. “Dharma” is a very complex word that we have no equivalent for in English. It is virtue, rightness, balance, order, honor, duty, law.
One of the themes in this story is the breakdown of honorable war. In this world there were strict protocols for how wars were fought. There were rules and an emphasis on honor. Throughout the Mahabharata these rules are broken one by one, symbolizing the loss of dharma/righteousness that occurs in the Kali Yuga.
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Kurukshetra, where this war was fought, is a real place that you can visit in India. I haven’t gotten to go there yet, but that’s my number one place I want to visit!
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