Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra

Bhagavad-Gita

(as-it-is)

Chapter 1

Dhrtarastra said: O Sanjaya, after assembling in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do, being desirous to fight?

Sanjaya said: O King, after looking over the army gathered by the sons of Pandu, King Duryodhana went to his teacher and began to speak the following words:
O my teacher, behold the great army of the sons of Pandu, so expertly arranged by your intelligent disciple, the son of Drupada. Here in this army there are many heroic bowmen equal in fighting to Bhima and Arjuna; there are also great fighters like Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada. There are also great, heroic, powerful fighters like Dhrstaketu, Cekitana, Kasiraja, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Saibya. There are the mighty Yudhamanyu, the very powerful Uttamauja, the son of Subhadra and the sons of Draupadi. All these warriors are great chariot fighters.

O best of the brahmanas, for your information, let me tell you about the captains who are especially qualified to lead my military force. There are personalities like yourself, Bhisma, Karna, Krpa, Asvatthama, Vikarna and the son of Somadatta called Bhurisrava, who are always victorious in battle. There are many other heroes who are prepared to lay down their lives for my sake. All of them are well equipped with different kinds of weapons, and all are experienced in military science.

Our strength is immeasurable, and we are perfectly protected by Grandfather Bhisma, whereas the strength of the Pandavas, carefully protected by Bhima, is limited. Now all of you must give full support to Grandfather Bhisma, standing at your respective strategic points in the phalanx of the army.

Then Bhisma, the great valiant grandsire of the Kuru dynasty, the grandfather of the fighters, blew his conchshell very loudly like the sound of a lion, giving Duryodhana joy. After that, the conchshells, bugles, trumpets, drums and horns were all suddenly sounded, and the combined sound was tumultuous.

On the other side, both Lord Krsna and Arjuna, stationed on a great chariot drawn by white horses, sounded their transcendental conchshells.

Then, Lord Krsna blew His conchshell, called Pancajanya; Arjuna blew his, the Devadatta; and Bhima, the voracious eater and performer of Herculean tasks, blew his terrific conchshell called Paundram. King Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conchshell, the Ananta-vijaya, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosa and Manipuspaka. That great archer the King of Kasi, the great fighter Sikhandi, Dhrstadyumna, Virata and the unconquerable Satyaki, Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, and the others, O King, such as the son of Subhadra, greatly armed, all blew their respective conchshells.

The blowing of these different conchshells became uproarious, and thus, vibrating both in the sky and on the earth, it shattered the hearts of the sons of Dhrtarastra.

O King, at that time Arjuna, the son of Pandu, who was seated in his chariot, his flag marked with Hanuman, took up his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows, looking at the sons of Dhrtarastra. O King, Arjuna then spoke to Hrsikesa [Krsna] these words: Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see who is present here, who is desirous of fighting, and with whom I must contend in this great battle attempt. Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhrtarastra.
Sanjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, being thus addressed by Arjuna, Lord Krsna drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties.

In the presence of Bhisma, Drona and all other chieftains of the world, Hrsikesa, the Lord, said, Just behold, Partha, all the Kurus who are assembled here. There Arjuna could see, within the midst of the armies of both parties, his fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, and also his father-in-law and well-wishers--all present there.

When the son of Kunti, Arjuna, saw all these different grades of friends and relatives, he became overwhelmed with compassion and spoke thus: Arjuna said: My dear Krsna, seeing my friends and relatives present before me in such a fighting spirit, I feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up. My whole body is trembling, and my hair is standing on end. My bow Gandiva is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning. I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I foresee only evil, O killer of the Kesi demon. I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle, nor can I, my dear Krsna, desire any subsequent victory, kingdom, or happiness.

O Govinda, of what avail to us are kingdoms, happiness or even life itself when all those for whom we may desire them are now arrayed in this battlefield? O Madhusudana, when teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law and all relatives are ready to give up their lives and properties and are standing before me, then why should I wish to kill them, though I may survive? O maintainer of all creatures, I am not prepared to fight with them even in exchange for the three worlds, let alone this earth. Sin will overcome us if we slay such aggressors. Therefore it is not proper for us to kill the sons of Dhrtarastra and our friends. What should we gain, O Krsna, husband of the goddess of fortune, and how could we be happy by killing our own kinsmen? O Janardana, although these men, overtaken by greed, see no fault in killing one's family or quarreling with friends, why should we, with knowledge of the sin, engage in these acts? With the destruction of dynasty, the eternal family tradition is vanquished, and thus the rest of the family becomes involved in irreligious practice.

When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Krsna, the women of the family become corrupt, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Vrsni, comes unwanted progeny. When there is increase of unwanted population, a hellish situation is created both for the family and for those who destroy the family tradition. In such corrupt families, there is no offering of oblations of food and water to the ancestors. Due to the evil deeds of the destroyers of family tradition, all kinds of community projects and family welfare activities are devastated.

O Krsna, maintainer of the people, I have heard by disciplic succession that those who destroy family traditions dwell always in hell. Alas, how strange it is that we are preparing to commit greatly sinful acts, driven by the desire to enjoy royal happiness.I would consider it better for the sons of Dhrtarastra to kill me unarmed and unresisting, rather than to fight with them. Sanjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.

End of Chapter 1
Translated from original sanskrit by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj

It's not just a job

SB 1. 2 . 6-10

The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which we can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.

By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.

The occupational activities a person performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction to hearing the message of Godhead.

All occupational engagements are certainly meant for ultimate liberation. They should never be performed for material gain. Furthermore, according to the sages, one who is engaged in the ultimate occupational service should never use material gain to cultivate sense gratification.

Life's desires should never be directed toward sense gratification. One should desire a healthy life, or self-preservation, since a human life is meant for inquiry about the Absolute Truth. Nothing else should be the goal of one's works.

Drops of Nectar

“Dear beautiful cloud, the color of your beautiful body exactly resembles the bodily hue of our dearmost SyamaSundara. We think, therefore, that you are very dear to our Lord, the chief of the dynasty of the Yadus, and because you are so dear to Him, you are absorbed in meditation, exactly as we are.

We can appreciate that your heart is full of anxiety for SyamaSundara. You appear excessively eager to see Him, and we see that for this reason only, drops of tears are gliding down from your eyes, just as they are from ours.

Dear blackish cloud, we must admit frankly that to establish an intimate relationship with SyamaSundara means to purchase unnecessary anxieties while we are otherwise comfortable at home.”

( Queens of Dvaraka - Srimad Bhagavatam )

You should all appear on the earth

Lord Vishnu then said to the Suras ( devas - demigods )

"You should all appear on the earth by your amsa expansion ( mystic siddhi ) .

O Brahma, as Ksatriyas ( the warrior class ) they will assist me in battle.

Goddess Laxmi devi will reveal herself as 16,000 princesses who will become my queens.

Yamaraja, by an amsa expansion ( partial expansion ) will appear as Pandu's son Yudhisthira.

Vayu will do the same as Bhimasena.

Indra will appear as Arjuna.

The Asvini Kumaras will appear by Amsa siddhi as Nakula and Sahadev.

Surya will show himself as a great hero known as Karna.

A quality of Yamaraja will appear in the personality of Vidura.

Kali will partially manifest as Dhuryodhana.

Varuna will appear on earth as the noble Santanu.

Siva will appear as Asvatthama.

Agni by his Amsa will appear as Dronacharya.

Chandra's Amsa will be Abhimanyu.

Vasu as the powerful Bhisma.

Kasyapa will show himself as Vasudeva and Aditi by her Amsa will appear as Devaki.

Vasu will appear as Nanda-Gopa. Vasu's wife will appear as Yasoda-Gopi the good wife of Nanda.

Note: Saintly persons have mentioned that there are eight demigod personalities with the name Vasu.

Laxmi will appear as Droupadi who was born from the sacrificial ocean.

Agni will appear as the powerful Dhrstadhyumna.

Satarupa by amsa will appear as Subhadra , born of Devaki's womb.

In this way the sura's by their AMSA expansions must go to the earth and assist me in removing the burden Bhumi is now carrying on her back.

The wives of the Suras must also go by their expansions.

The sweet voice of the lord then stopped as Brahma, Narada and others were listening with great devotion.

Sri Brahma Vaivarta Purana, 4th Canto.

External, monkey renunciation

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana

yathayogya visaya bhunja’ anasakta hana

antare nistha kara, bahye loka-vyavahara

acirat krsna tomaya karibe uddhara

( Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya lila(16.238-239)

Do not adopt markata-vairagya (external, monkey renunciation) simply to impress the general populace. You should accept without attachment whatever sense objects are appropriate for maintaining your devotional practices and give up all material desires within your heart.

Internally develop staunch faith in Sri Krsna and externally carry out your worldly responsibilities in such a way that no one can detect your inner mood. If you act like this, Sri Krsna will very quickly deliver you from material existence.

Predictions found in the Sastra

In the Pratisarga part of the Bhavisya Purana, Chapter 20 verses 71-73; we find the following prediction:
"Lord Jagannath, the Supreme Lord Sri Hari Himself, spoke these attractive words for the welfare of all: The mlecchas who are born from mixed countries ruled by descendants of Kasyapa and the sudras will become brahmanas by qualification and initiation. They will wear sikhas and brahmana threads and will become well versed in the uncontaminated fruit of the Vedas (Srimad Bhagavatam). They will worship Me by the Yajna prescribed by the Lord of Lords, the protector of Saci (Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu)."

Forty-six years before the beginning of Kali Yuga, Vishnuchitta, one of the twelve great Vaisnava saints of the Sri Sampradaya predicted: "There will come a race which will tread the Earth with raised hands and vertical tilaka on their foreheads, who will chant the names of Hari; this will destroy the influence of Kali."(Divyaprabandha 1.10).

Sripada Ramanuja predicted: "The pure devotion to Sri Hari ( Krishna ) devoid of karma and jnana will grow and grow like a banyan tree covering the whole world, teaching everyone who takes shelter of it."(Prapannamrta tarpana - last chapter)

Sripada Madhvacharya predicted: " Real knowledge of the difference between jiva ( soul ) and Sri Hari ( Personality of Godhead ) and the service of Sri Hari ( Bhakti ) will spread all over the world very shortly."(Anu Madhva Vijaya - last chapter)

Today and in the future Loving servants of the Personality of Godhead will guide living entites from all races and countries and unify them in the chanting of the holy name.( Bhaktivinode Thakur )1838-1914

In recent times AC Bhaktivedanta Swami 1896-1977 traveled world wide and declared very boldly; "I am not God! You are not God! We are all servants of God and Krishna is His Name, please chant the Holy Name and become Happy ."