Chapter 56
Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre samaveta yuyutsavah
Mamakah Pandavashchaiva kimakurvata Sanjaya
On the field of Dharma, on the field of Kuru, assembled and desiring to fight
What did my sons and the sons of Pandu do, Sanjay?
Commentary:
The Bhagavad Gita begins with blindness.
Dhritarashtra speaks first. He is a king without sight, with his hundred sons on the battlefield on a side that he knows is morally lost. He is asking for a report from this battlefield that he cannot see.
But it’s the way he asks it, that sets the context of the past as well as the tone for the future.
“Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre…” — on the field of Dharma, on the field of Kuru, where the war is set upon sacred ground.
Then comes the word that changes everything — mamakah. My sons.
Before arrows fly, the blind king’s possession has already drawn its line. Dhritarashtra does not ask about the sons of his dynasty standing against each other, or even the warriors on the battlefield. He asks about his sons and his brother’s sons.
He is a man shaped by imminent loss, fixated on his attachment to his sons. This is where the dialogue begins — where love is anxious, vision is partial, and the heart does not yet know how to let go.
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Arjun Vishad Yog (The Yog of Arjuna’s Despair)
1.28-1.30:
Sidanti mama gatrani mukham cha parishushyati
vepathush cha sharire me roma harshash cha jayate
Gandivam sramsate hastat tvak chaiva paridahyate
na cha shaknomi avasthatum bhramati iva cha me manah
My limbs fail, my mouth is drying up; my body trembles,
and my hair stands on end.
My bow, my Gandiva, slips from my hand, Madhav, my skin burns;
I am unable to stand; my mind seems to whirl.
Commentary:
The battlefield is set, two sides — one Kaurav and one Pandav.
But Arjun stands in no man’s land, between two armies which are both family. And the reality of this looming war settles inside him. He is a warrior who has never flinched from violence, ready to kill as well as die in battle. But now, those he has to kill are family.
A blind king sitting far away from battle drew a line between his sons and his brother’s sons, while Arjun is standing on the line, blurring it and calling them all his own.
Here is where Gita picks its ideal listener — not one who is shackled in attachment and does not want to see beyond, but the one who has accepted the reality and is hence ready to absorb.
Arjun’s mind affects his body. Strength leaves his limbs. His mouth dries up. His skin burns. His mind spins. The great warrior, whose name is tied to skill and precision, cannot even hold his bow. “Gandivam sramsate hastat” — my Gandiv slips.
In this mental breakdown, in this complete collapse, in the middle of chaos about to unfold, Krishna begins to answer the root of Arjun’s breakdown — What now?
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Sankhya Yog (The Yog of Knowledge)
2.2–2.3:
Shri Bhagavan uvacha
Kutas tva kashmalam idam vishame samupasthitam
anarya jushtam asvargyam akirti karam Arjuna
Klaibyam ma sma gamah Partha naitat tvayi upapadyate
kshudram hridaya daurbalyam tyaktva uttishtha Parantapa
God said:
From where has this weakness come upon you in this hour of crisis?
It is unworthy of you, it does not lead to higher good. It brings you dishonour, Arjun.
Do not yield to this unmanliness, Parth; it does not befit you.
Cast off this petty weakness of heart and arise, O scorcher of foes.
Commentary:
Krishna’s voice enters as an awakening.
“Kutas tva…” — From where has this come?
The question is a mirror held up to Arjun’s confusion. This collapse, Krishna points out, is not the truth of Arjun, but a passing cloud mistaken for the sky.
He names it plainly: kashmalam — a defilement of clarity.
It is not grief itself, but the distortion that has overtaken the ability to judge.
In doing this, Krishna separates Arjun from his state of mind.
And in this subtle shift, the trembling, the grief, the refusal to act — these are all accepted as states of mind, not the mind itself.
“Klaibyam ma sma gamah”
— do not sink into this.
This — it’s a state. It’s not you.
“Tyaktva… uttishtha”
— abandon this… arise.
You hold the power to rise out of it. Do it.
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January 2019
Dhyana Yog (The Yog of Meditation)
6.5:
Uddhared atmanatmanam na atmanam avasadayet
atmaiva hi atmano bandhur atmaiva ripur atmanah
One must uplift oneself by oneself; the self alone is the friend and the enemy.
Commentary:
No one else can fight the inner war for us.
The same self that sinks into despair can also lift itself into steadiness.
Within every heart lives both the whisper that weakens and the voice that strengthens.
Krishna tells Arjun: choose which one you will listen to.
The friend and the foe are not outside the gates. They dwell within…
6.26:
Yato yato nishcharati manas chanchalam asthiram
tatas tato niyamyaitad Aatmany eva vasham nayet
Wherever the restless mind wanders, bring it back.
Commentary:
The mind is like a child that runs toward every glittering thought.
It remembers old wounds, imagines new fears, revisits past sorrows.
Krishna does not scold it or stop it. He only asks Arjun to bring it back.
Again. And again. Not with anger, but with patience.
In that returning, strength is formed. Each gentle return is a small victory…
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May 2019
Daivasura Sampad Vibhag Yog (Divine and Demonic Qualities)
16.21:
Trividham narakasyedam dvaram nashanam atmanah
kamah krodhas tatha lobhas tasmad etat trayam tyajet
Three gates lead to self-destruction: desire, anger, and greed.
Abandon these three.
Commentary:
Krishna names the fires that burn the heart.
Desire that will not rest. Anger that flares when desire is denied.
Greed that insists nothing is ever enough.
These are gates that open downward. To see them clearly is already to step away from them.
So spot them, he tells Arjun, here’s a lamp placed near that cliff’s edge…
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July 2019
Moksh Sannyas Yog (Liberation through Renunciation)
18.66:
Sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja
aham tvam sarva papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shuchah
Abandon all forms of dharma and take refuge in me alone
I will liberate you from all sorrow, do not grieve.
Commentary:
When Krishna speaks these words, they sound, at first hearing, like the call of a distant god demanding surrender.
But in Gita so far, Krishna has revealed something more intimate.
He is not merely the charioteer before Arjun; he is the indwelling presence seated in Arjun’s heart, in the heart of all beings.
The voice that commands refuge, is hence, the same voice that breathes within.
To ‘abandon all dharma’ is not a rejection of righteousness.
It is a release of the anxious effort to secure oneself through roles, identities, and rigid self-definitions.
It is the loosening of the mind that says, ‘If I do everything perfectly, I will be safe.’ Krishna asks Arjun for something deeper than performance. He asks for trust.
Perform, then trust the process.
How?
Take refuge in me alone.
But I am you. So take refuge in yourself, Arjun. The self that is untouched by failure, unshaken by loss.
I shall free you from all sorrow. Do not grieve.
The promise is not that pain will never arise. It is that sorrow will not define the core of your being.
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August 2019
18.73
Nashto mohah smritir labdha tvat prasadan maya achyuta
sthito asmi gata sandehah karishye vachanam tava
My delusion is destroyed; memory has been restored by your grace, Madhav.
I stand firm, free from doubt. I will act as per your word.
Commentary:
The Bhagavad Gita opened with a warrior who could no longer stand, bow slipping from his hand. It ends now with his hands folded, in front of the being — the being inside and outside him, the supreme being — surrendering.
The confusion that once clouded Arjun’s perception has lifted. The memory that is restored is not just a recollection, but the remembrance of his true nature. Now, his action will proceed as per the one that guides him — the supreme being outside, as well as inside him.
18.78
Yatra Yogeshvarah Krishno yatra Partho dhanur dharah
tatra shrir vijayo bhutir dhruva nitir matir mama
Wherever there is Krishna, the Lord of Yog,
and wherever there is Arjun, the wielder of the bow,
there will be prosperity, victory, growth, and righteousness — this is my conviction.
Commentary:
The Bhagavad Gita ends with a union: Krishna and Arjuna — the wisdom and the action, the inner guide and the outer doer. Neither is complete without the other. Knowledge without action remains unexpressed. Action without wisdom loses its way.
Earlier, the bow had slipped from Arjun’s hand. Now he is named Dhanurdharah — the one who holds the bow again.
Krishna, the Yogeshwar, stands with Arjun on the battlefield after having led him back to life.
“Yatra…” — wherever this union exists.
Not in one place, not in one moment, but wherever the inner clarity of Krishna meets the readiness to act of Arjun, there will arise shri (wholeness), vijay (victory), bhuti (flourishing), and dhruva niti (steady righteousness).
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Samar turned the final page that he hadn’t turned the last time, and startled.
At the lowest corner of the last page was a note, written in a handwriting he could recognise in his sleep.
The battlefield won’t vanish after this, but the warrior will be stabilised.
A knock startled him. Samar glanced up from Atharva’s note and stared at the dark outside his window. The noises outside his office room were muffled, the party working in overdrive with the election only a month away. He had to finish his hour-long break and get back to his emails.
“Sir?”
“Come in, Gauri.” Samar closed the book and stood to his feet.
“Sir, Amaal madam is calling from Srinagar, says it’s urgent.”
He frowned, picking up his mobile — “She hasn’t called…” he stilled. Eight missed calls. His mobile was on silent and turned over. Samar picked up the receiver on his desk and found her breathing hard.
“Amaal?” He nodded at Gauri and she left his office, closing the door. “I’m sorry my mobile was turned over and silent…”
“Samar…” she was whimpering.
“What happened? Why are you crying?”
“I’m n…” she took a deep breath. “Dad had a stroke, I just got Mom’s call, I am leaving for London and…” she broke into another whimper.
“Ok, calm down. Did you get your ticket?”
“Looking…” she thumped on something. “Fuck, why wouldn’t this page load! The WiFi here is blocking all major sites. Can you book from there?”
“I will take care of it. You go home and pack your bag, I will call you in fifteen minutes. Ok?”
“Fifteen minutes?”
“Fifteen minutes. I promise.”
“I am leaving the Secretariat trusting you, if you can’t book…”
“Amaal.” He commanded.
She stopped.
“I will take care of everything. You go and pack your bag. Passport, visa, ID proof and your Press Secretary card. Hmm?”
“Hmm.” She ended the call.
Samar strode and opened the door, the calm of his office suddenly attacked by the madness outside. Nobody even looked at him, except Gauri.
“Are you finished with your break, sir? We need to get to the ticket distribution lists…”
“Call the private plane company we use for hire and ask them for a spot at Srinagar Airport. Srinagar to London, fastest route within the next hour. Bill it to my account.”
“But they might have closed for the day…”
“Do it.”