Kurukshetra · Kurukshetra
Wisdom · 6 min read
When Arjuna puts down his bow
Faced with an unbearable moral crisis, Arjuna refuses to fight. Krishna begins the dialogue known as the Bhagavad Gita.
Between two armies, Arjuna asked Krishna—his friend and charioteer—to place their chariot where he could see those assembled. Recognizing teachers, relatives and companions on both sides, he was overwhelmed.
Arjuna’s bow slipped from his hand. He questioned duty, consequence, family and the value of victory itself.
Krishna did not dismiss the crisis. Their conversation unfolds through eighteen chapters, exploring the self, action, knowledge, meditation, devotion and surrender.