Interesting facts about Bhagavad-gītā | Fact #2 | by Dr Kausthub Desikachar
The Bhagavad-gītā, often know as The Gītā, is one of the most popular scriptures in the Vedic tradition. It is an in-depth conversation between the prince Arjuṇa and Lord Krṣṇa and takes place just before the great war and presents a range of philosophical topics that offer helpful ideas about how to live our life.
The text is a synthesis of high quality of the core teachings from the Vedic culture, and hence is also often called as an Upaniṣad, despite it not being part of the four Veda-s. It combines many different elements from Sāṁkhya, Yoga and Vedānta philosophies and therefore provides insight into various facets of the Vedic tradition.
Fact 2 | The number eighteen often appears in the Bhagavad-gītā!!!
Any serious seeker who dives deep into the Bhagavad-gītā will notice that the number 18 continually reoccurs. The number 18 is also connected to the Sanskrit word Jaya, through the Kaṭapayadi system of attributing numbers to the Sanksrit alphabets. Another name of Mahabharata is Jaya-itāvrata, and perhaps this is the reason for the repetition of the number eighteen.
There are 18 Parva-s (sections) in the Mahābhārata, in which the Bhagavad-gītā is part of the Bhīṣma-parva. There are 18 chapters in the Bhagavad-gītā. The army regiments (Akṣauhini-s) that fought the great battle are eighteen in number. The Pāṇḍava-s had seven Akṣauhini-s, while the Kaurava-s had eleven, totalling eighteen. An Akṣauhini is made up of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 cavalries and 109,350 infantry. In each of these, the digits add up to 18.
Also Mahābhārata mentions that there are 18 people required to make a sacrifice. The construction of the Sabha (palace) took 18 years and the mighty king Jarāsandha attacks Dvāraka 18 times, until he is finally vanquieshed by Lord Kṛṣṇa.
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In October 2020, we are offering an online seminar titled The Yoga of the Bhagavad-gītā, where Dr Kausthub Desikachar will present key Yogic Concepts presented in the text and compare it with how they have been presented in the Yogasūtra-s of Patañjali.
Don’t miss this chance to dive deep into the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā.