Interesting Facts About Bhagavad-Gītā | Fact #4 | 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 4 | Arjuṇa wasn't the only one to listen to the Bhagavad-gītā!!!
Although the great song is considered to be an intimate conversation between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuṇa, the fact is that others were also privileged to hear this discussion. The Bhagavad-gītā was also heard by three others - Hanuman, Sanjaya and Barbarīka.
Hanuman, who agreed to be the mascot of Arjuṇa's chariot, was perched on top of Arjuna's chariot throughout the battle of Kurukshetra. So he also intimately heard this precious teaching.
Sanjaya, who was not only Dhrtarāṣṭra's advisor but also charioteer, was offered divine vision by his preceptor Vedavyāsa so that he could narrate the events of the battle to the blind King. Through this vision, he was also able to hear the dialogue between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuṇa.
Barbarīka is the son of Ghaṭotkaca, who himself is the son of Bhīma, the Pāṇḍava. He was also considered the bravest Kṣatriya at the time of the war. Owing to a word that Kṛṣṇa had given him, as part of a great sacrifice to assist the Pāṇḍava-s to win the war, Barbarika's head was sacrificed and was placed on top of the hill nearby. From here Kṛṣṇa blessed Barbarīka that he would be able to witness the whole war without interruption. Hence he became the third person apart from Arjuṇa to receive the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā.
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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.