Swami Gober's Bhagavad Gita Commentary: Introductory Essay - 25

A Dreadful River of Blood

Therefore, devote thyself to Yoga; Yoga is skill in action.

- The Bhagavad Gita

Or could it be that yoga is sloppiness in action? Bloody sloppiness! Incredibly bloody sloppiness! All that the (anonymous) author of the Gita had to do was bring together materials available, compile them and present them in a coherent and interesting manner. The Bhagavad Gita was simply meant to be a popularizer of certain streams of philosophy that ran in ancient Indian thought. Perhaps this was the only piece of real, original work that the unknown person who wrote the Gita did in his whole life. He must have had plenty of time too, we may presume. But the way he messed it all up is totally unbelievable. It is as if this guy had only a day or two to do the job and he just put in whatever nonsense he wanted, in whichever ridiculous way he wanted.

If the people who read the Bhagavad Gita down through the ages had any kind of commonsense or the least general knowledge they would have fallen on the ground in convulsions just to shake off the incredulity that has taken over them — on reading the first two-three pages of the book. Billions of people read the Bhagavad Gita, and hundreds of gober swamijis went on giving elaborate commentaries on it, and yet somehow not a single person has been able to feel the sense of ridiculousness that hits you in the face the moment you start reading the Gita. And I am not talking about the ridiculous battlefield backdrop or anything like that, these are known issues and gently evaded, and we can perhaps take them for granted in the spirit of tolerance. Quite a few Gita readers would also normally sense the incongruity of Arjuna drooping off in his chariot, benumbed and bewildered. It appears to be a highly artificial story contrivance, yet not something that cannot be surmounted with a little exercise of suspension of belief. We could indeed take it for granted if that was all there is to it. However there is much more to it, and that's what turns the whole of Bhagavad Gita's famous context into a sham, and the Bhagavad Gita itself into baloney.

Apparently the author of the Bhagavad Gita, the one who goes on talking about perfection and excellence in work, didn't read the Mahabharata, the work to which he was going to append his own hack job. He doesn't seem to have had even rudimentary knowledge of the Mahabharata. Neither do gober swamijis seem to have ever bothered to read even children's Mahabharata. They go on talking about the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, and Arjuna all their lives, but it wouldn't have occurred to them to take a few hours off and read the story of these characters as presented in the Mahabharata. Even if the swamijis ever accidentally did that, the new knowledge would be conveniently ignored, for obvious reasons. And they would continue portraying Arjuna's despondency, his pitiful quandary, and the compassion that rent his heart in the most soul-stirring language, as usual.

Billions of people knew, and millions still know both the basic story outline of the Mahabharata as well as the setting of the Bhagavad gita, but nobody has ever bothered to put 2 and 2 together and ask the most obvious question: How come Arjuna seems to have grave qualms about fighting with his teachers and relatives when he was battling these same people tooth and nail in a most ferocious encounter exactly six months earlier?

Everyone who knows a little about the Mahabharata knows that the Pandavas lost the dice game and as per the conditions of the wager had to spend 12 years in the forest and one additional year incognito. And everyone also knows that they spent the incognito year disguised as employees in the court of King Virata. People who have slightly deeper knowledge would be aware of the main events that took place in the Virata Parva. During this one year, Arjuna turned himself into a eunuch and taught classical dance to the king's daughter. Towards the end of this episode, Duryodhana, Bhishma, Drona, Karna and others attack King Virata to steal some cows, and Arjuna goes to stop them singlehandedly. A deadly battle ensues. After being routed by Arjuna, the Kaurava camp flees the scene. This is not some fancy episode pushed into the Mahabharata in later centuries, as indeed is the Bhagavad Gita, but is integral to the central story.

Let me first cite the contextual theme of the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna asks Krishna to take his chariot into the open space in between the two armies.

Sanjaya said:

Being thus addressed by Arjuna, Lord Krishna, having stationed that best of chariots, O Dhritarashtra, in the midst of the two armies, in front of Bhishma and Drona and all the rulers of the earth, said: “O Arjuna, behold now all these Kurus gathered together!”

Then Arjuna beheld there stationed, grandfathers and fathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons and friends, too.

(He saw) fathers-in-law and friends also in both armies. The son of Kunti—Arjuna—seeing all these kinsmen standing arrayed, spoke thus sorrowfully, filled with deep pity.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 1, ver 24-27

How, O Madhusudana, shall I fight in battle with arrows against Bhishma and Drona, who are fit to be worshipped, O destroyer of enemies?

Better it is, indeed, in this world to accept alms than to slay the most noble teachers. But if I kill them, even in this world all my enjoyments of wealth and desires will be stained with (their) blood.

Bhagavad Gita, chap 2, ver 4,5

And now we will move to the macabre event that happened hardly six months earlier.

Here I present excerpts from Arjuna's encounter with his teachers and elders. First, Kripacharya, the first and most revered teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas:

...Then announcing his own name, Arjuna powerfully blew that best of conchs called Devadatta, of loud blare. And blown on the field of battle by the mighty Jishnu (Arjuna), the blare of that conch was heard like the splitting of a mountain.

... Thereupon that heroic and intrepid and mighty car-warrior, Saradwat's son Kripa, endued with strength and prowess, waxing wroth at Arjuna, and unable to bear that sound and eager for fight, took up his own sea-begotten conch and blew it vehemently.

...And those mighty car-warriors, equal unto two suns, standing opposed to each other, shone like two masses of autumnal clouds. Then Saradwat's son quickly pierced Partha, that slayer of hostile heroes, with ten swift and whetted arrows capable of entering into the very vitals. And Pritha's son also, on his part, drawing that foremost of weapons, the Gandiva, celebrated over the world, shot innumerable iron-arrows, all capable of penetrating into the very core of the body.

...And sorely afflicted by those whetted arrows resembling flames of fire, Kripa waxed wroth and quickly afflicting the high-souled Partha of immeasurable prowess with ten thousand shafts, set up on the field of battle a loud roar. Then the heroic Arjuna quickly pierced the four steeds of his adversary with four fatal arrows shot from the Gandiva, sharp and straight, and furnished with golden wings.

This is foul play. Only when a warrior gets desperate to save his life would he resort to killing his opponent's horses or his charioteer.

…Then regaining his proper place, Gautama (Kripa) quickly pierced Savyasachin with ten arrows furnished with feathers of the Kanka bird. Then with a crescent-shaped arrow of keen edge, Partha cut off Kripa's bow and leathern fences. And soon Partha cut off Kripa's coat of mail also by means of arrows capable of penetrating the very vitals, but he did not wound his person. And divested of his coat of mail, his body resembled that of a serpent which hath in season cast off its slough. And as soon as his bow had been cut off by Partha, Gautama took up another and stringed it in a trice. And strange to say, that bow of him was also cut off by Kunti's son, by means of straight shafts.

...Partha, however, quickly cut them into fragments by means of ten keen-edged shafts, and endued with great energy, the son of Pritha then, inflamed with wrath on the field of battle, discharged three and ten arrows whetted on stone and resembling flames of fire. And with one of these he cut off the yoke of his adversary's car, and with four pierced his four steeds, and with the sixth he severed the head of his antagonist's car-driver from off his body.

Arjuna is getting desperate here, killing a poor defenseless charioteer. Kripa could have retaliated by killing Arjuna's charioteer, but he must have considered it below his dignity.

Then with his bow cut off, his car broken, his steeds slain, his car-driver killed, Kripa leapt down and taking up a mace quickly hurled it at Arjuna. But that heavy and polished mace hurled by Kripa was sent back along its course, struck by means of Arjuna's arrows. And then the warriors (of Kripa's division), desirous of rescuing wrathful son of Saradwat encountered Partha from all sides and covered him with their arrows.

We can see clearly that this is no drill or mock fight, as people very often wrongly imagine it to be. It is as ferocious an armed encounter as any in the final war, also filled with good doses of foul play and treachery, Arjuna is killing horses and charioteers, while his opponents would be soon attacking him many at a time. Kripa's men take away their seriously wounded leader away from the battle scene.

Now we move to Arjuna's one-on-one with Drona, his illustrious weapons instructor.

...And Drona also rushed towards the impetuously advancing Partha, the son of Pandu,—that foremost of car-warriors, —like an infuriate elephant rushing towards an infuriate compeer. And the son of Bharadwaja then blew his conch whose blare resembled that of a hundred trumpets. And at that sound the whole army become agitated like the sea in a tempest.

...And that mighty car-warrior Partha, possessed of great prowess and filled with joy upon reaching Drona's car on his own, saluted the preceptor. And that slayer of hostile heroes, the mighty armed son of Kunti, then addressed Drona in an humble and sweet tone, saying, 'Having completed our exile in the woods, we are now desirous of avenging our wrongs. Even invincible in battle, it doth not behove thee to be angry with us. O sinless one, I will not strike thee unless thou strikest me first. Even this is my intention. It behoveth thee to act as thou choosest.' Thus addressed Drona discharged at him more than twenty arrows.

This is how Arjuna would behave, not like that wuss in the Bhagavad Gita! He salutes his teacher and expresses his intention not to make the first strike. Fair enough.

But the light-handed Partha cut them off before they could reach him. And at this, the mighty Drona, displaying his lightness of hand in the use of weapons, covered Partha's car with a thousand arrows. And desirous of angering, Partha, that hero of immeasurable soul, then covered his steeds of silvery whiteness with arrows whetted on stone and winged with the feathers of the Kanka bird. And when the battle between Drona and Kiritin thus commenced, both of them discharging in the encounter arrows of blazing splendour, both well-known for their achievements, both equal to the wind itself in speed, both conversant with celestial weapons, and both endued with mighty energy, began shooting clouds of arrows to bewilder the royal Kshatriyas.

So the to and fro goes on for sometime, constantly intensifying. Since ordinary weapons don't seem to turn the advantage to either side, the master and the disciple engage in a clash with celestial weapons. Another gentle reminder that this is a real battle, very real.

And Bharadwaja's son (Drona) fought on with Falguna (Arjuna), resisting with his own the celestial weapons shot by the former. And the fight that took place between those enraged lions among men, incapable of bearing each other, was like unto encounter between the gods and the Danavas. And the son of Pandu repeatedly baffled with his own, the Aindra, the Vayavya, and the Agneya weapons that were shot by Drona. And discharging keen shafts, those mighty bowmen, by their arrowy showers completely covered the sky and made a wide expanse of shade. And then the arrows shot by Arjuna, falling on the bodies of hostile warriors, produced the crash of thunderbolt. Elephants, cars, and horses, bathed in blood, looked like Kinsuka trees crowned with flowers. And in that encounter between Drona and Arjuna, beholding the field covered with arms decked with bangles, and gorgeously-attired car-warriors, and coats of mail variegated with gold, and with banners lying scattered all about, and with warriors slain by means of Partha's arrows, the Kuru host became panic-stricken.

‘…Field covered with arms decked in bangles…” As I have been saying, this is an all-out battle, hundreds of soldiers dying all around, just from the force of Arjuna's super weapons. Drona of course doesn't die in this encounter, but neither does he get killed in the final war. He would only be made to commit suicide by the Pandavas through cunning and deceit.

Drona finally manages to escape with the aid of his son Ashwatthama:

…And waxing wroth, he (Ashwatthama) rushed towards Partha, and discharged at him an arrowy shower like a heavy down-pour by the cloud. And turning his steeds towards Drona's son, Partha gave Drona an opportunity to leave the field. And thereupon the latter, wounded in that terrible encounter, and his mail and banner gone sped away by the aid of swift horses.

Then Arjuna fights Ashwatthama and Karna together.

...And inflamed with ire and desirous of slaying Karna, that bull of the Kuru race stared at him with rolling eyes. And beholding Partha turn away from Aswatthaman's side, the Kuru warriors discharged thousands of arrows on Arjuna. And the mighty-armed Dhananjaya (Arjuna), that conqueror of foes, leaving Drona's son, all on a sudden rushed towards Karna.

Arjuna plays foul again, killing the horses of Karna:

And Vibhatsu (Arjuna) slew the steeds of Karna by means of sharp and tough arrows shot from the bow-string drawn to the ear, and deprived of life they dropped down on the ground. And taking another sharp and blazing arrow endued with great energy, the mighty son of Kunti pierced the breast of Karna. And that arrow, cleaving through his mail, penetrated into his body. And at this, Karna's vision was obscured and his senses left him. And regaining consciousness, he felt a great pain, and leaving the combat fled in a northerly direction.

And now the encounter with Bhishma. But at this juncture, we see an interesting reaction from Prince Uttara, the charioteer of Arjuna, which gives us an idea how ferocious the battle is.

Thereupon, beholding that mighty host thronged with cars and horses and elephants, Uttara, sorely pierced with arrows, said, 'O hero, I am no longer able to guide thy excellent steeds. My spirits droop and my mind is exceedingly bewildered. All the directions seem to be whirling before my eyes in consequence of the energy of the celestial weapons used by thee and the Kurus. I have been deprived of my senses by the stench of fat and blood and flesh. Beholding all this, from terror my mind is, as it were, cleft in twain. Never before had I beheld such a muster of horses in battle. And at the flapping of fences, and the blare of conchs, the leonine roars made by the warriors and the shrieks of elephants, and the twang of the Gandiva resembling the thunder, I have, O hero, been so stupefied that I have been deprived of both hearing and memory.

But Arjuna emboldens him. Arjuna says to his charioteer, just prior to the encounter with Bhishma, the following words:

...And I shall cause a dreadful river (of death) to flow today towards the other world with blood for its waters and cars for its eddies, and elephants for its crocodiles. I shall today, with my straight arrows, extirpate the Kuru forest having hands and feet and heads and backs and arms for the branches of its trees. Alone, bow in hand, vanquishing the Kuru host, a hundred paths shall open before me like those of a forest in conflagration. Struck by me thou shalt today behold the Kuru army moving round and round like a wheel (unable to fly off the field). I shall show thee today my excellent training in arrows and weapons. Stay thou on my car firmly, whether the ground be smooth or uneven...

Uttara proceeds towards Bhishma:

Thus assured by Savyasachin, the son of Virata (Uttara) penetrated into that fierce array of cars protected by Bhishma. The son of Ganga (Bhishma), however, of fierce deeds, cheerfully withstood the mighty-armed hero advancing from desire of vanquishing the heroes in battle. Jishnu, then, confronting Bhishma, cut off his standard clean off at the roots by shooting a gold-decked arrow pierced by which it fell to the ground. And at this, four mighty warriors, Dussasana and Vikarna and Dussaha and Vivingsati, skilled in weapons and endued with great energy, and all decked with handsome garlands and ornaments, rushed towards that terrible bowman. And advancing towards Vibhatsu (Arjuna) —that fierce archer, these all encompassed him around.

It goes on like this. From hereon Arjuna is being attacked by numerous warriors and soldiers at once. In between the narrative of the fighting there is an interesting description of the battlefield by Vyasa:

...[H]aving struck terror into that host and routed those mighty car-warriors, that foremost of victors, ranged on the field. And the son of Pandu then created on the field of battle a dreadful river of blood, with waving billows, like unto the river of death that is created by Time at the end of the Yuga, having the dishevelled hair of the dead and the dying for its floating moss and straw, with bows and arrows for its boats, fierce in the extreme and having flesh and animal juices for its mire. And coats of mail and turbans floated thick on its surface. And elephants constituted its alligators and the cars its rafts. And marrow and fat and blood constituted its currents.

The battle with Bhishma has only begun. It goes on for quite some time and in the end Bhishma is wounded and knocked unconscious:

Meanwhile, Bhishma, the son of Santanu, assailed Arjuna on the left side, while that drawer of the bow with either hands was on the point of piercing him. And at this, Vibhatsu (Arjuna), laughing aloud, cut off with an arrow of keen edge and furnished with vulturine wings, the bow of Bhishma, that hero of solar effulgence. And then Dhananjaya, the son of Kunti, pierced Bhishma in the breast with ten shafts although the latter was contending with all his prowess. And sorely afflicted with pain Ganga's son of mighty arms and irresistible in battle, stood for a long time leaning on the pole of his car. And beholding him deprived of consciousness the driver of his car-steeds, calling to mind the instructions about protecting the warriors when in a swoon, led him away for safety.

Finally, a bloody encounter with Duryodhana takes place.

And all this fearsome carnage and bloodbath for what? Just to protect some thousands of cows grazing in the outskirts of the city from falling into the hands of the thieving Kauravas. An ally of Duryodhana had a score to settle with King Virata, and hearing the news of the death of Kichaka, the formidable army commander of the king Virata (in the hands of Bhima), all of them decided to set out to inflict loss on King Virata, scarcely knowing that the Pandavas were with the king. The invading party gets the nastiest shock of their lives.

A most interesting thing that happens at this battle is that after Arjuna singlehandedly does away with all the top warriors, there are still hundreds and thousands of soldiers left. Arjuna then uses a weapon called 'sammohanastra' — or 'Hypnotizing weapon'. Perhaps it sprays something into the air, and all the members of the enemy side fall unconscious. If Arjuna even had the slightest qualm about fighting and killing his teacher and his grandfather, he could have used this weapon at the beginning of the battle itself, knocking all the warriors unconscious and then could have made away with their weapons. Upon waking, the Kauravas would have had no option but to turn back. However, it's obvious that Arjuna's didn't have the slightest twinge of conscience in fighting with his own teachers and relatives. What happened at the battle scene here was not a game, not a rehearsal, but a brutal no-holds-barred fight to kill. The only difference between here and the Kurukshetra war is that here escaping seems to be a valid option, while there in the final battle it wouldn't be.

A big question is why didn't Arjuna use the sammohanastra in the final battle of Kurukshetra? The Pandavas could have won the war in the most nonviolent, quick and efficient manner if Arjuna used this and other such nonlethal weapons, which he possessed in plenty. Sometimes when this battle episode at the end of the Virataparva is rendered into popular versions such as movies or comics, they show Arjuna using the mass hypnotizing weapon at the very outset of the battle, in order to prevent people from getting some obvious questions, and thereby help preserve the sanctity of Bhagavad Gita. But if such was the case indeed, it would lead only to another obvious question: why didn't Arjuna do that same thing in the final battle itself and save a whole nation from self-destructing itself?

The Bhagavad Gita setting is an obvious sham, but the Mahabharata war itself is a big farce. And in between sham and farce, the author of the Bhagavad Gita talks about yoga and Vedanta in a burlesque, vaudeville style! That is what is skill in action! Let us devote ourselves to it! Let us devote ourselves to nonsense, to bloody nonsense, of all kinds!