Chapter II

The first chapter is better named "Arjuna Geetha" rather than Krishna Geetha. Overcome by sorrow and delusion, Arjuna turns from war and keeps aside his weapons; he is dejected in his chariot, halted between the two opposing forces; he turns this way and that, puzzled and perturbed; he surveys the faces of his kith and kin; he is overcome by pity; his famous bow slips from his grasp, he is too weak to stand or even sit; his mind wanders into the dictates of the Purva Mimaamsa school of thought. He swears he will not engage in fighting. When Sanjaya reported this to the blind king Dhritharashtra, he was overjoyed, for victory was within grasp! He had neither foresight nor farsight, much less, the divine vision; so he felt happy that his dream of an undiminished empire had come true, without bother.

But Sanjaya who had divine vision felt, "What is this insane joy which is affecting him? When the Lord is Himself on the side of the Pandavas, how can this king's wicked plan succeed?" Then he pictured to himself the ghastly consequences of Arjuna jumping into the fray.

But Arjuna had teardrops falling down his cheeks. There were whirlpools in his eyes. Even the Lord could not bear the sight; He could not remain silent. He felt the pulse-beat of Arjuna and diagnosed the malady. He knew in a trice that the malady of Moha (the delusion caused by false evaluation) had penetrated his three bodies: the gross, the subtle and the causal. The pity that enveloped Arjuna was not 'genuine', He saw. For genuine pity will be endowed with Daivi Sampath (divine elevating impulses and motives); it will not disregard the orders of the Lord. It was really egoism, under the veil of pity. So the Lord decided to cure him of that weakness, "Kripayaavishtam", the Geetha says. Arjuna was helpless, "overwhelmed by pity," and that had to be cured.

Just as a spirit entering a person has to be exorcised, Arjuna has to be freed from fear and cowardice. For he who has the Lord by his side need entertain no fear. What can any 'Bhooth' (spirit) do to one who is the Lord of all the five Bhuthas (elements)? "Vaidyo Narayano Harih." The Lord is the supreme doctor. Narayana was the doctor Arjuna needed and got.