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116 SPIRIT AND THE MIND
spiritual insight—are the personalities in an historical drama in which the teachings of the Vedas are brought to life.
Why is the first chapter of this epic poem called “Arjuna’s Despondence”? Here is the setting: two large armies face each other across a large battlefield. On one side is an army led by the Pandava brothers symbolizing righteousness; on the other, a force of evil led by the tainted Kaurava family. The Pandavas, full of love, compassion and mercy, have been inexorably drawn into war by the selfish and provocative acts of the Kauravas. As the drama unfolds, Krishna, the embodiment of God, approaches the leaders of each side with a choice. “You may have the help either of the mighty army of my kinsmen, or of me alone—though I myself will not lift a weapon.”
Both sides have already witnessed the marvel and majesty of Krishna, but the evil side not so clearly as the righteous. They immediately choose the full, battle-ready army. With a vision as clear and pure as their character, the Pandavas choose Krishna. Krishna will drive Arjuna’s chariot.
As the armies stand facing each other, poised for combat, Arjuna speaks:
Krishna the changeless, Halt my chariot
There where the warriors, Bold for the battle,
Face their foemen. Between the armies
There let me see them, The men I must fight with, Gathered together
Now at the bidding Of him their leader, Blind Dhritarashtra’s Evil offspring:
Such are my foes
In the war that is coming.1
Arjuna has grown up with the Kauravas. After the death of his father King Pandu, his father’s brother Dhritarashtra, who succeeded to the throne, educated him and his four brothers. King Dhritarashtra