CONTEXT OF GITA

The battle of Mahabharata was fought between the one hundred sons of Dhrtarashtra  and the five sons of Pandu , called Pandavas in the battlefield of Kurukshetra in north central Bharat. Both Dhrtarashtra and Pandu were brothers. Dharmaputra or Yudhishtira was the eldest of Pandavas - followed by Bheema ,Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. When they inherited their father's vast kingdom , Yudhishtira was crowned king. Duryodhana , the eldest of sons of Dhrtarashtra became jealous and challenged him to a game of dice. With the help of his uncle Shakuni - Duryodhana won the kingdom by unfair means. As agreed upon prior to game- the Pandavas were exiled to the forest for twelve years and for an additional one year incognito. However after the period of exile when the Pandavas returned, Duryodhana refused to give back their kingdom.

In an attempt to prevent a family feud, Lord Krishna, on behalf of Pandavas - appealed to Duryodhana to part with half the kingdom or five villages or a village with five houses or at least a house with five rooms. Duryodhana refused to part with even a square inch of land.Thus in the absence of any kind of compromise the Pandavas were left with no choice but to declare war against the Kauravas. The Pandavas were the rightful heirs to the kingdom but Duryodhana had usurped it. Hence the war of dharma( righteousness) versus adharma (unrighteousness) was inevitable.

Significance of battle in the Gita

The real Kurukushetra is the human mind when faced with a conflict arising out of aviveka or lack of clarity of what is right ( dharmic) and what is wrong(adharmic) in a life situation. In the body chariot analogy - the body is likened to a chariot , the senses are the horses, the mind is the reins and the intellect, the buddhi is the driver. You are the one seated in the chariot, the Jiva who is the traveller and master. An informed cultured and sensible driver can take you where you want to go. On the other hand a drunk or confused driver will lead you to nothing but disaster.

As one pursues the fourfold goals in life - dharma, artha , kama and moksha - in the absence of clear knowledge -one is at crossroads and faced with the choice of opting for either preyas - that which is seen as a desirable end or shreyas - that which is the ultimate good revealed by the scriptures.

Before the battle began both Arjuna and Duryodhana approached Krishna , seeking help in the war. Krishna said -"You can either take my vast capable army or have Me on your side. But I will neither raise a weapon nor fight. Now you may choose!"

Arjuna knew Krishna to be more than just a FRIEND and one who could guide him skillfully in any situation and hence wisely chose Him to be his charioteer and won the war. Duryodhana blinded by greed chose the vast army and lost.

Hence it is wisely said...

उद्यमस्साहसं धैर्यं बुद्धिश्शक्तिः पराक्रमः
षडेते यत्र वर्तन्ते तत्र देवाः सहायकृत्
udyamassaahasaM dhairyaM buddhishshaktiH paraakramaH
ShaDete yatra vartante tatra devaaH sahaayakRut

One may have all the six ingredients (effort, initiative, courage, intelligence, resourcefulness and perseverance) for success but still there may be something that makes the difference between success and failure. By my prayer, I invoke daivam, the seventh factor, to take care of the unknown element.

Lord Krishna - the Supreme Being stands for daivam here or the divine factor that tilts the scales in favour of success.  Arjuna intelligently chose Krishna to be present in front as his charioteer which saved him from every tricky situation during the war.
Everyone's life is a battle. Yet guided by Bhagavan in the form of the purified buddhi , the battle of life is easily won.

'Prayerful living is intelligent living."
                                                      Swami Dayananda Saraswati