Thus, Gita was born on the battlefield named Kurukshetra. It is a conversation between Arjuna and his friend, teacher, and guide, Lord Krishna. Gita forms a small part of Mahabharata which is a great epic.

According to Indian mythology, time is divided into four ages: first, Satya Yuga; second, Treta Yuga; third, Dwapara Yuga; and fourth, Kali Yuga, which is now going on. Gita was composed toward the end of Dwapara Yuga, about five thousand years ago; about three thousand years before Christ.

The ancient sage Vyasa is held in high esteem by Indians. He is the son of the great sage Parashara. The great Purana named Bhagavat, a masterpiece on the life and incarnations of Lord Vishnu culminating in the life of Lord Krishna, was composed by Vyasa. The authorship of many monumental works, such as Brahma Sutra, etc., is attributed to Vyasa. Shuka, the son of Vyasa, is also known as a great saint, devotee, and jnani.

Mahabharata gives a pen-picture of ancient Indian civilization. Gita, though small in size, comprising seven hundred verses, puts forth the essence in Hindu philosophy. It is no wonder that Gita has been accepted in India as one of the three standard books: Prasthana Trayee. It has been translated into many languages and acknowledged by Eastern and Western minds as a standard work which can answer and solve all the problems facing humanity. In Gita, one finds answers to all his questions, gets guidance for his spiritual practices, and acquires Divine wisdom.

Kurukshetra: Origin of This Name

North of Delhi, in the state of Punjab, there is a vast barren land, known as Kurukshetra. To this day, this region is regarded as a holy place. Many pilgrims go there and take a dip in its lakes. Many wars have been fought in this place. It received its name as Kurukshetra from King Kuru.

The history or mythology on Kuru Dynasty is described as follows:
In Dwapara Yuga, there was a King of Demons named Vishiparva. His teacher, Shukracharya, knew the mantra of Sanjivani Vidya, with which he could bring back to life those who were killed or dead. Vishiparva attacked the King of Gods, Indra, and defeated him. The gods would kill many demons in the battle, but Shukracharya would bring them back to life.

Brihaspati, who was the teacher of Gods, did not know this art. He was a learned man, well up in Vedas and Upanishads, but did not know this Sanjivani Vidya. The Devatas were thus in trouble. One day, Kacha, the son of Brihaspati, offered to go to Shukracharya and learn the Sanjivani Vidya. The Devatas were glad and sent him with all their blessings. He reached the ashram of Shukracharya, bowed down humbly, and told him that he had come to learn Sanjivani Vidya. As per the code of conduct, a teacher could not send away a seeker or an earnest disciple.

Accordingly, Shukracharya accepted Kacha as his disciple and permitted him to stay in his ashram. He stayed there and served his guru with all his heart. He would go every day to the forest, bring fruits, flowers, firewood, etc., to the ashram. In due course of time, the demons had come to know about him and they were very much annoyed. They informed their King that Kacha, the son of the guru of the Devatas, was staying with Shukracharya evidently to learn Sanjivani Vidya, and once the Devatas learned the secret, the demons would lose the war.

The demons now decided to kill Kacha. One day when Kacha was in the forest collecting fruits, etc., they attacked and killed him. It was dusk and Kacha did not return.

Devayani, the only daughter of Shukracharya, became restless. She said to her father, "Father, Kacha has not yet returned."

"Yes dear, he is late," said her father. "I don't know what is wrong with him."

Devayani, already in love with Kacha, grew more and more restless. She told her father that she would not eat dinner unless Kacha returned. Shukracharya then sat in meditation, saw what had transpired, and brought Kacha back to life using his Sanjivani Vidya.

The demons were unhappy that Kacha was revived. They killed him again. Devayani pressed her father to revive Kacha. Shukracharya brought him back to life. This was repeated half a dozen times.
The demons were now at their wit’s end. They did not want Kacha to take away the secret. Every time they killed him, their own guru revived him. Finally, they killed him, powdered his bones, etc., and mixed that powder in somarasa, a drink that Shukracharya liked most. Shukracharya drank that juice, and thus the mortal remains of Kacha went into the body of Shukracharya.

That evening Kacha did not return. Devayani went to her father requesting him to look for Kacha. Shukracharya knew what had happened. He then said, "This time I am helpless. I cannot bring Kacha back to life. I am sorry! When I was in my Puja [worship], the demons mixed the mortal remains of Kacha in my drink, which I did not know. He is now in my stomach. Now you have to choose; whom do you want: Kacha or me?"

She said, "Father, I want you both!"

He replied that cannot be. Devayani requested him to teach her the mantra and she would revive them both.

He said, "No, I can't teach this mantra to a girl."

Devayani persisted. Finally Shukracharya yielded. He chanted the Sanjivani Vidya mantra and sprinkled water on his body. Kacha was revived, tore open the stomach of Shukracharya, and came out. At that moment, Shukracharya died. But Kacha, who knew the mantra, revived his guru Shukracharya.

A few days after this incident, Kacha came to Shukracharya and said, "Sir, the demons are killing me every day and you are bringing me back to life every time. Now my studies are over. Kindly permit me to go back." Shukracharya consented.

When Kacha was about to leave, Devayani stopped him and said, "I love you very much, please marry me."

Kacha replied, "That is impossible. My guru is like my father and you are his daughter, so you are like my sister. How can I marry you?"

She said, "I have loved you so much; because of me my father brought you back to life. Now you refuse to marry me. So I curse you: may the mantra learned by you from my father be powerless with you."

Kacha replied, "I do not deserve to be cursed by you like this. That mantra may become powerless with me, but I will teach it to somebody else who can use it effectively. Since you have been unjust with me, now I curse you. You will never get a Brahmin as your husband."

So saying, Kacha left that place, returned to his father, and taught the Devatas Sanjivani Vidya.

One day, Devayani, along with the daughter of King Vishiparva and her maids, went to a lake in the adjoining forest to swim. They played and swam in the lake for quite a while. Then all of them came out. The princess mistakenly put on the clothes of Devayani. When Devayani came out of the lake and found her clothes on the body of the princess, she was furious. Tempers ran high. Finally, the princess, with the help of her maids, threw Devayani in a well and returned to the palace.

King Yayati, who had been hunting in that very forest, was returning and heard somebody crying and appealing for help. He got down off his horse and then realized that the voice was coming from a well. The well, although deep, did not contain much water, and he found Devayani standing waist deep in water. He removed his headgear, made it into a long rope, and lowered it into the well. Devayani caught hold if it and Yayati pulled her up.

When she reached the top, she requested Yayati to grab her hand and help her out, which he did. When she told King Yayati her name and where she lived, he took her to her father's ashram on his horse. Devayani narrated everything to her father and also expressed her desire to marry King Yayati, who had already "held her hand" while pulling her out of the well.

Shukracharya was very pleased with the courtesy shown by King Yayati to his daughter. At the same time he felt insulted by the rude behavior of the princess and so sent word to King Vishiparva that he was leaving him for good.

The king came running to the ashram, bowed humbly to Shukracharya, expressed his regret for the rude behavior of the princess, and finally appealed, "Sir, my daughter has misbehaved, but that does not mean you should punish me. You are free to punish my daughter in whatever manner you think fit."

Shukracharya thought it over and then replied, "Yes, you are right. My daughter now desires to marry King Yayati. If your daughter is ready to go along as her maidservant, then I will stay here."

King Vishiparva agreed, and the marriage of King Yayati and Devayani was solemnized. Devayani was good to the demon princess, placing her in a separate palace and providing her with many facilities.

Devayani by now had two sons. One day she went to visit the demon princess and found three beautiful children playing there. Devayani was pleased seeing the youngsters; however she then discovered that her husband, King Yayati, had a secret relationship with the demon princess, who was very beautiful. She became enraged and went to her father, relating to him about her husband's little love nest.

Shukracharya was infuriated and cursed King Yayati saying, "He will no longer retain his youth. He will be an invalid old man forever."

The curse fell on Yayati. He lost his youth, his back was bent, there were wrinkles on his forehead, and he became old looking. However, his desire to enjoy had not diminished, and he begged Shukracharya to pardon him and grant him a release from the curse.

Shukracharya said, "Well, I can grant this much. You now have five sons: two with Devayani and three with Vishiparva's daughter. If any one of your five sons is willing to take on your old age in exchange for his youth, you can be young again."

Yayati went back home and explained the situation to his sons. The two sons with Devayani would not oblige. The youngest of the three sons with the demon princess agreed to exchange his youth for the old age of his father. Yayati then became young, and Kuru, his son, became old.

Yayati tried to fulfill his desires and pacify his instincts by indulging in all sorts of enjoyments, but he never attained satisfaction or peace. Finally he reflected: "Fire cannot be extinguished by pouring oil on it; it will become more wild, and spread out more and more. You cannot conquer lust, greed, desires, etc., by indulging in sensual pleasures. You must control your mind by austerities. That is the only way to attain satisfaction and peace." He then returned the youth to his son and accepted back his old age. He also bestowed upon him his kingdom.

Now Kuru became a great emperor. His dynasty became known as Kaurava and this vast region, in which many saints and sages practiced austerities, sacrifices, and rituals, became known as Kurukshetra. Since it is a region where Dharma was practiced, it is known as Dharma-Kshetra. Kshetra means "field" or "area." Kurukshetra was looked upon as Dharma-Kshetra, or Area or Field of Dharma (religion, austerities, etc.), as it was sanctified by the penance of numerous saints.

Dhritarashtra, Sanjaya and Others

Dhritarashtra and Pandu were two brothers. Pandu could not manage the empire due to ill health. He stayed in a hermitage with his two wives, Kunti and Madri. Pandu had five sons: Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna from Kunti, and Nakula and Sahadeva from the second queen, Madri. Since they were sons of Pandu, they were known as Pandavas. Dhritarashtra had one hundred sons. They are referred to as Kauravas. The eldest amongst them is Duryodhana. Dushasan was the second son of Dhritarashtra.

Dhritarashtra was born blind. The word Dhritarashtra means "one who is holding the nation; one who has the political power." Symbolically, the man in power has to keep his eyes closed on some matters. Dhritarashtra was very partial to his own sons. He always took a partisan view and upheld the misdeeds of his sons. He could not do justice to the Pandavas, the sons of his own brother, who were intensely religious, spiritually oriented, righteous, brave, kind, considerate, and extremely popular with the masses.

Since Pandu had given up the throne, the rightful heirs to the kingdom were Pandavas — the sons of Pandu. But Duryodhana, the eldest son of Dhritarashtra, was adamant. He was unwilling to give even one inch of land to his cousin brothers, the Pandavas, so they decided to fight it out. The Kings and Chiefs in those days sided either with the Kauravas or the Pandavas, and finally assembled in Kurukshetra for a war.

Sage Vyasa was a well-wisher and guide of Kaurava Dynasty. He advised Dhritarashtra to do justice to the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra was helpless. He could not go against the wishes of his eldest son. When the battle was about to start, Vyasa appeared in the palace of Dhritarashtra and asked him whether he intended to see the battle. If so, Vyasa would grant him claro-vision and claro-voice.

Dhritarashtra was a weak-minded person. He said he would not be able to stand the horror of death and destruction associated with war, and requested Vyasa to grant those powers to his charioteer, Sanjaya, who would describe the proceedings on the battlefield. Vyasa then granted Sanjaya the ability to see and hear what was going on at Kurukshetra. The meaning of Sanjaya is one who has systematically acquired control over his organs of perception and action. The symbolic meaning is that one is able to see beyond the normal range if one has control of his body and mind.

Many other great warriors are mentioned in the first chapter of Gita. Drona is a Brahmin who taught the art of using bows and arrows to the Kauravas and Pandavas. Drona and King Drupada had studied together under the same teacher, but Drupada later forgot his schoolmate Drona and insulted him when he tried to meet him in his court. Drona then taught the Kauravas and Pandavas the art of war and humiliated Drupada at the hands of the Pandavas, his students. King Drupada then performed a sacrifice and got a son who was capable of killing Drona. His name was Dhrishtadyumna, who was the chief commander of the forces of Pandavas.

Flags and Conchs

The great warriors at the time of the war of Mahabharata used to have their own flags on their chariots and were also known by the conch they would blow to challenge the enemy. The flag of Lord Krishna had Garuda as the emblem. Arjuna was recognized by the "Kapi-dhwaja" flag with the emblem of a monkey. He was also known by his conch, Devadatta by name, which had a peculiar note. The conch of Lord Krishna was known as Panchajanya, which, when blown, created terror in the minds of the wicked. Bhima had a conch named Paundra. The name of the conch of Yudhishthira was Anantavijaya. Nakula had Sughosa, and Sahadeva had Manipushpaka.

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