What Is The Historical Context Of The Bhagavad Gita

27 February 2013
The Bhagavad Gita Film Revision
The Bhagavad Gita is a classic tale of Indian spirituality in which Arjuna loses his way on the path of life and requires assistance from his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, to place him on the path to self-detachment and to do what is right. A short, animated film was made to briefly describe the events of the Bhagavad Gita. Although the film was made to teach people about the tale of the Bhagavad Gita, it contained flawed historical context and lacked detail and maturity. In this paper, a revision for the short film will be pitched to improve the short film. The improvements will include a more mature and accurate format of the video itself as well as more accurate historical context from
In the video, Arjuna asks Krishna, who acts as his charioteer, to drive him to the center of the battlefield so that he may look upon the faces of his enemies. Although this small segment is fairly accurate, the actions that follow are fairly simplified and skewed. Once Arjuna realizes that his enemies are his mentors, teachers, relatives, and friends, he becomes very sad and claims he cannot fight against his own people, and he asks Krishna what he should do. Krishna responds by saying that there is no time to question Arjuna’s actions, he must not consider what the consequences of his action, it is his duty to fight, and consequences are secondary. By saying these words, the video portrays Krishna as somewhat careless. His words do not make him seem wise, and it seems as though he is basically telling Arjuna to fight without giving him a fair reason to do so. He then tells Arjuna that he cannot truly kill, for one cannot kill a soul. Once a body dies, the soul simply moves to a new body. Krishna instructs Arjuna to attain detachment and carry on with the battle. This whole scene does not do The Bhagavad Gita historical justice. It seems rushed and inaccurate. While one would actually have to read the entirety of The Bhagavad Gita to truly understand Arjuna’s struggle, a few key examples can be provided on information that should have been incorporated in the video for
In The Bhagavad Gita Arjuna states, “O Krishna, I see my own relations here anxious to fight, and my limbs grow weak; my mouth is dry, my body shakes, and my hair is standing on end. My skin burns, and the bow Gandiva has slipped from my hand. I am unable to stand; my mind seems to be whirling. These signs bode evil for us. I do not see any good can come from killing our relations in battle” (Easwaran 80). Had dialogue such as this been incorporated into the video, it would not only have been more historically accurate, but also more dramatic and intense. Next, the video should have used more of the dialogue from Krishna in The Bhagavad Gita to show how wise, powerful, and thoughtful Sri Krishna really was as he instructed Arjuna how to do what is right. Instead of simply telling Arjuna to not think of the consequences of his actions, as Krishna does in the video, Krishna calmly explains to Arjuna that his sorrow has no cause, for “The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead. There has never been a time when you and I and the kings gathered here have not existed, nor will there be a time when we will cease to exist. As the same person inhabits the body through childhood, youth, and old age, so too at the time of death he attains another body” (Easwaran, The Bhagavad Gita 89-90). Krishna is basically telling Arjuna that there is no