The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran

╭ chapter one
the struggle. A charioteer’s position is a lowly one compared
to the status and glory of the warrior he drives, but Krishna
assumes this modest role out of love for Arjuna. As charioteer,
he is in a perfect position to give advice and encouragement
to Arjuna without violating his promise not to join the
fight himself.
To secure their claim to the throne, Arjuna and his brothers
must fight not an alien army but their own cousins, who
have held the kingdom for many years. Tragically, the forces
against them include their own uncle, the blind king Dhritarashtra,
and even the revered teachers and elders who guided
Arjuna and his brothers when they were young. Arjuna, of
course, wants to win the throne for his brother, who is the
rightful heir to the Kuru dynasty and has endured many
wrongs. But he is dismayed at the prospect of fighting his own
people. Thus, on the morning the great battle is to begin, he
turns to Krishna, his friend and spiritual advisor, and asks
him the deeper questions about life that he has never asked
before. The Bhagavad Gita is Krishna’s answer.
Other warriors who appear elsewhere in the drama are
mentioned in this first chapter of the Gita. To Indians these
are familiar figures from the legendary past, but to most Western
readers they will be unknown and even unpronounceable
names. Arjuna and his brothers are known as the Pandavas,
“the sons of Pandu”: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Sahadeva,
and Nakula. The other side is called the Kauravas, “the sons
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