To be exact, he appears in a dual role, as the Ya ̄dava chief who sides with the
Pa ̄n.d.avas and gives them frequently devious and unscrupulous advice, and as
the supreme personal deity who only occasionally reveals his true identity (most
notably, of course, to Arjuna in the Bhagavadgı ̄ta ̄). This less than central position
is to some extent modified in the 16th book, the Mausalaparvan or “Book of
the Clubs,” which tells the story of the deaths of Kr.s.n.a and his half-brother
Balara ̄ma (also called Baladeva and Sam.kars.an.a) and is then more fully reme-
died in the Harivam.s ́a, “the dynasty of Hari” (i.e. Vis.n.u=Kr.s.n.a), composed
during the second half of the period of growth of the Maha ̄bha ̄rata itself as a
supplement to it; Kr.s.n.a’s centrality in the Harivam.s ́ais in marked contrast to the
Maha ̄bha ̄rata, where he stands aside from the central action. In the Maha ̄bha ̄rata
narrative, Kr.s.n.a is most prominent in the preparations for war, when he acts as
a negotiator on the Pa ̄n.d.avas’ behalf with the Kauravas (e.g. 5.30 and 5.71) but
appears as one of the strongest protagonists of the conflict, urging Yudhis.t.hira
on. So too, in the Bhagavadgı ̄ta ̄(6.23–40), Kr.s.n.a encourages his friend Arjuna,
for whom he has agreed to act as charioteer, to abandon his misgivings and to
engage in the battle.
The inclusion of the Bhagavadgı ̄ta ̄at this crucial point of the Maha ̄bha ̄rata nar-
rative sets it firmly in the battle context and it is precisely the ethics of Arjuna’s
position which is the starting point for Kr.s.n.a’s discourse, although as a whole it
develops a philosophically and theologically significant message which ranges
far beyond its immediate setting; that setting was, however, undoubtedly useful
in securing it a much wider popular audience than was enjoyed by the Vedic
literature and it seems clear that it was subsequently inserted within the
Maha ̄bha ̄rata for just that reason. The contrast between Kr.s.n.a’s revelation of
himself as the supreme deity and Arjuna’s casual familiarity with him in the rest
of the epic is indeed striking. Kr.s.n.a begins his answer to Arjuna’s doubts by
stressing the need to fulfil one’s role in society and asserting that, since the self
(a ̄tman) is eternal and indestructible, it does not die with the body and so, since
death is not final, there is no need to grieve over the imminent deaths in battle.
He then goes on to affirm that all activity is a sacrifice if undertaken correctly,
in a spirit of detachment, thus incorporating both sacrifice and renunciation
within the context of life in the world; actions as such have no particular effect,
provided one acts without interest in the result, and indeed actions are in reality
performed by the gun.as, the constituents of nature, which are completely
separate from the a ̄tman. Other themes which Kr.s.n.a explores are Brahman, the
self-discipline of yoga, the nature of the supreme deity and his attributes, and
loyal service (bhakti) to the deity; the Bhagavadgı ̄ta ̄thus synthesizes into an
overall theistic framework various strands of thought then current, while
drawing most heavily on the Upanis.ads.
The climax of the Bhagavadgı ̄ta ̄comes in the theophany in the eleventh
chapter, where Kr.s.n.a reveals to Arjuna his universal, terrifying form, which pro-
duces in Arjuna the response of humble adoration and penitence for his former
casual attitude (soon to be resumed). In the remaining chapters, which contain
a variety of topics, there is a gradual return to the theme of devotion or bhakti,
120 john brockington