that the Lord instructs Arjuna not to think about the literal
meaning (of this teaching) but the essence of it.”
An important part of Krishna’s teaching in the Gita lies
in distinguishing the merits of previous, purely ‘ascetic’
yogas based on renunciation and withdrawal from social
activities and duties from karmayoga – understood as
disinterested action that is performed from a position of
total indifference to its fruits, one that therefore does not
employ rituals of a sort that seek to utilise a sacrificial
relation to the gods for specific pragmatic purposes.
Arjuna’s conflict between kshatriyadarma (the warrior’s
duty to fight) and kuladharma (duty to his own clan and
teachers, which include the foes he is reluctant to kill in
battle) is ultimately countered by Krishna through stressing
the over-riding importance of bhakti – loyalty and to
devotion to God – in relation to all other dharmas.
Krishna’s message is that only a king surrendered and
devoted to God in the form of the ‘Supreme Personage’ of
Krishna himself - and not a ‘god-king’ of the sort who
regards himself as an overlord of the gods themselves and
makes use of them as his instruments - can truly serve the
well-being of his people. He can do so by restraining from
despotic greed, indulgence and cruelty, whilst not
renouncing the duties of office and caste – including his
duties as warrior. The message is therefore also that all
castes can find their way to ultimate liberation or moksha