Na jayate, mriate, wa kadchaith, na ahiam
na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
This verse from the Bhagavad Gita can be translated as, “The soul is never born nor dies at any time. The soul has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being.” It speaks about the cyclical nature of the soul.
With this thought in mind, I started reading Devdutt Pattanaik’s My Gita. The book begins in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. The armies of Kauravas and Pandavas are eagerly waiting for the Pandava prince Arjuna to blow the conch signalling the start of the war. A war that would later become a major event in the Hindu mythology–the Mahabharata. Arjuna knew this war would claim more lives than anything he had ever witnessed. Contemplating the death of his brothers, uncles, teachers and friends, and not knowing what to do, Arjuna seeks advice from his guide and charioteer Krishna.
Krishna, then goes on to narrate 18 chapters encapsulating the universe from the beginning of time until the perceived end of time. This narrative between Arjuna and Krishna came to be known as the Bhagavad Gita.
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