Poetry in the Gita

Precious as a treatise on philosophy, ethics and religion the Bhagavadgita is no less precious as a poem of endless and wonderful charm. If it is claimed that it has been composed by the great sage-poet Vyasa, the claim never diminishes but sufficiently enhances the glory and fame that he has attained by writing the most celebrated epic–the Mahabharata. What popularity and praise the Bhagavadgita has won is not merely due to the fact that it has led Arjuna and many others, through moral and spiritual conflicts, to a sure haven, where spirituality is restored to its eternal glory and morality is vindicated beyond any doubt. Its praise and popularity also rest on certain other qualities that it possesses–qualities which undoubtedly contribute to the worth of a composition as a beautiful poem.

Embedded in the Mahabharata as a gem, the Gita sheds its lustre over the whole of this colossal epic and lends a strange unity and harmony to the host of facts that the epic contains. One can feel very well that a deeper meaning, a calm sense of truth and perfection and a mellow beauty of human sympathy permeate the warring events and jolting movements of many of the episodes of this epic. All the different stories and anecdotes of this great book seem to have been included to serve one great purpose and all the different characters seem to have derived their distinct individualities from one tremendous motive force. The Gita lends this deeper meaning, this sense of truth and perfection, this purpose, this tremendous motive force. What would have been a loose conglomeration of facts, gains the vigour of unity and integrity through its spiritual sustenance. But for it, the Mahabharata would have lost much of its unity, much of its cohesiveness. That the Gita helps to bring about this fusion among an endless number of facts is not entirely due to its wholesome philosophy and rich moral tone. It is also due to its poetic harmony.

The Gita, though a discourse on philosophy, ethics and religion never turns its on life as many such discourses do. Life with its joy and sorrow, hope and despair finds a place of honour in it, with its turbulent doubts and fears derives lasting solace from it, with its endless and intricate problems looks up to it for guidance. As a matterof fact this noble message, this ‘Song Celestial’ is believed to have been communicated in the face of one of the greatest human ordeals. The surging terror of the battlefield on one hand and the formidable doubts of Arjuna on the other, with a long history of sorrow and suffering of the Pandavas at the ground, could inspire such a message. Finding his own kith and kin, his own revered superiors and teachers arrayed against him in a deadly fight Arjuna, the greatest of the Mahabharata heroes, finds himself overwhelmed with powerful emotions. His heart is assailed with sorrow and pity and an overpowering sense that he is going to commit a terrible sin. He refuses to fight and lays down his bow and arrow. The world literature has hardly any such grand picture to show except this one. The major portion of the first chapter and a part of the second one of the Gita have been devoted to delineating Arjuna’s sorrow, compassion and doubts. This lends abundant human interest to the book, which would, otherwise, have been a dry philosophical discourse. Here lies the great poetic charm of the book. The Gita in this portion shows how Arjuna has become emotionally upset, and what a great sentimental torture he suffers from. So tormented he has been that he goes so far as to aver that he would himself be killed rather than win the battle through killing and bloodshed. This ground of human emotions and sentiment lends a distinct character to this book. It seems that a deep sense of anguish and bewilderment has been woven into its lofty philosophical message. It seems that an expert architect has built up a wonderful edifice with marble and granite, matching with rare skill the soft colour of the former with the hard and grim features of the latter. This unstinting interest in human character and human activities makes it possible for the Gita to act as a cementing force in order to bring about a deeper understanding among the divergent tendencies of the Mahabharata.

The way the Gita begins and its conversational manner are quite of a piece with the lovely features of true poetry. As soon as one starts reading the first chapter of this book, one is thrown headlong into a critical situation. The intense longing of Dhritarashtra to know what his sons and the Pandavas are doing in the battlefield and the way Sanjaya fervently describes the awe-inspiring condition of both the armies are really dramatic. The conversational manner maintains this dramatic nature and keeps up an atmosphere of suspense and curiosity. The eager and earnest queries of Arjuna made from time to time lend a touch of reality to the whole discourse. Arjuna questions and hears, hears and questions raising relevant points, expressing sincere doubts, sometimes giving vent to very grave concern till at last his doubts and fears are allayed. He then wants to see the real image of Srikrishna, the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the Universe, and Srikrishna complying with this earnest prayer shows him His real image with all its terror in endless forms. Horrible yet sublime, this image, this vision of the Lord of the Universe is intended to bring home to Arjuna that death is an inevitable fact and an essential part of creation. Though the purpose is philosophical, one can never ignore the poetic grandeur of the passage which unfolds this vision, this supreme form of the Lord of the Universe. Sri Aurobindo has rightly said in his Essays on the Gita that the vision of the universal Purusha is one of the best known and powerfully poetic passages in the Gita. The way this vision is unfolded and the way Arjuna shrinks into a state of fear and stoop as to be compelled to say that he wants to see the charming image of Srikrishna and not this terrific one bear testimony to the rare poetic genius of the writer.

What has been said above is enough to prove, to the hilt of any doubt, that the Gita is a beautiful poem. But that is not all. The way the thoughts are arranged right from the stage where Srikrishna starts defining and explaining Sankhya Yoga till the end of the book not only adds to their logical coherence but also speaks highly of the skill of the writer as a poet. First comes the Sankhya Yoga in order to elevate Arjuna’s mind to a higher plane of philosophy. This is essentially necessary for one in order to be initiated into spiritual enlightenment and into the higher mission of life in the light of that enlightenment. After Sankhya Yoga, come the chapters on action, knowledge, renunciation etc., one after another, to acquaint Arjuna with different aspect of spiritual discipline, which one should undergo in order to attain the goal of perfection. By the time these things have been explained Arjuna’s mind is rendered free from all kinds of ignorance. His heart is now probably attuned to the eternal blissfulness of divinity and he has risen to a height which is ever bathed in the glow of spiritual knowledge. Then comes the description of the infinite glory of Godand the unfolding of His supreme form. This is the right hour for that, because there is now not a shred of doubt, not a shred of ignorance left in Arjuna’s mind, which, instead of helping him to realise truth through the realisation of the glory of God, would have frightened him into greater ignorance. Free from all ignorance, all bondage of worldly passions Arjuna now witnesses the vision of the world-spirit, the supreme image of God, and bows down to Him in boundless awe and adoration. The infinite magnificence of that vision, the grand majesty of that rare experience overawes him, bends him low, humbles him and makes him fit to receive a lesson on devotion, because the essential quality of a devotee is humility. So comes the chapter on devotion which brings a calm assurance, a never failing faith, a severe realisation that God is all powerful, all knowing and all good. When this realisation is there, all doubts are stilled, all questions are silenced. Arjuna then listens to Srikrishna’s exposition of metaphysical knowledge with calm earnestness and with a majestic faith. He still questions, but that is only to sustain the conversation. He still interrupts, but not perturbed with doubts. Thus the dramatic urgency of the poem diminishes, though it still persists. How very natural it seems–how very realistic!

The poetic excellence of the Gita is also enhanced by its language which adds to its melody and cadence and helps its sublime thoughts vibrate in our mind. The quiet solemn and confident tone of Srikrishna irradiates our heart with the effulgence of spiritual assurance. The calm pictures of the life of a Yogi, the comparative views of different stages of life and different types of character, the description of the endless glory of God and, above all, the vision of the Universal Soul create immense pictorial effect. These are all indisputable qualities of excellent poetry. Dr. Radhakrishnan has, thus, said that the Gita stands midway between a philosophical system and a poetic inspiration. He has also said that the Gita is the most popular religious poem of Sanskrit literature.