The first teaching starts with Sanjaya telling the story of the battle between the Pandu and the Kuru. It seems that the battle is very personal because of what Duryodhana tells his teacher Dona. "My teacher, see the great Pandava army arrayed by Drupada's son, your pupil, intent on revenge."(The Bhagavad-Gita page 23). When revenge is metioned, it is clear that the characters had had a previous encounter that didn't end very well. What follows is a description of the heroes in the battle which reminded me of the Iliad. In the Iliad, Homer is able to depict every hero in detail, and the same happens in Bhagavad-Gita. "Yudhamanyu is bold, and Uttamaujas is brave; the sons of Subhadra and Draupadi all command great chariots."(Bhagavad-Gita page 24). The heroes are introduced with a little background information, and their values.
What follows, is practically a concert. There are roars, trumpets, horns, cymbals, kettledrums, and conches form both sides. They probably did this to intimidate their opponent before starting the battle. Then comes what I believe is the first teaching. Arjuna gives a speech telling the others why fighting would be a huge mistake. "I see omens of chaos, Krishna; I see no good in killing my kinsmen in battle."(Bhagavad-Gita page 27). He is saying that killing is not worth it. They are human beings, and it is wrong to kill others for a cause.
Arjuna speaks about the horror of battle, taking lives. Every time someone is killed in battle, a brother is lost, a father, a cousin. It is sad that men have had to kill each other because of an ambition. War is destroying our race because of what we are doing to each other. Arjuna realizes that taking a human life could devastate him, and his filled with grief that the others are willing to do it. I believe this is the first teaching of the book, because it is the message I took from this chapter.
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