Why does the Gita begin with Dhritarashtra not Krishna?
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which elaborate on this interesting question why does the Bhagavad Gita begin with Dhritarashtra’s speech and not Krishna’s speech answer because the Bhagavad Gita is a book it is a text that is given to us in context sometimes philosophy is seen as something very abstract otherwise it is relevant the Bhagavad Gita informs us not only through its content which actually talks about practically happening in this world spiritual consciousness but also actually into its context wherein there is a war going on and there is observable enquiry so through that living context the text that is thought to be abstract is made alive tangible, concrete, relevant and specifically Dhritarashtra’s question reveals the mentality of Dhritarashtra so the Bhagavad Gita is instructing by contrasting Dhritarashtra asks questions and Arjuna also asks questions and in response actually Krishna’s message is heard by Arjuna as well as by Dhritarashtra but Arjuna is sincerely inquisitive about the fundamental truths of life he asks whereas Dhritarashtra is he is simply enquiring our circumstances, what happened over there so his attachment is material and he stays at the periphery of reality whereas Arjuna goes to the substance the core of reality and thus Arjuna is transformed by hearing the Gita Dhritarashtra is not transformed so the Bhagavad Gita by having Arjuna Arjuna’s questions preceded by Dhritarashtra’s question it reveals the difference in consequence based on the mentality of the speaker and lastly the Gita also has cyclicity in its scope so it starts with the question what happened and the conclusion is a prediction of what is going to happen that Krishna and Arjuna’s side is going to win but also it is giving the philosophical import in that conclusion that they are going to win because God and man have united together in a mood of love reciprocation and service the essential message of the Gita which is given throughout is given in its conclusion in a way that address that reflects both the content and the context thus to show that the Gita is a living book not an abstract philosophical database to show how the consequence of hearing the Gita in defending the mentality of the questioner the seeker and to have a cyclic effect in the starting and ending being symmetric and reflecting both the circumstantial and the internal the Gita has its starting with Dhritarashtra’s question not Arjuna’s question Thank you very much