Is the tree at Jyotisar in Kuruskhetra the spot where the Gita was spoken?
From Purushottam Kumar
It is said that Lord Krishna spoke Bhagavad – Gita under a banyan tree which is still present at Jyotisar near Kurukshetra. The tree is about 5000 years old. Can you please tell me if this claim is true or not?
Transcript
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Question from Pushyottam Kumar Prabhu. It is said that Lord Krishna spoke Bhagavad Gita under a banyan tree which is still present at Jyotishar Nagar Kurukshetra. The tree is about 5000 years old.
Can you please tell me if this claim is true or not? Answer? Yes. Srila Prabhupada did say that Kurukshetra was the place where Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita. And Jyotishar has been traditionally recognized as the place where the Bhagavad Gita was spoken.
The banyan tree marks that place. And it is a sacred pilgrimage place. So generally speaking, it is difficult to have any historiographical tradition which can be acceptable for mundane scholars.
But for example in Vrindavan there are certain footprints which are said to be imprinted by Krishna. And similarly in many of the holy places there are artifacts and relics which date back to very ancient times. So the attempt to prove them historically requires substantial research.
And Duttakarma Prabhu who is ISKCON’s leading scientist, he has done significant things in this direction. So for example he has talked about how the Goswamis had an indigenous historical tradition, indigenous archaeological tradition by which they rediscovered many of the deities that had been lost for a long time. So in general the material methods can extend only so long in history.
And beyond that we just come across a mist where we can’t see anything clearly. Or we come across total darkness because the mundane historical methods depend on a lot of circumstantial evidence which is unreliable. So yes, as far as the specific claim is concerned, because the tradition has considered Kurukshetra and Jyotishar to be the place where Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita, so we can say that it is indeed true.
And maybe in future historical research by some unbiased researchers