Uncovering Arjuna's Questions from Bhagavad-gita

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is consists of 700 verses, of which Lord Kṛṣṇa speaks 573 verses, Arjuna speaks 83 verses, Sañjaya speaks 41 verses and King Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks one verse. Here below is a compilation of all the questions that Arjuna asked Kṛṣṇa, which made this conversation the most pertinent dialogue of all times. Actually, the Gītā can be considered a question-answer session and it can be divided into 3 basic themes:

Chapters 1-6 are about karma and how karma leads to bhakti. It also often refers to term yoga of how to live.

Chapters 7-12 are directly about bhakti-yoga, or yoga of how to love.

Chapters 13-18 are about jyana and how jyana leads to bhakti. In other words the yoga of how to let go.

QN No.	BG Verse Reference	Question
1	BG 1.32-35	O Govinda, of what avail to us are kingdoms, happiness or even life itself when all those for whom we may desire them are now arrayed in this battlefield?
2	BG 1.32-35	O Madhusūdana, when teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law and all relatives are ready to give up their lives and properties and are standing before me, then why should I wish to kill them, though I may survive?
3	BG 1.36	What should we gain, O Krsna, husband of the goddess of fortune, and how could we be happy by killing our own kinsmen?
4	BG 1.37-38	Although these men, overtaken by greed, see no fault in killing one's family or quarreling with friends, why should we, with knowledge of the sin, engage in these acts?
5	BG 2.4	How can I counterattack with arrows in battle men like Bhisma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?
6	BG 2.7	Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.
7	BG 2.54	What are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is thus merged in Transcendence?
8	BG 2.54	How does he speak, and what is his language?
9	BG 2.54	How does he sit, and how does he walk?
10	BG 3.1	Why do You urge me to engage in this ghastly warfare, if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work?
11	BG 3.2	My intelligence is bewildered by Your equivocal instructions. Therefore, please tell me decisively what is most beneficial for me.
12	BG 3.36	By what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?
13	BG 4.4	The sun-god Vivasvan is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?
14	BG 5.1	O Krsna, first of all You ask me to renounce work, and then again You recommend work with devotion. Now will You kindly tell me definitely which of the two is more beneficial?
15	BG 6.33-34	O Madhusūdana, the system of yoga which you have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady. For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kṛṣṇa, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind.
16	BG 6.37	What is the destination of the man of faith who does not persevere, who in the beginning takes to the process of self-realization but who later desists due to worldly-mindedness & thus does not attain perfection in mysticism?
17	BG 6.38	Does not such a man, being deviated from the path of Transcendence, perish like a riven cloud, with no position in any sphere?
18	BG 8.1	What is Brahman?
19	BG 8.1	What is the self?
20	BG 8.1	What are fruitive activities?
21	BG 8.1	What is this material manifestation?
22	BG 8.1	What are the demigods?
23	BG 8.2	How does this Lord of sacrifice live in the body, and in which part does He live, O Madhusūdana?
24	BG 8.2	How can those engaged in devotional service know You at the time of death?
25	BG 10.16	Please tell me in detail of Your divine powers by which You pervade all these worlds and abide in them.
26	BG 10.17	How should I meditate on You?
27	BG 10.17	In what various forms are You to be contemplated, O Blessed Lord?
28	BG 10.18	Tell me again in detail, O Janārdana, of Your mighty potencies and glories, for I never tire of hearing Your ambrosial words.
29	BG 11.4	If You think that I am able to behold Your cosmic form, O my Lord, O master of all mystic power, then kindly show me that universal self.
30	BG 12.1	Arjuna inquired: Which is considered to be more perfect: those who are properly engaged in Your devotional service, or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?
31	BG 13.1-2	I wish to know about prakṛti [nature], Puruṣa [the enjoyer], and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the end of knowledge.
32	BG 14.21	By what symptoms is one known who is transcendental to those modes?
33	BG 14.21	What is his behavior?
34	BG 14.21	How does he transcend the modes of nature?
35	BG 17.1	What is the situation of one who does not follow the principles of scripture but worships according to his own imagination? Is he in goodness, in passion or in ignorance?
36	BG 18.1	I wish to understand the purpose of renunciation [tyāga] and of the renounced order of life [sannyāsa].

Looking at the table above, the questions of Arjuna are of different natures. Those that Arjuna is asking throughout the first chapter up to verse BG 2.4 are more or less doubts, confusions arising from his attachment to his family, which drive Arjuna to refrain from fighting. He is justifying himself as he wants to refrain from any violence. Kṛṣṇa however has a different opinion about this and he calls it - impurities (kaśmalam), degrading impotence (klaibyam) and petty weakness of the heart (hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ). BG 2.2-3

Everything turns around when Arjuna submits himself to Kṛṣṇa in humble surrender and asks Him what is best to do. In other words, he asks what is dharma (BG 2.7). Dharma in this verse refers not to religion, but to ‘the right thing to do’. Interestingly, Arjuna asks the question in a universal tone rather than drawing it personally to his situation or to the battle of Kurukṣetra and this impels Kṛṣṇa to speak the timeless wisdom of the Vedas in a universal way also, very valid for every living entity. This of course opens up a whole sequence of philosophical questions and answers which make a perfect dialogue - and thus Bhagavad-gītā is born. Kṛṣṇa’s answer to this question in fact drives the entire dialogue of the complete Gītā. Interesting point is also how King Dhṛtarāṣṭra in his first verse was fearing that Kurukṣetra as a place of pilgrimage will have an influence on his own sons and they will turn around to fight for dharma. This did not influence his narcissistic son Duryodhana, but it profoundly influenced Arjuna, whose first significant question is about dharma.

The next set of questions is towards the end of the second chapter (BG 2.54) after Kṛṣṇa explains to Arjuna the process of working without attachment - karma-yoga. Arjuna wants to hear more about the characteristics of the self-realized persons. His questions are very poetic and in one sense Kṛṣṇa doesn't take them as literal questions. This links the conversation very much to its actual title Song of God, which is not only a philosophical thesis, but also a masterpiece poem.

In the questions from the beginning of the third Chapter (BG 3.1-2) Arjuna seeks clarification from Kṛṣṇa about peace. In their earlier discussion Kṛṣṇa is urging Arjuna to fight (BG 2.37-38). Later on, Kṛṣṇa is talking about śānti - peace (BG 2.65-71), which resonated with Arjuna, as he didnt want to fight his family. This makes Arjuna very confused. Of course Kṛṣṇa is talking about the inner peace and not the outer peace. That state of consciousness is a result of work with detachment. For Arjuna it means then to fight as a duty without being obsessed with profit-loss calculations. Fight externally and find peace internally. Any work done with attachment is inauspicious. Hence, Kṛṣṇa instructs Arjuna not to give up his duty, but to give up attachment while doing his duty.

Later on in Chapter 3, Arjuna wants to dig deeper to find an answer to his other dilemma. What is it that impels us often to act in a way that is not good for us, as if by force? What is that enemy who is destroying us and our inner peace? (BG 3.36). Yes it is not an outer enemy that we need to battle against, but an inward enemy who is sleeping with us inside. “Lust only Arjuna, which is the all-devouring enemy of this world.” This of course does not necessarily mean only sexual and sensual enjoyments, but any sort of temptations which distract us from our smooth sail towards pure devotional service and full surrender to the Lord. If unchecked, this inward enemy is out to get us and destroy us, so it is of utmost importance to properly identify this enemy inside and guard ourselves from it.

Arjuna’s next question in BG 4.4 shows an amazing blend of his humility and curiosity. Kṛṣṇa talks how He has instructed this science long ago to the Sungod, which Arjuna finds contradictory, as Sungod is much older than both of them. Yet, the way he asks more details about this is not challenging nor belittling. He is putting the incomprehension upon himself. Even though he has accepted Kṛṣṇa as his Guru, he is not just blindly accepting everything, giving up his intelligence, but submitting his incomprehension before the Lord in a very respectable way for further clarification. This shows both Arjuna’s humility and intelligence.

The question in Chapter 5 (BG 5.1) seems to be a repeat of the question from BG 3.1-2. “Should I work or renounce work?” Why then Kṛṣṇa talks about yoga-sannyasa-karmanam. Arjuna is thinking in a linear black & white way, yet Kṛṣṇa is introducing the tridimensional aspect of karma yoga - all aspects of different colors. Not renunciation of work, nor working alone, but renouncing selfish motivation and working for a higher purpose (sannyasa of karma through yoga).

Questions from Chapter 6 deal with Arjuna’s new fears and doubts (BG 6.33-34). First he presents before Kṛṣṇa the difficulty to control the mind as it is very powerful. Even-though it is not a direct question, Arjuna is presenting his concern which contains an implicit question. Arjuna is like a student who is telling his teacher: “This topic is very difficult to understand.” Kṛṣṇa’s encouraging answer to this (overcoming the power of the mind by suitable practice and detachment) raises Arjuna’s new doubt - What will happen if one doesn't make it all the way through? Will he perish like a riven cloud? Kṛṣṇa is quite sensitive and can feel Arjuna’s anxiety. He therefore first pacifies him that a transcendentalist is never overcome by evil. He then explains to Arjuna the whole sequence of alternatives of what happens to the soul when leaving the present body and encourages him to always be a yogi.

At the end of chapter 7, Lord Kṛṣṇa introduces some terminologies about Himself to Arjuna, which baffle him and thus in the beginning of Chapter 8 (BG 8.1-2), Arjuna immediately asks the Lord to explain these. Thus it reveals Arjuna’s eagerness to understand these new terms.

When Kṛṣṇa declares the importance and glory of remembering him in the Catur-śloki Gītā (BG 10.8-11), Arjuna asks how Kṛṣṇa can be remembered while functioning in the world. Thus in order to declare the superiority and divinity of the Lord for all times to come, Arjuna asks the Lord to explain all His different opulences (vibhutis) in BG 10.17-18, as well as to show His universal form (Virat-rupa) in BG 11.4.

Earlier in Chapter 9, Kṛṣṇa among other topics was explaining about demigod worship, and in chapter 11, he explained his universal form. There is an extra topic to cover which Arjuna asks about in Chapter 12 (BG 12.1): "What is the concept of worshiping Absolute Truth in oneness or thinking oneself to be one with Absolute Truth?" So chapter 12 declares pure devotional service to be superior to the impersonal Brahman worship. Thus it covers talks about how bhakti-yoga is the best process for transcendence, then how bhakti can be practiced at multiple levels and how one should cultivate qualities that will make one a devotee.

Most of the questions that Arjuna asks are connected to what Kṛṣṇa speaks in the previous discussion. But some of Arjuna’s questions are actually not connected to the actual context of the Gītā; they are based on themes Arjuna has heard earlier in his life, themes that he wants to understand in the light of the Gītā. Arjuna’s questions in chapter 13 (BG 13.1-2) fall in this latter category. Here, he wants to know about the system of sankhya, within which these terms are common, and about how that system fits into Kṛṣṇa’s teachings in the Gītā.

After the detailed explanation of the sankhya philosophy and how the modes of material nature bind us, Arjuna asks what are the symptoms and behaviors of those who have transcended the modes and how to do it - BG 14.21. Even-though Kṛṣṇa explains the internal and external characteristics of those who have transcended the modes, He ultimately stresses that no level of philosophical and intellectual understanding of how the modes bind us will help us, if we don't have bhakti in our heart. The only means to ultimate freedom and to transcending the modes is undeviating bhakti-yoga. In BG 14.26 is also the only place that we find the occurrence of the compound-word ‘bhakti-yoga.’

Throughout chapter 16, we get to know the sharp contrast between the demoniac and divine qualities - the ungodly faithlessly reject scripture and follow their lower desires, whereas the godly faithfully follow scripture and restrain their lower desires . Kṛṣṇa safely assures Arjuna that he is on the good, white side whereas Duryodhana is on the wrong, black side. Thus Arjuna’s question in chapter 17 (BG 17.1) about all the shades of grey in between is remarkable in a sense that he wants to gain a holistic understanding of reality, not just a self-congratulatory picture of things.

There is only one question in the last chapter of Gītā BG 18.1 - what is the difference between sannyāsa (outer renunciation of action) and tyāga (inner renunciation of attachments to the fruits of action). At the Gītā’s start, Arjuna was torn between two options: fight and become entangled in the bad karma of killing his relatives or renounce and fail in his duty as a kṣatriya. Kṛṣṇa offered him a middle way: fight as a duty without attachment to the results (BG 2.47). Thereafter, Kṛṣṇa reinforced this theme of detachment-in-engagement from different perspectives: the karma-yoga perspective in the first six chapters (e.g. 3.30, 5.12) and the bhakti-yoga perspective in the next six chapters (e.g. 9.27, 11.33). Arjuna’s question suggests that he wanted to understand that theme from the jnana-yoga perspective presented in chapters 13-17.

From this short overview, Arjuna’s questions throughout the Gītā show his unashamed eagerness to learn, his amazing attentiveness while listening to Kṛṣṇa's explanations, his desire to understand clearly with vivid examples and his quest for practical guidelines, which he can apply in his life. He was the top student for Kṛṣṇa to reveal this treasure-house of knowledge and realizations which became to be known as the Bhagavad-gītā.