Gita Jayanti: Why the birth of Bhagavad Gita is celebrated on this day?

Gita Jayanti is one of the most underrated Hindu festivals in India. It is a celebration of the birth of the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred book of Hindus. As per the traditional calendar, it falls on the Shukla Ekadashi in the Margashisha month. So, this year, it falls on 23 December.

 

 

The Bhagavad Gita contains a lyrical conversation between Bhagwan Shri Krishna and Arjuna, the celebrated Pandava warrior.

Bhagavad Gita, comprising of 18 chapters and 700 verses, is a conversation that happened just before the Mahabharata battle between the Pandavas (Yudhishthir, Arjuna, Bheem, Nakul, Sahadev and allies) and the Kauravas (Duryodhan, Dusashan, their 98 brothers, and allies) at Kurukshetra, Haryana.

 

Arjuna had realized that he had to fight against his cousins, family members, and teachers which stopped him from performing his duty as a warrior. The mere thought of killing them to win the war disturbed him. When he had almost given up and put down his weapons, Bhagwan Shri Krishna, his charioteer, motivated him in what later came to be known as the Bhagavad Gita.

 

After listening to Krishna, Arjuna is determined to fight the war. He ensures the Pandavas’ victory over the Kauravas.

 

The text is written in the third person, narrated by Sanjaya to King Dhritarashtra as it transpired between Sri Krishna and Arjuna. Sanjaya, the charioteer of the blind King Dhritarashtra, had been blessed by his Guru, Vyasadev, with the power to remotely view the events taking place on the battlefield as they transpired.