The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most read and studied religious texts in history since it introduces core teachings of Hinduism through a story, which is laced with different lessons that help devotees understand dharma. The Gita, like most significant religious scripture, is a heavily discussed since the original text in Sanskrit allows for several different interpretations of the same text. The nuances in translation do little to taint the message of the 700 verses about the samsaric cycle and the karma that a soul must pay off over several lifetimes. The Bhagavad Gita starts off by introducing the blind king, Dhritarashtra, who asks Sanjaya about the battle that will take place between the king's son, Duryodhana, and Arjuna. This opening line introduces the reader to one of the obstacles that Arjuna must overcome: Arjuna must fight against his uncle, the king, and his cousin Duryodhana in order to take back control of the kingdom that is rightfully his brothers. .
The Pandavas are outnumbered yet Arjuna asks Krishna to ride him into battle. Arjuna becomes hesitant to fight against his own family for a crown he values less than the life of his kin. In refusing to fight, Arjuna is questioning if killing his family is a larger sin than not being a warrior to rightfully give back the throne to his brother. Krishna reassures him that his dharmic duty so there will be balance of good restored back in the world. Arjuna still insistently declares that "Death would be better for me!" as the only alternative to fighting his family. Krishna over the course of The Gita will help Arjuna see past the material world of today and think about his karma across multiple lives. .
The concept of killing for good is difficult for Arjuna to comprehend. He responds back to Krishna, "knowledge is greater than action, but then you push me to fight this awful war." Krishna tries to explain that devotion to Atma is both in the form of knowledge and action.